旧约 - 民数记(Numbers)第13章

The LORD said to Moses,
"Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."
So at the LORD'S command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.
These are their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country.
See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.
What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified?
How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath.
They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs.
That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there.
At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.
They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.
But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."
But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are."
And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.
We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
民数记第十三章   第 13 章 

  民 13:17-20> 调查是为了知彼知己,在事奉,生活中,我是如何做的? 

  13:17-20 百姓要进入应许之地前,摩西必须掌握当地的情况,于是他打发十二个探子去探察。当你要接受新任务时,你必须要了解情况,掌握应有的知识。拥有基本常识对成全神的旨意极有帮助。 

  迦勒 

  探子窥地路线 

  民 13:25-29> 面对抉择,我能得神的应许吗?有勇气积极面对吗? 

  13:25-29 神告诉以色列人,祂所应许之地是流奶与蜜之地。探子虽然将那地的土产带回给摩西,但是惧怕当地的巨人与坚固的城邑,忘记了神扶持的大能。当你面对艰难抉择的时候,不要让不利的因素令你看不到正面的光景,要仔细衡量正反两面,不要让预期的困难令你忘记神的应许和帮助的大能。 

  民 13:26> 在关键之处,以色列人退却了,结果…… 

  13:26 加低斯靠近迦南地南部的边界,虽只是旷野之中的小绿洲,却是以色列人历史上的关键之处。探子侦察过迦南地后,回到加低斯报告,百姓面临是进入那地,还是转身退回的抉择。可惜他们缺乏信心,竟决定回埃及去,结果被神惩罚在旷野飘流 40 年。摩西也是在加低斯不顺从神( 20:7-12 ),为此而不得进入应许之地的。亚伦与米利暗同样不得进入。因为没有信心,以色列人要用不只一代人的时光,才能从加低斯迈进应许之地。 

  民 13:27> 果然是流奶与蜜之地── 

  13:27 应许之地又被称为迦南美地,十二个探子看见当地景色十分壮丽,圣经常称它为流奶与蜜之地。这地的面积虽不大,南北长 241 公里,东南宽 96.5 公里,但它满山遍野长满了无花果树、枣树与栗子树,是神应许要赐给亚伯拉罕、以撒和雅各之地。 

  民 13:28> 这亚衲族是── 

  13:28 亚衲族也可译为亚衲的后裔,是身材异常高大的一族。歌利亚的家族可能由此而出。(参看撒下 21:16-22 )。 

  民 13:28-29> 坚固的城令以色列人惧怕;原来── 

  13:28-29 探子提到的坚固城邑是由高墙围建,墙宽 6.1 公尺,高 7.6 公尺,其上有卫兵站岗,远眺全境。探子又说当地居民高大,有 2.1 至 2.7 米 高,以色列人与其相比,就如蚱蜢( 13:33 )。防备森严的城堡和巨人,令百姓心中惧怕。 

  民 13:30-32> 我是清醒的勇士吗?我曾像迦勒那样扞卫真理吗? 

  13:30-32 在绝大多数人持相反意见时发言,是一件不容易的事。迦勒却甘愿孤军奋斗到底,照神的吩咐去做。若要矛盾迎刃而解,取得众人的赞同,你必须要有下列三个条件:( 1 )有事实依据(迦勒亲眼看见那地);( 2 )有正确的态度(迦勒信靠神的应许,要将那地赐给他们);( 3 )有足够的信心(迦勒说: " 我们足能得胜 " )。 

  民 13:33-14:4> 不实事求是,不明辨是非,以色列人因此付出了什么代价?这使我明白…… 

  13:33-14:4 在探子消极的报导下,百姓心生悖逆。人很容易把别人的意见当作事实看待,所以在提出负面意见的时候,要特别小心。若是发言者有特殊影响力,更要小心说话的内容。──《灵修版圣经注释》