Send for Yourself - Spy out the Land of our Inheritance

Shelach Lekha     (Send for Yourself)    NUMBERS 13:1 - 15:41

This Torah portion tells the story of the spies that are sent forth to survey the Land of Canaan in preparation for its conquest. They return with a mixed message. The Land is superb but too well-fortified to be conquered. Moses is bitterly disappointed with their fearful report and so decides that the people must wander another 40 years (until the generation of slavery has died out) before they can enter the Land.

Shelach Lekha concludes with the instruction to wear fringes of blue as reminders of holiness.

THE BLESSING

GOD SAYS TO MOSES: "Shelach Lekha" (send for yourself) spies to scout out the Land. The spies sent by Moses return both enraptured by the land and terrified at the prospect of making their permanent home in that elevated state of consciousness. 

    So too, this portion blesses us with a mission: Spy out the Land of our Inheritance, taste the milk and honey that flows from the Land of Promise, and let that taste guide us on your journey. The blessing we receive is a glimpse. What we do with that glimpse becomes the challenge. 

Overcoming the Grasshopper Mentality

“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.”—Numbers 13:33

The Torah portion for this week is Shelach, from Numbers 13:1–15:41 and the Haftorah from Joshua 2:1–24.

Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” What we believe to be true about ourselves often becomes our reality.

When the spies sent by Moses to scout out the land of Canaan returned to the desert, they described what they saw. They saw great produce and a land flowing with milk and honey. But – and this was the key word – the people were unconquerable. In describing the inhabitants of the land, the spies said that they saw the Nephilim. According to the Sages, these were actual giants. The spies explained that in the eyes of these giants, they appeared to be little grasshoppers.

But wait a second! How did the spies know what the giants were thinking about them? After all, they were spies in the land and shouldn’t have spoken to anyone along the way. How could they be so sure that they looked like grasshoppers – like insignificant, vulnerable bugs – to the inhabitants of Canaan?

Shedding Former Things

But after the men were healed, God told Joshua, 'Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you'" (Josh 5:9).

God is calling thousands of people out of Egypt, out of their old lives of bondage. He's calling them to become new people, living out His plan for their lives in the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 

God wants Christians to take their places in the financial marketplace, the corridors of commerce, the capitals of information and entertainment, and the halls of government.

When the people of Israel crossed over the Jordan River and set foot upon the land of promise, God told Joshua to make flint knives and revive a ritual that had fallen into disuse: circumcision.

“Heaven’s Solution to Our Emptiness” Part V

EXPLORATION:

I Find All My Joy In You

“I find all my joy in you,
like a friend
who invites
a beloved friend
to a garden
to breathe together
exotic air and sweet fragrances
to delight in lovely flowers
to hear an exquisite concert
and feast on luscious,
delicious fruit.”

Gertrude the Great

Do I believe God has designed a bountiful harvest in my empty life?

What do I believe that harvest will yield?

INSPIRATION:

“All the great blessings of my life are present in my thoughts today.”

Phoebe Cory
My Blessings

Get a Move On!

JOYCE MEYER

We keep going around the same mountains instead of making progress. The Israelites wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years making what was actually an 11-day journey. Why? Was it their enemies, their circumstances, the trials along the way, or something else that prevented them from arriving at their destination?