Shelach (send)

Twelve men, leaders all, were selected to go on a reconnaissance mission. This was dangerous work as nobody knew what to expect when they got there. All they knew was they were tired of wandering after a pillar of cloud and fire and having nothing but this manna to look forward to. Who cares if its taste was like that of rich cream? Too much of a good thing is too much. They were ready to go into the land. But first, they had to know what it was like. What kind of land is it? What are the people like? Are they strong or weak? Many or few? And the land, is it good or bad? What about the cities? Are they fortified or more like camps? How's the soil? Are there trees? Go and pick some of the fruit. In the days before satelittes and cameras and video, intelligence had to be gathered first hand.

And they went up into the land and scouted the land for forty days and came back with a report and some of the fruit of the land. And in their report they said the land does flow with milk and honey and here is its fruit. So far, so good. But then they said, However, the cities are huge and fortified. The people are mighty. We even saw the offspring of the giant. And there are all sorts of tribes inhabiting the land. Uh oh. The seeds of doubt are planted. Yes, they were told to report back on the strength of the people and the cities. Did they have to say "however"? This had quite an effect on the people.

But then one of the twelve stood up. One had the courage to silence them and say, "we can surely go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it." Who was he? A cookie to whoever gets it right. ;)

The others shouted him down. They said, we cannot go up against this people, for they are stronger than we. They spread an evil report about the land. They said the land consumes its inhabitants. They saw the giants and the sons of Anak. And they said, in our eyes, we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes.

How do they know they seemed like grasshoppers in the eyes of the inhabitants? Who told them this? How do they know they didn't seem like giants to the inhabitants? They let their eyes lead them astray. They were afraid and let that fear overtake them. Despite the promise that God had made to bring them into the land, they did not trust in Him.

What calamity their evil report caused. The whole community lifted up their voices and wept. And they complained. If only we had died in Egypt. If only we had died in the desert. Why did the Lord bring us here to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be captives.
Was Egypt so wonderful? Was the wilderness a picnic? How quickly we forget former troubles when new ones suddenly appear. Then, what was in the past does not seem so bad. Egypt? Sure, we had to work. But who doesn't? And remember the food? Oh the food, what food we had. The fish and the garlic and the leeks and the melons. Oh the meat that we used to eat in Egypt. And now what do we have? Nothing but this stupid manna.

And then they made a terrible decision. Let's appoint a leader and go back to Egypt!

Back? They were not to go back that way again. Deut 17:16. If they go back to Egypt, why did God redeem them with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm? Why did He visit ten plagues upon Pharaoh and Egypt? Why did God bring them to Sinai and give them the Torah? So that they could go BACK to Egypt? They might as well have never left. No. They were redeemed from being under the burden of Pharaoh so that they might be servants of God. You cannot serve both God and Pharaoh.

And Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the congregation.


To be continued...