Being Gobsmacked

One might think that after 40+ years of serious Bible reading and studying that a guy would have seen all the internal connections; yet they still come, and I’m like—

Here are two that I learned of in the last couple of weeks (and I am embarrassed to admit that I cannot remember the sources).

Spying out the land

Many are familiar with the occasion wherein the people of Israel had sent 12 men to spy out Canaan in order to assess the land and ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of the cities and encampments. When the men returned, they recounted the findings.

We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan. (Num 13:27–29)

However, the group gave a mixed conclusion from their observations:

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Num 13:30–33)

Caleb (and Joshua, as noted in chapter 14) calls for the nation to claim what the Lord promised; however, ten decide are fearful and see only doom if an invasion is attempted, comparing the relative size differential between the average Israelite and Canaanite. What was the truth of the matter? What was the average Canaanite thinking at that time? Can we know?

After Israel eventually crosses the Jordan River and prepares to take Jericho, two spies are sent into the city and are hidden by Rahab who offers some insight of the city-dwellers’ attitude toward Israel.

Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. (Joshua 2:8–11)

Notice in the italicized phrases the fear of Israel, which began when they first heard of the Red Sea crossing 40 years prior. The recent defeat of the Amorite kings simply added to the dread they felt. The ten spies had been completely mistaken in their bad report, not realizing that though the Canaanites were large, they were living in fear of Israel and their God.

Losing out

The other item to mention is found in the gospel of Mark. Jesus was relating the parable of the sower and four types of soil to the crowd, but later explained to the Twelve the purpose of parables in general and the meaning of this particular one in private. Jesus then admonishes them with the following:

Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Mark 4:21–25)

We can follow the beginning of this teaching: Jesus wants us to shine the light that is placed in us through God’s Word. The puzzling part comes in the last sentence. We can understand giving more to someone who has, but how do you take away from someone who doesn’t have? The key is the measure that Jesus mentions. As much as we take in Scripture and abide in it—the Holy Spirit doing His work—the Lord adds as much in abundance, even to overflowing. In contradistinction, as little as we take it in, whether by apathy or rebellion, what we have and understand will be removed, presumably with the result of being given over to personal desires and delusions.

Remember that Jesus said this to His disciples without distinction. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.