POINT #2 – SEEING VS. HEARING
Summary (Numbers 13:1-3, 17-21,25, 27-33)
(***Begin by reading this summary. I encourage you to open your bible to Numbers 13 and place the summary inside your bible. We want our kiddos to know that this truly is the word of God, not just a story.***)
***(v. 1-3) The Lord told Moses, “Send some men to explore and spy out the land of Canaan. I will give this land to you, the Israelites, which were God’s people. Send one leader from each of the 12 tribes.” So Moses obeyed the Lord’s command and sent out the 12 leaders while the rest of the people camped out in the desert. Moses told the people to look and see what the land was like, what the people were like, and for them to have courage. The men went to spy out the land.
***(v. 17-21, 25) When Moses sent the 12 leaders out to explore the land of Canaan he said, “Go through the Negev (which is a desert), and then into the hill country. See what the land looks like. Learn about the people who live there. Are they strong or are they weak? Are they few or are they many? Learn about the land that they live in. Is it good land or bad land? What kind of towns do they live in? Do the towns have walls protecting them? Are the towns strongly guarded? And learn other things about the land. Is the soil good for growing things, or is it poor soil? Are there trees on the land? Try to bring back some of the fruit from that land.” (The first grapes should be ripe at this time.) So they went to explore the country…. The men explored that country for 40 days, and then they went back to the camp.
***(v. 27-33) When they came back to their camp, they told Moses, “We went to the land where you sent us. It is a land filled with many good things! Here is some of the fruit that grows there!” They brought back some fresh grapes from the vine. And they continued to say, “But the people living there are very powerful and strong. The cities are very large and there are guards protecting the city. We even saw some Anakites, Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites.” Caleb, one of the leaders, told the people near Moses to be quiet. Then he said, “We should go up and take that land for ourselves. We can easily take that land.” But the other leaders that had gone to spy the land with him said, “We cannot fight those people! They are much stronger than we are.” So those men gave a report that made all the rest of the people sad. They said, “The land we saw was full of really strong people. They are strong enough to easily defeat anyone who goes there. We saw giants there too, the Nephilim. We felt like tiny little grasshoppers. Yes, we were like grasshoppers to them!”
Discussion Questions
- Have you ever seen something that made you feel scared? How about sad? Or happy? Or excited?
- Have you ever heard something that made you feel scared? Sad? Happy? Excited?
- Give an example of a real seeing versus hearing scenario: (“Would you be more excited when I tell you what Disney world looks like or when you see it with your eyes?” “Would you be more afraid if I told you what a snake looked like or if you saw it with your eyes?” )
- What is faith? (trusting in someone or something)
- Do you have faith in anything or anyone?
God told/described to the people what was going to happen. He told them He was going to give them the land BEFORE He told them to go see what they would be facing. They HEARD first, and then saw. He told them what was going to happen first, so they would have courage and believe what God SAID before they SAW the big strong giants they would have to battle against. But, the people chose to believe what they saw with their own eyes, instead of what God said, which was that He was going to give them the land.
Sometimes we can hear something, but it is very different when we see something. It can feel more real. Sometimes we let what we see with our own eyes become more real than what God says, or what the Bible says. For example, we know that a basketball is orange, right? Is it still orange if you can’t see it in front of you right now? (yes) Right! We must have faith and choose to believe, trust and focus on what God says instead of what we see with our OWN eyes.
Scripture memory verse: Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 ERV
Prayer: Jesus, we thank you that you speak to us through your word in the Bible and through the Holy Spirit. We ask you, Holy Spirit, to help us choose faith over fear and worry. We ask you to help us remember your promise to be with us always, to save us and keep us safe. Holy Spirit, we ask you to increase our faith and make it BIG! Help us to see ourselves the way that you see us, not as tiny grasshoppers, but as mighty warriors. Help us to have courage to trust in you and in your word in the Bible, in every situation and part of our life. We love you, Jesus, and it’s in your name that we pray, amen.