OT Overview Devotions (Week 9: Numbers 13-14)
Day #1:
Read Numbers 10:11-13. The Hebrews have spent a year at Sinai by this point (see Exodus 19:1). Why do you think God led them to this long ‘pitstop’? Why was it so necessary? What have we crucially learnt in the last three weeks of studies (since Exodus 19) about (a) Yahweh, (b) His People, and (c) the relationship between the two?
Speak now to the same God of Sinai. What are some things you want to say to Him in response to what we’ve learnt from Israel’s year at Sinai?
Day #2:
Numbers 13 & 14 bring Israel to the edge of Canaan. Read 13:1-24. What would you have been feeling if you were one of the Hebrews standing at the edge of the Promised Land? Why is this point in our story so significant? (*Hint: remember Genesis 12)
Day #3:
Read Numbers 13:25-14:10. How is Joshua and Caleb’s report on the land similar to the majority report and how is it different? What is Israel’s response to these reports? Is this the way you would have responded? Why or why not?
Day #4:
Look back at Exodus 14:10-12, 15:22-25, 16:2-3 and 17:1-3. What do these episodes, combined with this passage, teach us about Israel? Now read the rest of Numbers 14. How does Numbers 14:39-45 add to our understanding of Israel?
Day #5:
Read Numbers 14:11-38 again. How is God’s response in 14:20-35 different to His responses to all the previous incidents when Israel sinned in Day #4? What does this add to our understanding of God? How does this make you feel? Speak to God about this aspect of His character.
Day #6:
What does Numbers 13 & 14 teach us about sin? What does God’s punishment for sin here teach us about how effective the sacrificial system we saw in Leviticus 16 was?
How does this fit in with our Big Picture diagram? What is necessary for God’s plan to progress by the end of this passage, and what questions are we left asking?
Bring both your observations and your questions to the Lord in prayer.
