by Pastor Mark Downey

Scripture Reading:  Numbers 13:26-32

Jesus gave His Disciples a lawful command to arm themselves and it was as appropriate then as it is now. The countries they were going in to were wrought with dangers, infested with robbers and wild beasts. There’s nothing new under the sun. Wild beast roam the streets of America and rob people of their valuables. I choose today’s Scripture reading in Numbers as a lesson in how not to stand your ground with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. In fact, when God gave our ancestors the Promised Land, He sent them out to observe the gift He had given them. But, what did they do? They complained about how weak and powerless they were compared to the inhabitants of the land. In other words, they were afraid to stand on the ground that God had given them. As a consequence, they spent the next 40 years in the wilderness and never did enter the land of promise. Did White Christian Americans let the savage Indians stop their westward migration from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans? No, they were familiar with the Bible story and saw the American frontier as their promised land.

The pioneers sold their possessions and bought a covered wagon, with provisions and guns to protect them in their journey to find their plot of God’s green earth to settle and raise their families. The thought that God was setting them up for defeat was the last thing on their minds. The only thing on their minds was the “High praises of God in their mouth and a two edged sword in their hand” (Ps. 149:6).