And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. (Numbers 13:25-14:5).
Today's Morsel: I'm sure we've all heard the saying, "Quitters never win." The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (1 Timothy 4:1). So many people seem to be falling from the faith these day. There seems to be a loss of tenacity to keep going. Israel found themselves right on the doorstep of their promise land and they quit believing that God could do what He said that He would do. They saw the evidence of the promise, and yet they failed to believe. They held the promise in their hand, and yet quit believing. We see and hear the evidence of God's healing power, protective hand, people being filled with the Holy Ghost, testimonies of what He has done, and yet many still fail to believe and they quit. The writer of the book of Hebrews, which many say was the apostle Paul, would write many years later of the story of Israel quitting on the doorstep of promise, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God"(Hebrews 3:12). Always remember, if you quit before crossing the finish line, you forfeit all the promises made to you by God of the eternal rest.
Sing: I'm going through, yes, I'm going through, I'll pay the price no matter what others do, I'll take the way, with the Lord's despised few, I started out with Jesus and I'm going through.
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