DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY MARCH 7:
DAILY BIBLE READING
Caleb
Numbers 14 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
The People Complain Again
14 That night all the people in the camp began shouting loudly. 2 The
Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron. All the people came together
and said to Moses and Aaron, "We should have died in Egypt or in the desert.
3 Did the Lord bring us to this new land to be killed in war? The enemy will
kill us and take our wives and children! It would be better for us to go
back to Egypt."
4 Then the people said to each other, "Let's choose another leader and go
back to Egypt."
5 Moses and Aaron bowed low to the ground in front of all the people
gathered there. 6 Joshua and Caleb became very upset. (Joshua son of Nun and
Caleb son of Jephunneh were two of the men who explored the land.) 7 These
two men said to all the Israelites gathered there, "The land that we saw is
very good. 8 It is a land filled with many good things. If the Lord is
pleased with us, he will lead us into that land. And he will give that land
to us. 9 So don't turn against the Lord! Don't be afraid of the people in
that land. We can defeat them. They have no protection, nothing to keep them
safe. But we have the Lord with us, so don't be afraid!"
10 All the people began talking about killing Joshua and Caleb with stones.
But the Glory of the Lord appeared over the Meeting Tent where all the
people could see it. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, "How long will
these people continue to turn against me? They show that they don't trust me
or believe in my power, in spite of the many miracles I have done among
them. 12 I will kill them all with a terrible sickness. I will destroy them,
and I will use you to make another nation. Your nation will be greater and
stronger than these people."
13 Then Moses said to the Lord, "If you do that, the Egyptians will hear
about it! They know that you used your great power to bring your people out
of Egypt. 14 The Egyptians have already told the people in Canaan about it.
They already know you are the Lord. They know that you are with your people.
They know that the people saw you. Those people know about the special
cloud. They know you use the cloud to lead your people during the day. And
they know the cloud becomes a fire to lead your people at night. 15 So you
must not kill these people now. If you kill them, all the nations who have
heard about your power will say, 16 'The Lord was not able to bring them
into the land he promised them. So he killed them in the desert.'
17 "So now, Lord, show your strength! Show it the way you said you would. 18
You said, 'The Lord is slow to become angry. He is full of great love. He
forgives[a] those who are guilty and break the law. But he always punishes
those who are guilty. He punishes them, and he also punishes their children,
their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren for those bad
things.' 19 Now, show your great love to these people. Forgive their sin.
Forgive them the same way you have been forgiving them since the time they
left Egypt until now."
20 The Lord answered, "Yes, I will forgive the people as you asked. 21 But I
tell you the truth. As surely as I live and as surely as the Glory of the
Lord fills the whole earth, I make you this promise: 22 None of the people I
led out of Egypt will ever see the land of Canaan. They saw my glory and the
great signs that I did in Egypt and in the desert. But they disobeyed me and
tested me ten times. 23 I promised their ancestors that I would give them
that land. But none of those people who turned against me will ever enter
that land! 24 But my servant Caleb was different. He follows me completely.
So I will bring him into the land that he has already seen, and his people
will get that land. 25 The Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the
valley. So tomorrow you must leave this place. Go back to the desert on the
road to the Red Sea."
The Lord Punishes the People
26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 27 "How long will these evil people
continue to complain against me? I have heard their complaints and their
griping. 28 So tell them, 'The Lord says that he will surely do all those
things to you that you complained about. This is what will happen to you: 29
You will die in this desert. Every person who is 20 years old or older and
was counted as one of my people will die. You complained against me. 30 So
none of you will ever enter and live in the land that I promised to give
you. Only Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun will enter that land.
31 You were afraid and complained that your enemies in that new land would
take your children away from you. But I tell you that I will bring them into
the land. They will enjoy what you refused to accept. 32 As for you people,
you will die in this desert.
33 "'Your children will wander around like shepherds here in the desert for
40 years. They will suffer because you were not faithful to me. They must
suffer until all of you lie dead in the desert. 34 For 40 years you will
suffer for your sins. (That is one year for each of the 40 days that the men
explored the land.) You will know that it is a terrible thing for me to be
against you.'
35 "I am the Lord, and I have spoken. And I promise that I will do these
things to all these evil people. They have come together against me. So they
will all die here in this desert."
36 The men Moses sent to explore the new land were the ones who came back
complaining about him to all the Israelites. They said that the people were
not strong enough to enter that land. 37 The men were responsible for
spreading the trouble among the Israelites. So the Lord caused a sickness to
kill all those men. 38 But Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were
among the men who were sent out to explore the land. They are the only ones
who did not get the sickness that caused the others to die.
The People Try to Go Into Canaan
39 When Moses told the Israelites this, they were very sad. 40 Early the
next morning the people started to go up to the high hill country. They
said, "We have sinned. We are sorry that we did not trust the Lord. We will
go to the place that the Lord promised."
41 But Moses said, "Why are you not obeying the Lord's command? You will not
be successful! 42 Don't go into that land. The Lord is not with you, so your
enemies will easily defeat you. 43 The Amalekites and Canaanites will fight
against you there. You have turned away from the Lord, so he will not be
with you when you fight them. And you will all be killed in battle."
44 But the people did not believe Moses. They went toward the high hill
country. But Moses and the Box of the Lord's Agreement did not go with the
people. 45 The Amalekites and the Canaanites living in the hill country came
down and attacked the Israelites and easily defeated them and chased them
all the way to Hormah.
Footnotes:
Numbers 14:18 forgives Or "spares."
