I cant serve the Lord because its too hard. Sometimes in life and in our spirituality we have to understand that nothing worth having comes easy. Rashi's comment expands upon this concept. The spies who go out into the land see many things but what, ultimately, do they understand? We can know more. Baptist. Print This Post. For example, the carcasses of the animals that Abraham cut in half during the Covenant of the Pieces are eaten by birds of prey (Genesis 15:11), and David threatens Goliath that he will give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds and beasts (1 Samuel 17:46). "We were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we were in their eyes" (Bamidbar, 13:33) In this unique syntax, the Torah teaches us a psychological principle of the greatest importance: The way you feel about yourself is how you think others perceive you. They sent spies into the land to check it out. Both seem to be a great source of protein. So get Christ today. We mine Gods Word for what He has promised. WE ARE AS GRASSHOPPERS IN THEIR SIGHT. And King Balak is afraid that the Israelites will cover the face (literally eye) of the land: Numbers 22: A people has come out of Egypt;they cover the eye of the land and have settled next to me. There we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." Christian Standard Bible We even saw the Nephilim therethe descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! But Moses replied, Are you jealous for my sake? The grasshopper mentality always begins with a low estimate of ourselves. 13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command grasshoppers to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. You can get started a little late but you can catch up also. To say the above statement was made by elders and leaders commissioned by God to lead His people to their place of rest and destiny is absurd, would be an understatement . When they were originally brought to the border of the promised land just this side of the Jordan river, they sent in twelve spies to survey the land and it was a good land because they came back each and every one with a good report of the unspeakable, uncontainable blessings of a Holy and righteous God. But lets go forward confident in the God who equips the available, who enables the unable, who empowers the powerless, who gives unforeseen and unknown wisdom to the unprepared for the doing of His will, all for His glory and our good. I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. A couple of months ago, David Strain was preaching through 1 Peter chapter 2 and he preached on the passage where Peter is urging the people of God to crave the pure spiritual milk of the Word. Old man, how is it that you hear these things? asks the boy. Its the natural disposition, the default position of our hearts. We dont always know how to believe, but unbelief comes to us naturally. But do your actions & attitudes reflect that? In this weeks parsha, Shelach Lecha (Numbers 13:1-15:41), Moses sends twelve spies, one from each tribe, to scout out the Promised Land. Step On the Grasshoppers! - Wonderful Jesus! Psalm 78:41, Numbers 13:1-33, Denomination: Published in Daily Devotionals by Joel Osteen. All the people we saw there are of great size. He was in despair, even to the point of saying, All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence, for all the day long I have been stricken. Then he says this, If I had said, I will speak thus, I will say these things out loud, I would have betrayed the generation of Your people. Asaph understands something. Will we have fooled God? But one thing is certain: it should not involve injustice and ruthless exploitation that make us feared and hated. Send us your ideas and stories to Author@WeSaidGoTravel.com. A couple of years ago around this time of year I was sitting right up there in that portion of the balcony up there and Ralph Kelley was preaching and challenged us at the beginning of 2018 to be a people of the Word. The blind Master Po (Keye Luke) calls his young student "GRASSHOPPER" to "EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED". There are not many references to grasshoppers in the Tanakh. Numbers 13:32-33 tells us the whole story of the mistakes made just this side of glory but to sum it all up quickly, THEY REFUSED TO HAVE FAITH THAT GOD WAS IN CONTROL.. It runs throughout the parsha. The Osmond Brothers in the 1970s had a song that said, One bad apple dont spoil the whole bunch. Really? Everest. Those are promises, and there are hundreds and hundreds of other promises that God has made. Imagine how he felt when he realized the signal he was getting was coming from his steel-toed boots. Let him have a spear like a weaver's beam. Is it possible that the quality the spies see in themselves, and believe that the lands existing inhabitants see in them, is not their small size but their ravenous hunger? For full copyright, reproduction and permission information, please visit the First Presbyterian ChurchCopyright, Reproduction & Permission statement. As a result, they respond to the chirps of other grasshoppers and do what they do. We think Gods thoughts. My last book was 'From Forbidden Fruit to Milk and Honey: A Commentary on Food in the Torah'; proceeds go to Leket, Israel's national food bank. Sunday, 15 May 2022 23:27. even the darkness will not be dark to you; you knit me together in my mothers womb. If we can be untrusting we can be apathetic. Grapes, Giants, and Grasshoppers, Oh My! - Faithlife Sermons Such is the case of the Israelites. The master may be blind but he can see many things that the student cannot. We are like grasshoppers in their sight, and the are like giants.". Accomplish all that You intend with Your Word this day as we make our prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus, our Shepherd, our Elder Brother, our Savior. asks the Kotzker Rebbe. JESUS WANTS US TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM AND BE HIS FRIEND SO WE CAN BE LIKE HIM. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. Perhaps they acted like Erik Weihenmayer is blind, yet on May 25, 2001, he reached the peak of Mt. "Life as a Grasshopper" - Salem Lutheran Church They were perceived as giants. He speaks with confidence. read more, Scripture: Incorrect password. God had made them giant-killers, but they chose to see themselves as mere grasshoppers. Down deep, do you really believe that God is a loving God? TEXT: Numbers 13: 25-33; 14: 6-10; Josh. You discern my going out and my lying down; If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. Some of you have a knee-jerk yes response, because thats what youve been taught to believe. Some parents go further. They gave Moses this account: We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! We seem to ourselves like grasshoppers and so we seem to them. Theyre saying, We are not enough to face what is before us, and theres no lie there. TOPIC: The Mountain Top Numbers 13:33 said: "There we saw the giants (the sons of Anak . How do we create that? And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.. This is in the midst of the report from the spies: But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it. Then the men who had gone up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are. So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. In fact, if we humans could jump like they do, we could jump the length of a football field. The 2018 season of excavation at a Late Roman synagogue at Huqoq revealed more fascinating mosaics, including this one referencing Numbers 13:23: two Israelite spies sent by Moses to scout out the land of Canaan carrying a pole with a cluster of grapes. , . We can love more. Some of you have been wandering in your own wilderness for a long time. They are too many and too large and still, there are giants in the land! While two of the spies, Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh say, We can take the land! They saw the provision of water from the rock, daily manna, quail when they longed for meat, the visual display of Gods ongoing presence in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire over them, and following those signs through the wilderness as God led them on their way. Step On the Grasshoppers! The purpose of God will propel them into the land eventually. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. Isaiah 43 listen to what the prophet Isaiah, speaking on Gods behalf at Gods inspiration, says to the people of God. ASV. ? Numbers 13:33-14:9, Denomination: When you pass through the waters I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. According to 2 Corinthians 5:7 we walk by faith and not by sight . 5They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. Easter People | Welcome and thank you for joining us as we wrap up our Faithlife Sermons is now Logos Sermons. Those big people in Canaan did not say to the spies, "Hey, you little fellows look like grasshoppers to us.". Hear us, as we make our prayer in Jesus name, amen. OVERCOMING THE GRASSHOPPER COMPLEX Of all things, says the boy, to live in darkness must be the worst., Fear, says the master, is the only darkness.. As noted above, other than the lands existing inhabitants, the only subject of interest to the spies is food, and the only physical evidence they bring home is edible. One is, What does the passage teach us about faith? They said, The land we explored devours those living in it. Please participate by adding your voice to our growing global community. Your son did something that . Numbers 13 1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I have given to the Israelites. I wish that all the, The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.. "I'm No Grasshopper!" Children's Sermon | Sermons4Kids I loved the article/sermon. Heres the context: God tells Moses to send scouts to spy out the land of Canaan, to see what the land is like, what types of agriculture it supports, what the people who inhabit it are like, are they strong or weak, are their cities fortified or not? We dont know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. The original Hebrew word peger holds within it the sense of being eaten. If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me. Almost all other occurrences of the word refer to insects, and indeed, the noun associated with this verb, sheretz, means insect. Numbers 13:33 - Bible Gateway In fact, you will remember that the apostle Paul describes saving faith as the gift of God. We dont come to saving faith, that is, the confidence that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are sufficient to reconcile us to God and cause us to be adopted as His sons and daughters. A couple of factors point in this direction. 23:7). How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! From then on, the master calls the boy Grasshopper as a term of affection. Please add your name to the petition/email campaign to protect the Sumarins here. In addition to being a people of the Word, lets be a people of faith, trusting God to lead us and to carry us through hardships, to carry us through undesirable circumstances to the place of rest and security that He has for us. It was a theme last week too, when the Israelites complain about manna and are given a nauseating over-supply of quails, and it will return next week, when the earth opens its mouth and swallows the rebellious Korach and his band. Its life that we find in Christ. All the people we saw there are of great size. Faith doesnt come naturally to us, does it? Its a new beginning. their childs preschool education, Maybe, as the Midrash suggests, the Canaanites saw them as angels? . Indeed, we need words of life. Indeed, Moab was filled with dreadbecause of the Israelites. We seemed like grasshoppersin our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.. "You cannot see," the boy says when he meets the master for the first time. Strong as it could be. Charismatic. Unbelief isnt about making us atheists. You are invited to learn more about Second Billion by visiting www.billion.tv. 1 a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability This weeks Torah portion offers us several grasshopper lessons. How to live on the mountain while living in the valley. God is your refuge .read more. Some of our elders made it their goal at that time to create the Read and Receive 2020 Initiative. Weve talked about that; youve heard about it. Your favorite preaching resources have a brand-new look. To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them." 6Now come and put a curseon these people, because they are too powerful for me. Kwai Chang is the orphaned son of an American man and a Chinese woman As a boy, he comes to study martial arts and wisdom at a Shaolin Temple. They have completely forgotten the promise of God. We'll take a moment to orient ourselves to the passage. The land that God promised them the land and they only had to go and process it. Your email address will not be published. And this is not an intellectual exercise this morning. Are we generous? The Three Lessons of the Grasshopper. I have overcome the world.. In a speech to King Solomon in 2 Chronicles about the power of prayer, God mentions grasshoppers in a context where we would expect locusts to appear: 2 Chronicles 7:12 The Lord appeared to him [Solomon] at night and said: I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Listen to this from Hebrews chapter 10. But if we, rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people o, Moving Beyond A Grasshopper Complex Part three, as traditionally interpreted, is simply an elaboration of part two: We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes and in theirs. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants. A very large person; impressive in size or qualities, Someone who is abnormally large The lie comes in the assumption that there is no help for us. Romans 5:1-32. After an eleven day journey from Sinai, they find themselves here at the wilderness of Paran, Kadesh Barnea. Caleb gives us a great example to follow. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned and the flame will not consume you. Part one continues the theme of food and eating: The land eats its inhabitants. The writer of Hebrews sees that same thing. So, he would dig some more. We Are As Grasshoppers In Their Sight Sermon by Michael DePhillips Were aware of insufficiencies, real and perceived. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Jesus, in His last few hours with His disciples, John 14, says this, Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. Yet for all they have experienced about God, for the good report they could have given at testimony time, they lacked the faith to enter the promised land. When the spies say, and so we were in their eyes as well, the Kotzker replies: Whats with this?!?!? Required fields are marked *. The people of Israel have encamped at Sinai for a year. We form our understanding from what God tells us. The Unconquerable Love of God He told Moses to send some men over to explore the land. . WHY DO WE DO THAT? Monday, 09 January 2023 23:21. Our Torah portion says: In our own eyes, we were like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes as well! Says the Midrash: I take no objection to your saying In our own eyes, we were like grasshoppers, but I take offense when you say, and so we were in their eyes as well! How do you know how I made you look to them? We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. I talk to many people that have this mentality. The other groups would have never been as united and their efforts would have failed. Facing The Giants: Overcoming The Grasshopper Syndrome Sermon by Jay Lesson number one, young grasshoppers: there are many ways of knowing, many ways of seeing, many ways of apprehending and sensing. i heard this week the true story of a man that got a brand new metal detector. Bearing in mind all this food, lets turn to the end of the spies report. The mother of a nine-year-old boy named Mark received a phone call in the middle of the afternoon. I'm the very proud mother of Jacob and Jonah, and I live in Jerusalem with my husband Chaim Milikowsky. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2022 Copyright Wesaidgotravel. In Israel, I've taught Bible at Hebrew University's International School and, currently, in the Department of Biblical Studies at Tel Aviv University, where I am a Teaching Fellow and chair the Academic Steering Committee of the Orit Guardians MA program for Ethiopian Jews. The giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, Its about making us cynics. He reveals it through the intensity, integrity, and ingenuity of his love. But the spies retort: We cannot win . Some of you might remember the old 1970s television show, Kung Fu which aired from 1972-1975 on ABC. Best sermon on what a hero/leader is like. He is a big man with muscles like an Olympic weight lifter, a voice that booms and a laugh that is full and infectious. It never is as we sit down to open Your Word. and let me show you a different perspective. In verse 33, We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We need the language of confidence in God. 7-For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. Scripture: Our Scripture today gives us the report from these spies: They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. Numbers 13:33 We even saw the Nephilim there--the descendants of Anak The perception in our mind sometimes tricks us in believing things that are not true. 23But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean. Rather it was their preoccupation with how others saw them that was their sin., Lesson number three, young grasshoppers: Worry less about how others see you and more about, Who Are We? that the Anakites were strong and tall. One or two people start some type of negativity, and before long, the whole group is negative. Any creature of exceptional size. Sermons about Grasshopper - SermonCentral.com I cant serve because I dont know where to start. All you have to do is ask. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." The ten spies up their game. He dug and could not find anything. The Kotzker is upset that the spies should care how they looked to others. Here is its fruit. Enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password.