Proverbs: Kingship, Household Wisdom, and Warning

The Hallelujah of Confession - Part 10 of 16

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2000-07-23

Synopsis: In this sermon, John Weaver continues his series on Psalm 106, focusing on verse 24: 'Yea, they despised the pleasant land.' He explains that despising God's provision is equivalent to despising the Provider. Using the historical context of Numbers 13–14, he identifies four ways the Israelites despised the land: looking at circumstances rather than Christ, looking at multitudes rather than mercy, listening to wickedness instead of the Word, and looking through the eyes of fear rather than faith. Weaver emphasizes that these same sins are committed in principle today, leading to similar judgments, and calls believers to give Christ preeminence and act upon God's Word.

[John Weaver] So if you'll open your Bibles into Psalm 106, I told you we'd get back to that Psalm, Psalm 106. And today we're going to be picking up, beginning there with verse 24, and read through verse 27. Now, let me just go ahead before I even read the Scripture and tell you that the message today will be incomplete. I have three points to this message, and I'm only going to be able to cover one today.

[John Weaver] And I do and and ask that you listen carefully. And then before I repreach the next two points, I'll take a moment and review. But there was no way that I could get all three points in today. So I'm just going to simply deal with one point. But look in Psalm 106, beginning with verse 24. Scripture says, yea, they despised the pleasant land. They believed not his word.

[John Weaver] But murmured in their tents and hearken not unto the voice of the Lord. Therefore, he lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow their seed also among the nations and to scatter them in the lands.

[John Weaver] Now, we've been dealing with the hallelujah of confession. You remember, I told you this is the first song that deals with hallelujah. Praise you, the Lord. Has that at the very beginning of it and then the whole song deals with confession very quickly? I told you in time past the first five verses gives us four reasons. While the psalmist invites us to praise the Lord. Verse six is a general confession and acknowledgement. We've sinned with our fathers, and I gave you five ways in which we've sinned with our fathers. And then beginning with verse seven, he began to specifically confess and acknowledge sins. And in verse seven, you had ignorance and ingratitude, which led down to verse 13 to faith, faith, forgetfulness and impatience. which led down to verse 16, envy and insurrection. And then in verse 19, idolatry and insolence.

[John Weaver] And that brings us today to verse 24, which actually there are three things, and I'll give them to you. You have despisement in verse 24, yea, they despised the pleasant land. You have disbelief in verse 24, they believed not His word. And then disobedience in verse 25, and hearken not unto the voice of the Lord. So we're going to just cover despisement today.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to remember that the entire point of this series is to demonstrate that the sins of the fathers are still with us today. Now, we may not commit the sins in exactly the same way that they committed the sins, but the truth is we still commit the same sins in principle. And I want you to think about this. If we commit the same sins in principle as they did in the Old Testament, then undoubtedly the judgments and the curses are still the same as well. So however God rewarded these sins in the Old Testament, is in all probability the same way that he will reward those same sins in our day and time as well. So the study today should conclusively demonstrate that we do indeed commit the same sins in principle.

[John Weaver] Now the historical context of Psalm 106 and verse 24 is numbers 13 and 14. And I want you to turn back to numbers chapter 13 and let's read a series of verses before we get started. Remember, now, verse 24 says, yea, they despise the pleasant land. So we're going to look back in numbers chapter 13 and begin to see how this despisement disbelief and disobedience took place. Number chapter 13 and let's begin reading with verse 21.

[John Weaver] And of course, you know, the story here where Moses had sent out the 12 spies. They have searched the land and they're going to return. So the Bible says in verse 21, so they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob as men came to Haman. And they ascended by the south and came into Hebron, where Haman, Sheshai, Talmai, the children of Anak were.

[John Weaver] Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. And they came into the brook of Eshgal and cut down from fence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bared it between two upon a staff. Now that must have been some cluster of grapes. They took two men to carry it. And they brought of the pomegranates and the figs. The place was called the brook Eskol because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from this and they returned from searching of the land after 40 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 all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land and they told him and said We came into the land where thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it.

[John Weaver] 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 still the people before Moses and said that a scope at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said we'd 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 in 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 great stature. And there we saw the giants, the son of Anak, which Tim of the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

[John Weaver] Now, beginning with verse one, 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 against the whole congregation said of them would God that we had died in the land of Egypt or would God we died in this wilderness and wherefore hath the Lord brought us into 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.

[John Weaver] And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes. And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we pass to search it is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are brand for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me for all the signs which I have shown among them?

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look back to Psalm 106 and verse 24. I want to just catch this phrase, yea, they despised the pleasant land.

[John Weaver] Now, what is involved in despisement? In actuality, what they were doing was simply this. They were despising God's gracious provision. You say, Brother Weaver, what in the world does that mean? Well, let me tell you. If you despise the provision, it means that you also despise the provider. To despise the promise is also to despise the promisor. Now, what does the word despise mean? The Hebrew word here is mas, and it literally means to spurn, to condemn, to despise, to disdain, to loathe, to treat as utterly vile and contemptuous. So actually what they were doing was they were treating God's gracious provision as something vile and contemptuous.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look, if you would please, Numbers 14 and verse 22. Do you remember how many plagues, how many signs God did in Egypt? Someone tell me. How many? Ten. There were ten. Remember the ten plagues? Watch. Numbers 14, verse 22. Look what God says about these people. Because all those men, that is those that came out of Egypt, because all those men which have seen my glory and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, have tempted me now these ten times and have not hearkened to my voice. So God did ten great wonders and signs in Egypt. And ten times the people failed to hearken to God and they ended up despising His gracious provision. So the tenfold temptations or provocations of God by the Israelites are set over against the tenfold wonders that He did in the land of Egypt.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn to Deuteronomy 32 because I want you to see this question in light of what I'm about to share with you. Look in Deuteronomy 32, verse 6. So in light then of the wicked responses of the Israelites to God's gracious provision, God's gracious protection, I want you to look at the question God asked. Deuteronomy 32, and note if you would please, verse 6.

[John Weaver] Do you thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Now listen to that. Do you thus requite the Lord? Remember what the word requite means? It means to pay back.

[John Weaver] Now what is God saying? God is saying, look at everything that I've done for you. Look at all my promises. Look at my protection. Look at my provision. Look at my presence. You look at everything that I've done for you. And what do you repay me with? Despisement. Disobedience. Disbelief.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask a question to make this very personal. How do we repay God? How do we requite God? It was God's mercies that allowed you to awaken this morning. It's God's mercies that feed you, that sustain you, that give you air to breathe. How do you repay God for everything that God has done for you? Thus, what these Israelites did, basically, they treated God contemptuously by despising His gracious promise and provision.

[John Weaver] Now, the Bible says, in verse 24 of Psalm 106, that they despised the pleasant land. The same word pleasant in 2 Chronicles 36 in verse 10 is called goodly. That is, they despised the goodly land, or they despised the land of desire.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to look at two passages. The first one is Numbers 13 in verse 27. One of you don't have to turn there. We've already looked at that. I'll just put it for you. Remember how Caleb and Joshua described the land? It was a land that flowed with milk and honey. Now, if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 8, Deuteronomy 8, and let's begin reading in verse 7. Look what God says. Deuteronomy 8, verse 7. For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water and fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills. Wait a minute. For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks, and fountains, and depths, that spring out of the valleys and hills, a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates, a land of oil, olive, and honey, a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayst dig grass."

[John Weaver] Now, does that sound like a land that should be despised and rejected and treated contemptuously? And yet the truth is, the Bible says they despise the pleasant land. So you've got to ask yourself these questions. Number one, why did they despise the pleasant land? How did they despise that land? And what made them despise that land? And the answer is extremely simple. They despised in the same way that we despised, or we could make that vice versa. We despised in the same way that they despised. Now let me just show you today a few of the ways that they despised this pleasant land. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers, chapter 13, and I will show you how they despised it, and why? Numbers chapter 13, and let's begin there with verse 28. Remember the spies have come back.

[John Weaver] Only two, Joshua and Caleb, have given an honest report. The other ten give an ill report. In verse 28, 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 Ammon there. Here's the first way. In which the children of Israel despised the land. Now listen to me. Number one. They were looking at circumstances. Rather than Christ. They were looking at circumstances rather than Christ. They were looking at walled cities, fortified cities, the sons of the giants, strong, powerful. And they were looking at the circumstances rather than Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, before someone objects and says, but now, Pastor, you remember, Christ was not born in the Old Testament. May I remind you that there are, first of all, numerous Christophanies in the Old Testament. What in the world is a Christophany? A Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. That is, Christ actually appeared in bodily form in the Old Testament before he was ever born. And may I remind you of 1 Corinthians chapter 10. You remember they got water out of that rock, and the Bible says that rock that followed them, and 1 Corinthians 10 says, and that rock was Christ. So Christ was, in the Old Testament, in numerous places, in numerous ways.

[John Weaver] And what the people were doing was simply this. They were looking at the circumstances rather than Christ. It is true that their enemies were multitudinous. It is true that their enemies were strong. It is true that they had fortified cities. But so what? Is not Christ sufficient? Is not Jesus Christ omnipotent? Are there any that can overthrow or defeat Jesus Christ? And the answer is no.

[John Weaver] Now listen to me, I've told you this In times past repeatedly, but I want you to think about it not just on a personal level But on a national level as well Here's the state Circumstances never make or break a man They just revealing Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Someone says, well, man, that battle sure made a hero out of him. No, he was a hero already. The battle just revealed him. Well, the battle sure made a coward out of him. No, he was a coward already. The battle just revealed him. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Listen, folks, we would not know what we were if we did not go through the fire.

[John Weaver] Only gold and silver remain when you put it in the furnace. All the trash is burned up. But just as it is true individually, circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. It is also true nationally. Circumstances never make or break a nation or a people, they just reveal that nation or that people. Now, the same is true. Look, if you would, in Numbers chapter 13 in verse 30. Look at the difference between Caleb and the other spies. Verse 30 tells us, 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. What does chaos say?

[John Weaver] Let's go up and take it. It's ours. We're well able to overcome it. I'll but look in verse 31. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we. We can't fight them. We can't quit them. They're bigger. They're stronger. They're more powerful. They have more resources. Skip down, if you would, please, to look in verse 7.

[John Weaver] Here's Caleb and Joshua again, and they spake, Numbers 14, verse 7, and they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we pass through to search it is an exceeding good land. Now look, if the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us a land which is full of milk and honey. Now watch this. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bred for us.

[John Weaver] And their defense is departed from them. Now what was Joshua and Caleb's position? Joshua and Caleb didn't stand back and say, look at all those wolves. Look at how strong those people are. Look how multitudinous they are. Look at all their resources. They said, man, look at all we're going to have to eat when we conquer them. We're going to destroy them. They're bred for us. Do you see the difference between Joshua and Caleb and the other spies? Joshua and Caleb were looking at Christ and the others were looking at circumstances. Here's a quick application.

[John Weaver] This is why so many of us are so easily discouraged. So quickly depressed. so readily defeated because we look at the circumstances rather than Jesus Christ. We look at our enemy's resources, their strengths, their multitudes, and we sit back and say, how can we? It's humanly impossible. Instead of looking back and saying, what a sovereign, powerful, omnipotent, great and holy and just and righteous God that we have. Our God can give us the victory. Our God can defeat our enemies. Instead of dwelling upon the greatness and the sovereignty and the power of our God, we dwell on the power of the enemy. No wonder we're so easily defeated.

[John Weaver] May I remind you of two passages? The first one is Psalm 115 in verse 3. Here the psalmist David said, But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. God, and God alone, is sovereign. And he alone is in absolute and total control. And may I remind you of Psalm 2. The psalmist asked, Why do the heathen rage? Yet, he says, the kings of the earth and the rulers have gathered together against our Lord.

[John Weaver] They say, let us break his bands from us. Let us cast them from us. In other words, they're in rebellion against God. But then scripture says in verse four, but God who sits in heaven shall laugh. Our God shall have them in derision.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you. Which is more encouraging? To dwell on the strength of our enemies or the power of our God? Do we look at circumstances or do we look at Christ? If you and I are absolutely honest, we've got to confess, we're usually creatures of circumstances. You can ask the average Christian, well, how are you doing? Well, all right under the circumstances. And the question comes back, well, what are you doing under the circumstances? I mean, you ought to be over them in Christ because Christ has given us victory in every area. What do we do? We look at our poverty instead of His wealth. We look at our weaknesses instead of His strength. We even look at our children's sins and rebellions more than we look at His power to save and to change and to convict and convert. We look at the complications and the complexities of our problems more than we look at His wisdom and His truth. The very first reason these people despise is because they were looking at circumstances instead of Christ.

[John Weaver] May I remind you of something? When you spend more time considering the circumstances, rather than the greatness and the power and the wisdom and truth of Jesus Christ, you're despising Jesus Christ. Why? Because the Bible says in Colossians 1 verse 18 that in all things he must have the preeminence. Does that mean we ignore our problems? Well, of course not. Does that mean we don't think of our problems? Well, of course not. But it does mean We think that Jesus Christ is the answer, and it's His power, His mercy, His grace that is sufficient to work every one of our problems out.

[John Weaver] I never will forget a pastor friend of mine telling me this years and years ago. He said he was going through a time in his life when he was extremely depressed. And to me, this has never ever entered my mind, but he was really depressed. He said he was driving down the road. He said he looked up ahead and there was a huge oak tree right beside the road. And the thought entered his mind, well why don't you just run into that oak tree and end it?

[John Weaver] And he said, I did something very foolish. He said, I seriously began to consider that. He said, and the closer I got to that oak tree, He said, I noticed a sign was nailed to it. But he said, I couldn't tell what was on the sign. And he said, right as I got to that oak tree, and I had to make a determination whether I was going to veer into it or go straight. He said, the sign became exceedingly clear because someone had nailed a metal sign on that oak tree that said simply this, Christ is the answer. And that's a fact. He is the answer to all of our problems. And we need to look at Christ more than we look at the circumstances.

[John Weaver] Let's give him the preeminence. Now go back to Numbers chapter 13 and look at verse 29. Here's the second way in which they despise the land. Verse 29 tells us 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. How is it that they despise the land?

[John Weaver] Secondly, here it is looking at the multitudes instead of mercy. Looking at the multitudes instead of mercy. Just stop and look at verse 29 again. The Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, all of these were enemies of God and enemies of God's people. And here they are together in one huge confederation, so to speak, against God and against the people of God. Have you ever considered such powerful combined forces?

[John Weaver] Seemingly, this little band of Israelites could not possibly have prevailed against such a multitude. But you and I both know that they ultimately did, only through the mercy of God. Let me point out this simple truth. It is God, in His mercy, that gives us victory over our enemies. In fact, the psalmist said, enough thy mercy, cut off mine enemies. I want you to look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 7. Several passages, but Deuteronomy chapter 7.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading there with verse 17. Deuteronomy 7 verse 17. Look what God tells us. If thou shalt say in thine heart, these nations are more than I. How can I dispossess them? Thou shalt not be afraid of them. But thou shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and all of Egypt, the great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm whereby thy Lord thy God brought thee out. So shalt the Lord thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid." What's he saying?

[John Weaver] Don't let a multitude excite you. Don't let their strength and power disturb you. He said, you just remember what God has done for you. And you remember that God is just as capable of wiping out present and future enemies as He has done the past enemies. Turn right over to Deuteronomy chapter 20. Deuteronomy chapter 20. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Deuteronomy 20 verse 1. will now goes out to battle against thine enemies and sees horses and chariots and a people more than thou be not afraid of them for the Lord thy God is with thee which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt verse 3 and shall say to thee here O Israel you approach this day into battle against your enemies let not your hearts faint fear not and do not tremble neither be you terrified because of them isn't that interesting God is telling us we are not to be afraid.

[John Weaver] And we'll deal with that a little bit more later. But look in your Bibles. They're 1 Kings 20. We're talking about multitudes. He says when you see this multitude, you're not to be afraid. Look in 1 Kings 20. And let's read there verse 13. 1 Kings 20 verse 13. This is concerning King Ahab. and the Syrians. And behold, there came a prophet and Ahab, king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? A lot of Syrians. Behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. So God says, You see all these people? Doesn't matter. Of my mercy, I'll deliver them into your hand today. Look in verse 28. And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not the God of the valleys. Therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord."

[John Weaver] Multitudes mean nothing to God. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Second Chronicles, Chapter 20, and I want to take a few minutes to read some of these verses because this is such a powerful, powerful passage. Second Chronicles, Chapter 20, let's begin reading with verse one. Look at this.

[John Weaver] Now, Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David and Jehoram, his son, reigning instead. And he had brethren, the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah and Jael, and Zechariah and Azariah, Michael and Shephatiah. And all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel. And their father gave them great gifts of silver. That is not the passage I wanted. Let me see.

[John Weaver] OK, it is chapter 20. I was in 21. I was in chapter 21, chapter 20, verse 1. It came to pass after this also that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, and with them also besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat in battle. Now note, you've got the Moabites, you've got the Ammonites, and others. coming in your house about the battle then there came someone that told you about saying there come of the great multitude against the from beyond the sea on this side of Syria and the whole baby in Hazen on pay bar which is in getting and your husband that feared and said himself to

[John Weaver] seek the Lord and proclaim to fast throughout all Judah And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord. Note now he proclaims a fast, they're praying, even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah in Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court and said, here's his prayer, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? And rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen?

[John Weaver] And in thine hand is there not power and might so that none is able to withstand thee? Are thou not our God who did strive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and gave us into the seat of Abraham my friend forever and they dwelt there and have built the sanctuary therein for thy name saying if when evil comes upon us as the sword judgment pestilence or famine we stand before this house and in my presence for my name is in this house and cry to thee in our affliction then thou wilt hear and help And now behold the children of Ammon, the children of Moab and Mount Seir, that is the Edomites, whom thou wouldst not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and destroyed them not. Behold, I say, how they reward us to come and cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know what we want to do, but our eyes are upon thee."

[John Weaver] Lord, Lord, we've got a great multitude coming against us. We don't know what to do. We don't know where to turn. Verse 13. And all Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones and their wives and their children. Then upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Geo, the son of Matanah, Levi, the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation. And he said, Hearken ye all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat. Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid, nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.

[John Weaver] Tomorrow go you down against them behold they become up by the clip of these And you shall find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness of Jericho. You shall not need to fight this battle. Set yourself, stand you still and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with you. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshiping the Lord."

[John Weaver] Now here's the great multitude that has come out against Jehoshaphat. And what does God tell him? Don't be afraid. I'm going to take care of it. In fact, you won't even need to fight. And you know what God did? God caused the enemies to turn on each other. And when the children of Judah got there, all they did was go down and pick up the spoil. It took them seven days to pick it all up. What were they doing?

[John Weaver] They were fearing In numbers 13 and 14, multitudes. It's the trusting in God's mercy. Since you're in 2 Chronicles, flip over to 2 Chronicles 32. And look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 1. 2 Chronicles 32 and verse 1. After these things and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and entered into Judah and encamped against the pit cities, for he thought to win them for himself. And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, he took counsel with his princes and with his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains that were without the city, and so they did help him. So here's Sennacherib coming in. Now skip down to verse 5. Also he strengthened himself and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised up the towers and another wall without, and repaired Milo and the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.

[John Weaver] And he said, Captains of war with the people, and he gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city and spake comfortably them saying, Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him. For there be more with us than with him. With him, with him is the arm of the flesh.

[John Weaver] But with us is the Lord our God to help us to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, King of Judah.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. When Sennacherib came around to Jerusalem, did Hezekiah sit back and do nothing? No. He repaired the walls. He built another wall. He got him swords and shields and darts in abundance. But then he said, look, folks, We're not depending upon our fortifications nor our armament. We're depending solely upon the mercy of God. It is God that must make it effectual. It is God that must use it. Our trust is in His mercy and not in our arms. And of course, you know the story, what God did. God sent an angel and one night, with one stroke of the sword, He killed 185,000 Assyrians. So it's the mercy of God that cuts off our enemies. And no matter how great they are, no matter how multitudinous, no matter how powerful, to look at man and his strength more than God and His omnipotence. is to despise God.

[John Weaver] The Bible says in Proverbs 29 and verse 25, the fear of man bringeth a snare. But whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall dwell safely. You remember Matthew chapter 10? Our Lord said, you want to know who to fear? I'll tell you who to fear. Don't fear him who can destroy the body. But you fear him whom after he has destroyed the body is able to cast you into hell." What's he saying? The proper person to fear is God Himself, not man. Go back if you would please to Numbers chapter 13.

[John Weaver] So far we've seen two ways in which they despise the Lamb. In looking at circumstances rather than Christ, and looking at multitudes rather than mercy, Here's the third way very quickly in verse 32, listening to wickedness instead of the word. Verse 32. And they, that is the ten spies, 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 the land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. What were these spies doing? The truth is, they were lying.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to note, It was a wicked lie told by wicked men and believed by a wicked multitude. I find it absolutely amazing that people will believe a lie more easily and readily and quickly than they'll believe the truth. Isn't that astonishing? Isn't that amazing? You can tell a lie and people will believe it. You can tell the truth and they'll think you're lying.

[John Weaver] Now, let's do just a little thing, and I'm not going to dwell too much on this point because I'm going to develop this in the next lesson a little more. But here they are on the verge of going into the promised land. They've already been told. God had already promised them it was a land full of milk and honey. They had promise after promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moreover, they had seen all these miracles and signs and wonders that God had done. God has them right on the border.

[John Weaver] And they believe a lie rather than the truth. You know what the Bible says in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 23? Let me just quote it for you. They said he brought us out. Then he might bring us in. God didn't bring them out of Egypt to drop them in the desert. He brought them out to bring them in to Canaan land, in to the promise. So the truth of the matter is this. The people chose to believe a lie rather than the truth. And you know, this is absolutely an amazing thing to me.

[John Weaver] You look at the faithless men who are preachers, who are liars, who are perverts, who do not preach and teach the Word of God, And they have thousands in attendance every Sunday. And more money than they can shake a stick at. And yet you get some faithful man who will preach the word, and there's one little group that will believe the truth. I like what our Lord said, Fear not, little flock.

[John Weaver] It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. But why is it There's such a handful that will congregate around truth because the multitude had rather believe a lie. And one way they despise the land is they believe the wickedness of these wicked spies in lying against God rather than believing the Word of God Himself. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather believe God than man. And you'll get in quick trouble with God when you believe man over God. I'll point it out next time, but when you do that, you're in actuality calling God a liar. Wicked. So they listened to wickedness and said the word.

[John Weaver] Fourthly, look in verse 33. Numbers chapter 13. Here's the fourth way in which they despised the land. They were looking through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith. Verse 33. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants. And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. So we were in their sight. Now, looking through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith, let me give you a passage. If you don't memorize any other verse this week or this year, please memorize 2 Timothy 1 and verse 7.

[John Weaver] I'll quote it for you. For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love and a sound mind. God has not given us a spirit of fear. The world may give you fear. The devil may give you fear. The flesh may give you fear. Your enemies may give you fear. But God doesn't. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to watch this. Let's go back and read verse 33 again. Numbers 13, verse 33. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. So we were in their sight.

[John Weaver] Now listen to me carefully. Fear not only diminishes our own strength and abilities in our eyes. We're grasshoppers in our eyes. But fear also magnifies the enemy's strengths and abilities in our eyes. And so we were in their sight. How did they know they were as grasshoppers in their enemy's sight? Did they ask them? Well, of course not. Their fear was magnifying their enemy's power and ability. They didn't have that power. They didn't have that ability. But their fear was magnifying it. So also we were in their sight.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8. I want to tie this together in just a moment. Matthew chapter 8, look in verse 26. I want you to see what our Lord said to his very own disciples. Matthew chapter 8 and verse 26. You remember Christ is asleep in the boat. There's a great tempest. They start crying out, awaken, save us or we perish. And of course, Christ awakens and he calms the sea. Verse 25 says this, and the disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish.

[John Weaver] And he saith unto them, Why are ye so fearful, O ye of little faith? Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? What is he teaching us? If you're fearful, you're not exercising faith. If you're exercising faith, You're not fearful. Faith and fear are mutually exclusive. You cannot walk by faith and walk in fear at the same time. You cannot walk in fear and walk in faith at the same time. You're either fearful or you're exercising faith. One cannot have faith in God and fear of his enemies at the same time. Fears always dissipate and disappear before faith. You know, the Bible says in 1 John 5 and verse 4, And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. How do we get victory over the world, the world system? By faith.

[John Weaver] And the children of Israel failed. They despised the pleasant land. Because they were looking through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith. By the way, when we hold on to our fears, we're despising God. Because faith expels fear.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make some applications. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 14. And I want to review the first four verses. Numbers chapter 14. Let's read the first four verses. Watch carefully. 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 that we had died in this wilderness? And wherefore has the Lord brought us into 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 us a captain, and let us return into Egypt. Now one of the greatest insults And one of the clearest evidences of despisement is the simple truth that is manifested in verses 1 through 4, Numbers chapter 14.

[John Weaver] The people did not believe the land was worth fighting for. Did you hear that? They said, oh man, we've got giants. We've got fortified cities. Ah, wouldn't it be God we'd die in Egypt? Wouldn't it be God we'd die in this world? I tell you what, let's make a camp and we'll go back into Egypt. What were they saying? What God has given us is not worth fighting for. It's not worth hazarding our lives to possess. What an insult. What a despising. of God's gracious provision and to add insult to injury, they were even saying that Egypt, in all of its sin and slavery, was better than freedom and God's provision.

[John Weaver] Question, do we not do the same thing today? We don't think God's truth is worth fighting for. We don't fight for it. You see, failure to act upon God's Word is in reality a despising of God's Word. When you know the truth and you refuse to act upon it, when you refuse to obey it and perform it, when you know it, you're despising God and His truth.

[John Weaver] What does James 4.17 say? Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. But it's more than sin. It's a despising of God and His Word. And thus the scripture says these Israelites despised the pleasant land. They looked at circumstances rather than Christ. They looked at multitudes rather than mercy. They listened to wickedness rather than the Word. And they looked through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith. And they ended up despising God's gracious provision and the provider of that provision. We must act upon God's Word and God's truth and make sure that in every area of our life, we give Him the preeminence. Let's pray. Father, help us today. Teach us. Build us up in the most holy faith. And Lord, each of us, have sinned against thee so many times, and looking at our circumstances rather than Christ. We've looked at the multitude rather than your mercy. We've listened to wickedness rather than your word. And we've certainly looked through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith.

[John Weaver] But Lord, we ask for repentance, we ask for help and for strength to do that which is right, and to trust thee for the results, knowing that Thou art too loving to be unkind and too wise to make a mistake. And we give our lives into Your hand and trust Thee explicitly through our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen. Amen.

The Hallelujah of Confession - Part 10 of 16

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	117091458586
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs: Kingship, Household Wisdom, and Warning
Genre	Sermon
Date	2000-07-23
Dictation Name
Book	Book 053: The Hallelujah of Confession — Chapter 10
Source Timed Segments	75

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Context

Weaver introduces the message as incomplete, covering only the first point on despisement from Psalm 106:24-27, and reviews the series' theme that the sins of the fathers are still with us today.

So if you'll open your Bibles to Psalm 106, I told you we'd get back to that Psalm, Psalm 106. And today we're going to be picking up, beginning there with verse 24, and read through verse 27. Now, let me just go ahead before I even read the Scripture and tell you that the message today will be incomplete. I have three points to this message, and I'm only going to be able to cover one today. And I do ask that you listen carefully. And then before I re-preach the next two points, I'll take a moment and review. But there was no way that I could get all three points in today. So I'm just going to simply deal with one point. But look in Psalm 106, beginning with verse 24. Scripture says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 106:24-27

"Yea, they despised the pleasant land. They believed not his word." "But murmured in their tents and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord. Therefore, he lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow their seed also among the nations and to scatter them in the lands."

Now, we've been dealing with the hallelujah of confession. You remember, I told you this is the first song that deals with hallelujah. "Praise ye the Lord" has that at the very beginning of it, and then the whole song deals with confession. Very quickly, I told you in time past, the first five verses give us four reasons why the psalmist invites us to praise the Lord. Verse six is a general confession and acknowledgement: "We've sinned with our fathers," and I gave you five ways in which we've sinned with our fathers. And then beginning with verse seven, he began to specifically confess and acknowledge sins. And in verse seven, you had ignorance and ingratitude, which led down to verse 13 to faith, forgetfulness, and impatience, which led down to verse 16, envy and insurrection. And then in verse 19, idolatry and insolence.

And that brings us today to verse 24, which actually there are three things, and I'll give them to you. You have despisement in verse 24, "Yea, they despised the pleasant land." You have disbelief in verse 24, "They believed not His word." And then disobedience in verse 25, "And hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord." So we're going to just cover despisement today. Now, I want you to remember that the entire point of this series is to demonstrate that the sins of the fathers are still with us today. Now, we may not commit the sins in exactly the same way that they committed the sins, but the truth is we still commit the same sins in principle. And I want you to think about this. If we commit the same sins in principle as they did in the Old Testament, then undoubtedly the judgments and the curses are still the same as well. So however God rewarded these sins in the Old Testament is in all probability the same way that He will reward those same sins in our day and time as well. So the study today should conclusively demonstrate that we do indeed commit the same sins in principle.

Historical Background: Numbers 13–14

The historical context of Psalm 106:24 is Numbers 13–14, where the twelve spies return and ten give an evil report, leading the people to despise the land.

Now the historical context of Psalm 106 and verse 24 is Numbers 13 and 14. And I want you to turn back to Numbers chapter 13 and let's read a series of verses before we get started. Remember, now, verse 24 says, "Yea, they despised the pleasant land." So we're going to look back in Numbers chapter 13 and begin to see how this despisement, disbelief, and disobedience took place. Numbers chapter 13, and let's begin reading with verse 21. And of course, you know, the story here where Moses had sent out the 12 spies. They have searched the land and they're going to return. So the Bible says in verse 21,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 13:21-33

"So they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. And they ascended by the south and came into Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, Talmai, the children of Anak were."

Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. And they came into the brook of Eshcol and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff. Now that must have been some cluster of grapes. They took two men to carry it. And they brought of the pomegranates and the figs. The place was called the brook Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. And they returned from searching of the land after 40 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 all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him and said, "We came into the land where 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 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."

Now, beginning with verse one, "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 into 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." And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes. And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, "The land through which we pass to search it is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not." But all the congregation bade stone them with stones, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. And the Lord said unto Moses, "How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me for all the signs which I have shown among them?"

Now, I want you to look back to Psalm 106 and verse 24. I want to just catch this phrase, "Yea, they despised the pleasant land."

Definition of Despisement

Despisement means treating God's gracious provision as vile and contemptuous; to despise the promise is to despise the Promisor.

Now, what is involved in despisement? In actuality, what they were doing was simply this: they were despising God's gracious provision. You say, "Brother Weaver, what in the world does that mean?" Well, let me tell you. If you despise the provision, it means that you also despise the provider. To despise the promise is also to despise the promisor. Now, what does the word despise mean? The Hebrew word here is "ma'as," and it literally means to spurn, to condemn, to despise, to disdain, to loathe, to treat as utterly vile and contemptuous. So actually what they were doing was they were treating God's gracious provision as something vile and contemptuous.

First Way: Looking at Circumstances Rather than Christ

The Israelites focused on walled cities and giants instead of God's power; circumstances reveal character but do not determine it.

Only two, Joshua and Caleb, have given an honest report. The other ten give an ill report. In verse 28, "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." Here's the first way in which the children of Israel despised the land. Now listen to me. Number one: they were looking at circumstances rather than Christ. They were looking at circumstances rather than Christ. They were looking at walled cities, fortified cities, the sons of the giants, strong, powerful. And they were looking at the circumstances rather than Christ.

Now, before someone objects and says, "But now, Pastor, you remember, Christ was not born in the Old Testament." May I remind you that there are, first of all, numerous Christophanies in the Old Testament. What in the world is a Christophany? A Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. That is, Christ actually appeared in bodily form in the Old Testament before He was ever born. And may I remind you of 1 Corinthians chapter 10. You remember they got water out of that rock, and the Bible says that rock that followed them, and 1 Corinthians 10 says, "And that rock was Christ." So Christ was in the Old Testament, in numerous places, in numerous ways. And what the people were doing was simply this: they were looking at the circumstances rather than Christ. It is true that their enemies were multitudinous. It is true that their enemies were strong. It is true that they had fortified cities. But so what? Is not Christ sufficient? Is not Jesus Christ omnipotent? Are there any that can overthrow or defeat Jesus Christ? And the answer is no.

Now listen to me, I've told you this in times past repeatedly, but I want you to think about it not just on a personal level but on a national level as well. Here's the state: circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Someone says, "Well, man, that battle sure made a hero out of him." No, he was a hero already. The battle just revealed him. "Well, the battle sure made a coward out of him." No, he was a coward already. The battle just revealed him. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Listen, folks, we would not know what we were if we did not go through the fire.

Only gold and silver remain when you put it in the furnace. All the trash is burned up. But just as it is true individually, circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. It is also true nationally. Circumstances never make or break a nation or a people, they just reveal that nation or that people. Now, the same is true. Look, if you would, in Numbers chapter 13 in verse 30. Look at the difference between Caleb and the other spies. Verse 30 tells us, "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.'" What does Caleb say?

"Let's go up and take it. It's ours. We're well able to overcome it." But look in verse 31. "But the men that went up with him said, 'We be not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we.'" We can't fight them. We can't quit them. They're bigger. They're stronger. They're more powerful. They have more resources. Skip down, if you would, please, to look in verse 7.

Here's Caleb and Joshua again, and they spake, Numbers 14, verse 7,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:7-9

"And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, 'The land which we pass through to search it is an exceeding good land.' Now look, 'If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey.' Now watch this. 'Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us.'" "And their defense is departed from them."

Now what was Joshua and Caleb's position? Joshua and Caleb didn't stand back and say, "Look at all those walls. Look at how strong those people are. Look how multitudinous they are. Look at all their resources." They said, "Man, look at all we're going to have to eat when we conquer them. We're going to destroy them. They're bread for us." Do you see the difference between Joshua and Caleb and the other spies? Joshua and Caleb were looking at Christ and the others were looking at circumstances. Here's a quick application.

This is why so many of us are so easily discouraged, so quickly depressed, so readily defeated, because we look at the circumstances rather than Jesus Christ. We look at our enemy's resources, their strengths, their multitudes, and we sit back and say, "How can we? It's humanly impossible." Instead of looking back and saying, "What a sovereign, powerful, omnipotent, great and holy and just and righteous God that we have. Our God can give us the victory. Our God can defeat our enemies." Instead of dwelling upon the greatness and the sovereignty and the power of our God, we dwell on the power of the enemy. No wonder we're so easily defeated. May I remind you of two passages? The first one is Psalm 115 and verse 3. Here the psalmist David said, "But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." God, and God alone, is sovereign. And He alone is in absolute and total control. And may I remind you of Psalm 2. The psalmist asked, "Why do the heathen rage?" Yet, he says, the kings of the earth and the rulers have gathered together against our Lord.

They say, "Let us break his bands from us. Let us cast them from us." In other words, they're in rebellion against God. But then scripture says in verse four, "But God who sits in heaven shall laugh. Our God shall have them in derision."

Now, let me ask you. Which is more encouraging? To dwell on the strength of our enemies or the power of our God? Do we look at circumstances or do we look at Christ? If you and I are absolutely honest, we've got to confess, we're usually creatures of circumstances. You can ask the average Christian, "Well, how are you doing?" "Well, all right under the circumstances." And the question comes back, "Well, what are you doing under the circumstances?" I mean, you ought to be over them in Christ because Christ has given us victory in every area. What do we do? We look at our poverty instead of His wealth. We look at our weaknesses instead of His strength. We even look at our children's sins and rebellions more than we look at His power to save and to change and to convict and convert. We look at the complications and the complexities of our problems more than we look at His wisdom and His truth. The very first reason these people despise is because they were looking at circumstances instead of Christ.

Second Way: Looking at Multitudes Rather than Mercy

They feared the many enemy nations instead of trusting God's mercy to give victory, as seen in later biblical examples.

Secondly, here it is: looking at the multitudes instead of mercy. Looking at the multitudes instead of mercy. Just stop and look at verse 29 again. The Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, all of these were enemies of God and enemies of God's people. And here they are together in one huge confederation, so to speak, against God and against the people of God. Have you ever considered such powerful combined forces? Seemingly, this little band of Israelites could not possibly have prevailed against such a multitude. But you and I both know that they ultimately did, only through the mercy of God. Let me point out this simple truth. It is God, in His mercy, that gives us victory over our enemies. In fact, the psalmist said, "Through thy mercy, cut off mine enemies." I want you to look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 7. Several passages, but Deuteronomy chapter 7.

And let's begin reading there with verse 17. Deuteronomy 7 verse 17. Look what God tells us.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 7:17-19

"If thou shalt say in thine heart, 'These nations are more than I. How can I dispossess them?' Thou shalt not be afraid of them. But thou shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and all of Egypt, the great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm whereby thy Lord thy God brought thee out. So shalt the Lord thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid."

What's He saying? Don't let a multitude excite you. Don't let their strength and power disturb you. He said, you just remember what God has done for you. And you remember that God is just as capable of wiping out present and future enemies as He has done the past enemies. Turn right over to Deuteronomy chapter 20. Deuteronomy chapter 20. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Deuteronomy 20 verse 1.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 7:17-19

"When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies and seest horses and chariots and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them, for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

Verse 3, "And shall say to thee, 'Hear, O Israel, you approach this day into battle against your enemies. Let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them.'" Isn't that interesting? God is telling us we are not to be afraid.

And we'll deal with that a little bit more later. But look in your Bibles. They're 1 Kings 20. We're talking about multitudes. He says when you see this multitude, you're not to be afraid. Look in 1 Kings 20. And let's read there verse 13. 1 Kings 20 verse 13. This is concerning King Ahab and the Syrians. "And behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab, king of Israel, saying, 'Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude?'" A lot of Syrians. "'Behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.'" So God says, "You see all these people? Doesn't matter. Of my mercy, I'll deliver them into your hand today." Look in verse 28. "And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, 'Thus saith the Lord, because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not the God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.'"

Multitudes mean nothing to God. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Second Chronicles, Chapter 20, and I want to take a few minutes to read some of these verses because this is such a powerful, powerful passage. Second Chronicles, Chapter 20, let's begin reading with verse one. Look at this.

Now, Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David and Jehoram, his son, reigned in his stead. And he had brethren, the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah and Jehiel, and Zechariah and Azariah, Michael and Shephatiah. And all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel. And their father gave them great gifts of silver. That is not the passage I wanted. Let me see. OK, it is chapter 20. I was in 21. I was in chapter 21, chapter 20, verse 1.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 20:1-17

"It came to pass after this also that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, and with them also besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat in battle."

Now note, you've got the Moabites, you've got the Ammonites, and others.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 20:1-17

"Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, 'There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side of Syria, and behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi.' And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah."

"And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord. Even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah in Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court and said," here's his prayer, "'O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? And rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen?'" "'And in thine hand is there not power and might so that none is able to withstand thee? Art thou not our God who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever? And they dwelt there and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, If when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house and in thy presence (for thy name is in this house) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. And now behold, the children of Ammon, the children of Moab and Mount Seir, that is the Edomites, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and destroyed them not. Behold, I say, how they reward us to come and cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.'"

Lord, Lord, we've got a great multitude coming against us. We don't know what to do. We don't know where to turn. Verse 13. "And all Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones and their wives and their children. Then upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation. And he said, 'Hearken ye, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat. Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid, nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.'"

"'Tomorrow go ye down against them. Behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz. And ye shall find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight this battle. Set yourselves, stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with you.' And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshiping the Lord."

Now here's the great multitude that has come out against Jehoshaphat. And what does God tell him? Don't be afraid. I'm going to take care of it. In fact, you won't even need to fight. And you know what God did? God caused the enemies to turn on each other. And when the children of Judah got there, all they did was go down and pick up the spoil. It took them seven days to pick it all up. What were they doing?

They were fearing multitudes in Numbers 13 and 14. It's the trusting in God's mercy. Since you're in 2 Chronicles, flip over to 2 Chronicles 32. And look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 1. 2 Chronicles 32 and verse 1. "After these things and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and entered into Judah and encamped against the fenced cities, for he thought to win them for himself. And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, he took counsel with his princes and with his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains that were without the city, and so they did help him." So here's Sennacherib coming in. Now skip down to verse 5. "Also he strengthened himself and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised up the towers and another wall without, and repaired Millo and the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance."

"And he set captains of war over the people, and he gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city and spake comfortably to them, saying, 'Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him. For there be more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh.'" "'But with us is the Lord our God to help us to fight our battles.' And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, King of Judah."

Now, let me ask you a question. When Sennacherib came around to Jerusalem, did Hezekiah sit back and do nothing? No. He repaired the walls. He built another wall. He got him swords and shields and darts in abundance. But then he said, "Look, folks, we're not depending upon our fortifications nor our armament. We're depending solely upon the mercy of God. It is God that must make it effectual. It is God that must use it. Our trust is in His mercy and not in our arms." And of course, you know the story, what God did. God sent an angel and one night, with one stroke of the sword, He killed 185,000 Assyrians. So it's the mercy of God that cuts off our enemies. And no matter how great they are, no matter how multitudinous, no matter how powerful, to look at man and his strength more than God and His omnipotence is to despise God.

Third Way: Listening to Wickedness Instead of the Word

The people believed the lying report of the ten spies rather than God's promises, demonstrating a preference for lies over truth.

Now let me ask you a question. What were these spies doing? The truth is, they were lying. Now I want you to note, it was a wicked lie told by wicked men and believed by a wicked multitude. I find it absolutely amazing that people will believe a lie more easily and readily and quickly than they'll believe the truth. Isn't that astonishing? Isn't that amazing? You can tell a lie and people will believe it. You can tell the truth and they'll think you're lying.

Now, let's do just a little thing, and I'm not going to dwell too much on this point because I'm going to develop this in the next lesson a little more. But here they are on the verge of going into the promised land. They've already been told. God had already promised them it was a land full of milk and honey. They had promise after promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moreover, they had seen all these miracles and signs and wonders that God had done. God has them right on the border.

And they believe a lie rather than the truth. You know what the Bible says in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 23? Let me just quote it for you. "He brought us out, that he might bring us in." God didn't bring them out of Egypt to drop them in the desert. He brought them out to bring them in to Canaan land, in to the promise. So the truth of the matter is this: the people chose to believe a lie rather than the truth. And you know, this is absolutely an amazing thing to me.

You look at the faithless men who are preachers, who are liars, who are perverts, who do not preach and teach the Word of God, and they have thousands in attendance every Sunday, and more money than they can shake a stick at. And yet you get some faithful man who will preach the word, and there's one little group that will believe the truth. I like what our Lord said, "Fear not, little flock." "It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." But why is it there's such a handful that will congregate around truth? Because the multitude had rather believe a lie. And one way they despise the land is they believe the wickedness of these wicked spies in lying against God rather than believing the Word of God Himself. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather believe God than man. And you'll get in quick trouble with God when you believe man over God. I'll point it out next time, but when you do that, you're in actuality calling God a liar. Wicked. So they listened to wickedness instead of the word.

Fourth Way: Looking Through Fear Rather than Faith

Fear diminished their own strength and magnified the enemy's, while faith and fear are mutually exclusive.

Fourthly, look in verse 33. Numbers chapter 13. Here's the fourth way in which they despised the land. They were looking through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith. Verse 33. "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants. And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. So we were in their sight." Now, looking through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith, let me give you a passage. If you don't memorize any other verse this week or this year, please memorize 2 Timothy 1 and verse 7.

I'll quote it for you. "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind." God has not given us a spirit of fear. The world may give you fear. The devil may give you fear. The flesh may give you fear. Your enemies may give you fear. But God doesn't. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Now I want you to watch this. Let's go back and read verse 33 again. Numbers 13, verse 33. "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. So we were in their sight."

Now listen to me carefully. Fear not only diminishes our own strength and abilities in our eyes—we're grasshoppers in our eyes—but fear also magnifies the enemy's strengths and abilities in our eyes. "And so we were in their sight." How did they know they were as grasshoppers in their enemy's sight? Did they ask them? Well, of course not. Their fear was magnifying their enemy's power and ability. They didn't have that power. They didn't have that ability. But their fear was magnifying it. So also we were in their sight.

Now, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8. I want to tie this together in just a moment. Matthew chapter 8, look in verse 26. I want you to see what our Lord said to His very own disciples. Matthew chapter 8 and verse 26. You remember Christ is asleep in the boat. There's a great tempest. They start crying out, "Awaken, save us or we perish." And of course, Christ awakens and He calms the sea. Verse 25 says this, "And the disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, 'Lord, save us, we perish.'"

"And he saith unto them, 'Why are ye so fearful, O ye of little faith?'" Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? What is He teaching us? If you're fearful, you're not exercising faith. If you're exercising faith, you're not fearful. Faith and fear are mutually exclusive. You cannot walk by faith and walk in fear at the same time. You cannot walk in fear and walk in faith at the same time. You're either fearful or you're exercising faith. One cannot have faith in God and fear of his enemies at the same time. Fears always dissipate and disappear before faith. You know, the Bible says in 1 John 5 and verse 4, "And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." How do we get victory over the world, the world system? By faith.

And the children of Israel failed. They despised the pleasant land because they were looking through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith. By the way, when we hold on to our fears, we're despising God, because faith expels fear.

Application: Despising God's Provision Today

The Israelites' refusal to fight for the land shows they did not value God's gift; similarly, failing to act on God's Word is despising Him.

Now, let me make some applications. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 14. And I want to review the first four verses. Numbers chapter 14. Let's read the first four verses. Watch carefully. "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 that we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore has the Lord brought us into 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 us a captain, and let us return into Egypt.'" Now one of the greatest insults and one of the clearest evidences of despisement is the simple truth that is manifested in verses 1 through 4, Numbers chapter 14.

The people did not believe the land was worth fighting for. Did you hear that? They said, "Oh man, we've got giants. We've got fortified cities. Ah, wouldn't it be God we'd die in Egypt? Wouldn't it be God we'd die in this wilderness? I tell you what, let's make a captain and we'll go back into Egypt." What were they saying? What God has given us is not worth fighting for. It's not worth hazarding our lives to possess. What an insult. What a despising of God's gracious provision. And to add insult to injury, they were even saying that Egypt, in all of its sin and slavery, was better than freedom and God's provision.

Question, do we not do the same thing today? We don't think God's truth is worth fighting for. We don't fight for it. You see, failure to act upon God's Word is in reality a despising of God's Word. When you know the truth and you refuse to act upon it, when you refuse to obey it and perform it, when you know it, you're despising God and His truth. What does James 4:17 say?

Scripture Reading — James 4:17

"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

But it's more than sin. It's a despising of God and His Word. And thus the scripture says these Israelites despised the pleasant land. They looked at circumstances rather than Christ. They looked at multitudes rather than mercy. They listened to wickedness rather than the Word. And they looked through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith. And they ended up despising God's gracious provision and the provider of that provision. We must act upon God's Word and God's truth and make sure that in every area of our life, we give Him the preeminence. Let's pray. Father, help us today. Teach us. Build us up in the most holy faith. And Lord, each of us have sinned against Thee so many times, in looking at our circumstances rather than Christ. We've looked at the multitude rather than Your mercy. We've listened to wickedness rather than Your Word. And we've certainly looked through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Despising God's Provision

Summary: To despise what God provides is to despise God Himself; the Israelites treated the Promised Land as contemptible.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'If you despise the provision, it means that you also despise the provider.'

Circumstances vs. Christ

Summary: Focusing on difficulties rather than on Christ's power leads to despising God; circumstances reveal character.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'They were looking at circumstances rather than Christ... circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him.'

Fear vs. Faith

Summary: Fear and faith cannot coexist; fear magnifies enemies and diminishes God's power, while faith overcomes the world.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Matthew 8:26 and states: 'Faith and fear are mutually exclusive.'

Believing Lies over Truth

Summary: The Israelites believed the spies' evil report rather than God's promises, a tendency still present today.

Evidence: Weaver notes: 'They believe a lie rather than the truth... people will believe a lie more easily and readily and quickly than they'll believe the truth.'

God's Mercy Over Multitudes

Summary: No enemy multitude can stand against God's mercy; biblical examples show God delivering His people from overwhelming forces.

Evidence: Weaver cites 2 Chronicles 20 and Hezekiah's trust in God's mercy over military might.

Acting on God's Word

Summary: Failure to act on known truth is a form of despising God; obedience is essential.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'When you know the truth and you refuse to act upon it... you're despising God and His truth.'

Key Arguments

Sins of the fathers persist in principle today

Summary: The same sins committed by Israel are committed by believers today, leading to similar judgments.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'If we commit the same sins in principle as they did in the Old Testament, then undoubtedly the judgments and the curses are still the same as well.'

Despisement is rooted in misplaced focus

Summary: The Israelites despised the land by focusing on circumstances, multitudes, lies, and fear instead of God.

Evidence: Weaver outlines four ways: looking at circumstances rather than Christ, multitudes rather than mercy, wickedness rather than the Word, and fear rather than faith.

Fear negates faith

Summary: Fear and faith cannot coexist; fear is not from God and leads to a distorted view of reality.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 2 Timothy 1:7 and Matthew 8:26, explaining that fear magnifies enemies and diminishes self.

Believing lies is an insult to God

Summary: Choosing to believe false reports over God's promises is calling God a liar and despising His Word.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'When you do that, you're in actuality calling God a liar.'

Inaction on truth is despising God

Summary: Knowing what is right and not doing it is not just sin but a despising of God and His truth.

Evidence: Weaver references James 4:17 and states: 'It's more than sin. It's a despising of God and His Word.'

Scripture References

Psalm 106:24-27

Context: Primary text for the sermon; describes Israel despising the pleasant land, disbelieving God's word, and disobeying.

Numbers 13:21-33

Context: Historical account of the spies' report; they saw fortified cities and giants, leading to an evil report.

Numbers 14:1-4

Context: The congregation weeps, murmurs, and desires to return to Egypt, showing they did not value the land.

Numbers 14:7-9

Context: Joshua and Caleb urge the people not to rebel or fear, declaring the land is good and the enemies are bread for them.

Numbers 14:22

Context: God notes the ten temptations of Israel despite the ten wonders in Egypt.

Deuteronomy 8:7-9

Context: Description of the good land God was giving Israel, contrasting their despising of it.

Deuteronomy 32:6

Context: God asks if Israel is requiting Him foolishly, highlighting their ingratitude.

Deuteronomy 7:17-19

Context: God instructs Israel not to fear nations more numerous, remembering His deliverance from Egypt.

Deuteronomy 20:1,3

Context: Command not to fear in battle when seeing horses, chariots, and a people more than Israel.

1 Kings 20:13,28

Context: God promises to deliver a great multitude into Ahab's hand to show He is the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:1-17

Context: Jehoshaphat's prayer and God's promise that the battle is His, not Israel's, against a great multitude.

2 Chronicles 32:1-8

Context: Hezekiah's encouragement that there are more with Judah than with Assyria because God is with them.

Psalm 115:3

Context: Our God is in the heavens and does whatever He pleases, emphasizing His sovereignty.

Psalm 2:1-4

Context: The nations rage, but God laughs at their rebellion, showing His supreme power.

Proverbs 29:25

Context: The fear of man brings a snare, but trusting the Lord brings safety.

Matthew 10:28

Context: Fear God who can destroy both body and soul in hell, not man who can only kill the body.

Matthew 8:26

Context: Jesus rebukes the disciples for being fearful and having little faith during the storm.

2 Timothy 1:7

Context: God has not given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.

1 John 5:4

Context: Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

James 4:17

Context: Knowing to do good and not doing it is sin; applied as despising God's Word.

Historical References

The twelve spies sent by Moses (Numbers 13–14)

Context: Ten spies gave an evil report, causing Israel to despise the land and rebel.

The ten plagues of Egypt

Context: God performed ten wonders in Egypt, yet Israel tempted Him ten times.

Jehoshaphat's victory over Moab and Ammon (2 Chronicles 20)

Context: God caused enemy armies to destroy each other; Judah only collected spoil.

Hezekiah's deliverance from Sennacherib (2 Chronicles 32)

Context: An angel killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night, demonstrating God's power over multitudes.

Christophany in the Old Testament (1 Corinthians 10:4)

Context: The rock that followed Israel was Christ, showing Christ's presence in the Old Testament.

Important Quotes

If you despise the provision, it means that you also despise the provider.

Significance: Core principle that rejecting God's gifts is rejecting God Himself.

Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him.

Significance: Key insight that trials expose character rather than create it.

Faith and fear are mutually exclusive. You cannot walk by faith and walk in fear at the same time.

Significance: Defines the incompatibility of faith and fear, central to the sermon's application.

When you know the truth and you refuse to act upon it, when you refuse to obey it and perform it, when you know it, you're despising God and His truth.

Significance: Practical application that inaction on known truth is a form of despising God.

Fear not only diminishes our own strength and abilities in our eyes—we're grasshoppers in our eyes—but fear also magnifies the enemy's strengths and abilities in our eyes.

Significance: Explains the psychological effect of fear, distorting self-perception and perception of opposition.

What God has given us is not worth fighting for. It's not worth hazarding our lives to possess. What an insult. What a despising of God's gracious provision.

Significance: Highlights the insult of devaluing God's gifts, paralleling Israel's desire to return to Egypt.

Discussion Questions

In what ways do we today 'despise the pleasant land' by focusing on circumstances rather than Christ?

Context: Weaver argues that looking at problems instead of God's power is a form of despising Him.

How can we practically shift our focus from the 'multitudes' of our problems to God's mercy?

Context: The sermon uses biblical examples like Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah to show trust in God's mercy over enemy strength.

Why are we often more prone to believe lies than God's truth, and how can we guard against this?

Context: Weaver notes the human tendency to believe false reports, as Israel did with the spies.

What are some areas where fear has caused you to see yourself as a 'grasshopper' and magnified your obstacles?

Context: Fear distorts self-perception and enemy perception, as seen in Numbers 13:33.

How does failing to act on known truth equate to despising God, and what steps can we take to obey more fully?

Context: Weaver applies James 4:17 to show that inaction is a form of despising God's Word.

Applications

Give Christ preeminence over circumstances

Summary: Instead of being overwhelmed by problems, focus on Christ's power and sovereignty, trusting Him to work out every situation.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'We need to look at Christ more than we look at the circumstances... He is the answer to all of our problems.'

Trust God's mercy, not human strength

Summary: In facing overwhelming opposition, rely on God's mercy to deliver, as He did for Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'It is God, in His mercy, that gives us victory over our enemies.'

Reject lies and cling to God's Word

Summary: Deliberately choose to believe God's promises over the world's false reports, even when the truth seems unpopular.

Evidence: Weaver warns: 'You'll get in quick trouble with God when you believe man over God.'

Replace fear with faith

Summary: Actively exercise faith to expel fear, remembering that God has given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 2 Timothy 1:7 and says: 'When we hold on to our fears, we're despising God, because faith expels fear.'

Act on known truth

Summary: Obey God's Word promptly; failure to act on what you know is right is a serious form of despising God.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'We must act upon God's Word and God's truth and make sure that in every area of our life, we give Him the preeminence.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:46:26Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T05:42:14Z

Clean Transcript

The Hallelujah of Confession - Part 10 of 16

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

So if you'll open your Bibles to Psalm 106, I told you we'd get back to that Psalm, Psalm 106. And today we're going to be picking up, beginning there with verse 24, and read through verse 27. Now, let me just go ahead before I even read the Scripture and tell you that the message today will be incomplete. I have three points to this message, and I'm only going to be able to cover one today.
#1 | 0:01 to 0:31 | cleaned
And I do ask that you listen carefully. And then before I re-preach the next two points, I'll take a moment and review. But there was no way that I could get all three points in today. So I'm just going to simply deal with one point. But look in Psalm 106, beginning with verse 24. Scripture says, "Yea, they despised the pleasant land. They believed not his word."
#2 | 0:32 to 0:59 | cleaned
"But murmured in their tents and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord. Therefore, he lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow their seed also among the nations and to scatter them in the lands."
#3 | 0:59 to 1:13 | cleaned
Now, we've been dealing with the hallelujah of confession. You remember, I told you this is the first song that deals with hallelujah. "Praise ye the Lord" has that at the very beginning of it, and then the whole song deals with confession. Very quickly, I told you in time past, the first five verses give us four reasons why the psalmist invites us to praise the Lord. Verse six is a general confession and acknowledgement: "We've sinned with our fathers," and I gave you five ways in which we've sinned with our fathers. And then beginning with verse seven, he began to specifically confess and acknowledge sins. And in verse seven, you had ignorance and ingratitude, which led down to verse 13 to faith, forgetfulness, and impatience, which led down to verse 16, envy and insurrection. And then in verse 19, idolatry and insolence.
#4 | 1:14 to 2:13 | cleaned
And that brings us today to verse 24, which actually there are three things, and I'll give them to you. You have despisement in verse 24, "Yea, they despised the pleasant land." You have disbelief in verse 24, "They believed not His word." And then disobedience in verse 25, "And hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord." So we're going to just cover despisement today.
#5 | 2:13 to 2:39 | cleaned
Now, I want you to remember that the entire point of this series is to demonstrate that the sins of the fathers are still with us today. Now, we may not commit the sins in exactly the same way that they committed the sins, but the truth is we still commit the same sins in principle. And I want you to think about this. If we commit the same sins in principle as they did in the Old Testament, then undoubtedly the judgments and the curses are still the same as well. So however God rewarded these sins in the Old Testament is in all probability the same way that He will reward those same sins in our day and time as well. So the study today should conclusively demonstrate that we do indeed commit the same sins in principle.
#6 | 2:39 to 3:41 | cleaned
Now the historical context of Psalm 106 and verse 24 is Numbers 13 and 14. And I want you to turn back to Numbers chapter 13 and let's read a series of verses before we get started. Remember, now, verse 24 says, "Yea, they despised the pleasant land." So we're going to look back in Numbers chapter 13 and begin to see how this despisement, disbelief, and disobedience took place. Numbers chapter 13, and let's begin reading with verse 21.
#7 | 3:42 to 4:16 | cleaned
And of course, you know, the story here where Moses had sent out the 12 spies. They have searched the land and they're going to return. So the Bible says in verse 21, "So they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. And they ascended by the south and came into Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, Talmai, the children of Anak were."
#8 | 4:16 to 4:42 | cleaned
Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. And they came into the brook of Eshcol and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff. Now that must have been some cluster of grapes. They took two men to carry it. And they brought of the pomegranates and the figs. The place was called the brook Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. And they returned from searching of the land after 40 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 all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him and said, "We came into the land where thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it."
#9 | 4:42 to 5:35 | cleaned
"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 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."
#10 | 5:35 to 6:27 | cleaned
Now, beginning with verse one, "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 into 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."
#11 | 6:28 to 7:08 | cleaned
And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes. And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, "The land through which we pass to search it is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not." But all the congregation bade stone them with stones, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. And the Lord said unto Moses, "How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me for all the signs which I have shown among them?"
#12 | 7:08 to 7:59 | cleaned
Now, I want you to look back to Psalm 106 and verse 24. I want to just catch this phrase, "Yea, they despised the pleasant land."
#13 | 8:00 to 8:12 | cleaned
Now, what is involved in despisement? In actuality, what they were doing was simply this: they were despising God's gracious provision. You say, "Brother Weaver, what in the world does that mean?" Well, let me tell you. If you despise the provision, it means that you also despise the provider. To despise the promise is also to despise the promisor. Now, what does the word despise mean? The Hebrew word here is "ma'as," and it literally means to spurn, to condemn, to despise, to disdain, to loathe, to treat as utterly vile and contemptuous. So actually what they were doing was they were treating God's gracious provision as something vile and contemptuous.
#14 | 8:13 to 9:15 | cleaned
Now, I want you to look, if you would please, Numbers 14 and verse 22. Do you remember how many plagues, how many signs God did in Egypt? Someone tell me. How many? Ten. There were ten. Remember the ten plagues? Watch. Numbers 14, verse 22. Look what God says about these people. "Because all those men," that is those that came out of Egypt, "because all those men which have seen my glory and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, have tempted me now these ten times and have not hearkened to my voice." So God did ten great wonders and signs in Egypt. And ten times the people failed to hearken to God, and they ended up despising His gracious provision. So the tenfold temptations or provocations of God by the Israelites are set over against the tenfold wonders that He did in the land of Egypt.
#15 | 9:15 to 10:22 | cleaned
Now, I want you to turn to Deuteronomy 32 because I want you to see this question in light of what I'm about to share with you. Look in Deuteronomy 32, verse 6. So in light then of the wicked responses of the Israelites to God's gracious provision, God's gracious protection, I want you to look at the question God asked. Deuteronomy 32, and note if you would please, verse 6.
#16 | 10:23 to 10:56 | cleaned
"Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise?" Now listen to that. "Do ye thus requite the Lord?" Remember what the word requite means? It means to pay back.
#17 | 10:57 to 11:12 | cleaned
Now what is God saying? God is saying, look at everything that I've done for you. Look at all my promises. Look at my protection. Look at my provision. Look at my presence. You look at everything that I've done for you. And what do you repay me with? Despisement. Disobedience. Disbelief.
#18 | 11:13 to 11:37 | cleaned
Now let me ask a question to make this very personal. How do we repay God? How do we requite God? It was God's mercies that allowed you to awaken this morning. It's God's mercies that feed you, that sustain you, that give you air to breathe. How do you repay God for everything that God has done for you? Thus, what these Israelites did, basically, they treated God contemptuously by despising His gracious promise and provision.
#19 | 11:38 to 12:12 | cleaned
Now, the Bible says, in verse 24 of Psalm 106, that they despised the pleasant land. The same word "pleasant" in 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 10 is called "goodly." That is, they despised the goodly land, or they despised the land of desire.
#20 | 12:12 to 12:35 | cleaned
Now I want you to look at two passages. The first one is Numbers 13 and verse 27. One of you don't have to turn there. We've already looked at that. I'll just put it for you. Remember how Caleb and Joshua described the land? It was a land that flowed with milk and honey. Now, if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 8, Deuteronomy 8, and let's begin reading in verse 7. Look what God says. Deuteronomy 8, verse 7. "For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water and fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills. Wait a minute. For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks, and fountains, and depths, that spring out of the valleys and hills, a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates, a land of oil olive, and honey, a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass."
#21 | 12:35 to 13:49 | cleaned
Now, does that sound like a land that should be despised and rejected and treated contemptuously? And yet the truth is, the Bible says they despised the pleasant land. So you've got to ask yourself these questions. Number one, why did they despise the pleasant land? How did they despise that land? And what made them despise that land? And the answer is extremely simple. They despised in the same way that we despise, or we could make that vice versa. We despise in the same way that they despised. Now let me just show you today a few of the ways that they despised this pleasant land. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers, chapter 13, and I will show you how they despised it, and why. Numbers chapter 13, and let's begin there with verse 28. Remember the spies have come back.
#22 | 13:50 to 15:01 | cleaned
Only two, Joshua and Caleb, have given an honest report. The other ten give an ill report. In verse 28, "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." Here's the first way in which the children of Israel despised the land. Now listen to me. Number one: they were looking at circumstances rather than Christ. They were looking at circumstances rather than Christ. They were looking at walled cities, fortified cities, the sons of the giants, strong, powerful. And they were looking at the circumstances rather than Christ.
#23 | 15:03 to 16:02 | cleaned
Now, before someone objects and says, "But now, Pastor, you remember, Christ was not born in the Old Testament." May I remind you that there are, first of all, numerous Christophanies in the Old Testament. What in the world is a Christophany? A Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. That is, Christ actually appeared in bodily form in the Old Testament before He was ever born. And may I remind you of 1 Corinthians chapter 10. You remember they got water out of that rock, and the Bible says that rock that followed them, and 1 Corinthians 10 says, "And that rock was Christ." So Christ was in the Old Testament, in numerous places, in numerous ways.
#24 | 16:03 to 16:51 | cleaned
And what the people were doing was simply this: they were looking at the circumstances rather than Christ. It is true that their enemies were multitudinous. It is true that their enemies were strong. It is true that they had fortified cities. But so what? Is not Christ sufficient? Is not Jesus Christ omnipotent? Are there any that can overthrow or defeat Jesus Christ? And the answer is no.
#25 | 16:51 to 17:26 | cleaned
Now listen to me, I've told you this in times past repeatedly, but I want you to think about it not just on a personal level but on a national level as well. Here's the state: circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Someone says, "Well, man, that battle sure made a hero out of him." No, he was a hero already. The battle just revealed him. "Well, the battle sure made a coward out of him." No, he was a coward already. The battle just revealed him. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Listen, folks, we would not know what we were if we did not go through the fire.
#26 | 17:27 to 18:18 | cleaned
Only gold and silver remain when you put it in the furnace. All the trash is burned up. But just as it is true individually, circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. It is also true nationally. Circumstances never make or break a nation or a people, they just reveal that nation or that people. Now, the same is true. Look, if you would, in Numbers chapter 13 in verse 30. Look at the difference between Caleb and the other spies. Verse 30 tells us, "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.'" What does Caleb say?
#27 | 18:21 to 19:10 | cleaned
"Let's go up and take it. It's ours. We're well able to overcome it." But look in verse 31. "But the men that went up with him said, 'We be not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we.'" We can't fight them. We can't quit them. They're bigger. They're stronger. They're more powerful. They have more resources. Skip down, if you would, please, to look in verse 7.
#28 | 19:11 to 19:38 | cleaned
Here's Caleb and Joshua again, and they spake, Numbers 14, verse 7, "And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, 'The land which we pass through to search it is an exceeding good land.' Now look, 'If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey.' Now watch this. 'Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us.'"
#29 | 19:39 to 20:07 | cleaned
"And their defense is departed from them." Now what was Joshua and Caleb's position? Joshua and Caleb didn't stand back and say, "Look at all those walls. Look at how strong those people are. Look how multitudinous they are. Look at all their resources." They said, "Man, look at all we're going to have to eat when we conquer them. We're going to destroy them. They're bread for us." Do you see the difference between Joshua and Caleb and the other spies? Joshua and Caleb were looking at Christ and the others were looking at circumstances. Here's a quick application.
#30 | 20:11 to 20:57 | cleaned
This is why so many of us are so easily discouraged, so quickly depressed, so readily defeated, because we look at the circumstances rather than Jesus Christ. We look at our enemy's resources, their strengths, their multitudes, and we sit back and say, "How can we? It's humanly impossible." Instead of looking back and saying, "What a sovereign, powerful, omnipotent, great and holy and just and righteous God that we have. Our God can give us the victory. Our God can defeat our enemies." Instead of dwelling upon the greatness and the sovereignty and the power of our God, we dwell on the power of the enemy. No wonder we're so easily defeated.
#31 | 21:00 to 22:04 | cleaned
May I remind you of two passages? The first one is Psalm 115 and verse 3. Here the psalmist David said, "But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." God, and God alone, is sovereign. And He alone is in absolute and total control. And may I remind you of Psalm 2. The psalmist asked, "Why do the heathen rage?" Yet, he says, the kings of the earth and the rulers have gathered together against our Lord.
#32 | 22:07 to 22:43 | cleaned
They say, "Let us break his bands from us. Let us cast them from us." In other words, they're in rebellion against God. But then scripture says in verse four, "But God who sits in heaven shall laugh. Our God shall have them in derision."
#33 | 22:43 to 23:01 | cleaned
Now, let me ask you. Which is more encouraging? To dwell on the strength of our enemies or the power of our God? Do we look at circumstances or do we look at Christ? If you and I are absolutely honest, we've got to confess, we're usually creatures of circumstances. You can ask the average Christian, "Well, how are you doing?" "Well, all right under the circumstances." And the question comes back, "Well, what are you doing under the circumstances?" I mean, you ought to be over them in Christ because Christ has given us victory in every area. What do we do? We look at our poverty instead of His wealth. We look at our weaknesses instead of His strength. We even look at our children's sins and rebellions more than we look at His power to save and to change and to convict and convert. We look at the complications and the complexities of our problems more than we look at His wisdom and His truth. The very first reason these people despise is because they were looking at circumstances instead of Christ.
#34 | 23:04 to 24:52 | cleaned
May I remind you of something? When you spend more time considering the circumstances, rather than the greatness and the power and the wisdom and truth of Jesus Christ, you're despising Jesus Christ. Why? Because the Bible says in Colossians 1 verse 18 that in all things He must have the preeminence. Does that mean we ignore our problems? Well, of course not. Does that mean we don't think of our problems? Well, of course not. But it does mean we think that Jesus Christ is the answer, and it's His power, His mercy, His grace that is sufficient to work every one of our problems out.
#35 | 24:52 to 25:45 | cleaned
I never will forget a pastor friend of mine telling me this years and years ago. He said he was going through a time in his life when he was extremely depressed. And to me, this has never ever entered my mind, but he was really depressed. He said he was driving down the road. He said he looked up ahead and there was a huge oak tree right beside the road. And the thought entered his mind, "Well, why don't you just run into that oak tree and end it?"
#36 | 25:46 to 26:21 | cleaned
And he said, "I did something very foolish." He said, "I seriously began to consider that." He said, "And the closer I got to that oak tree, I noticed a sign was nailed to it. But I couldn't tell what was on the sign." And he said, "Right as I got to that oak tree, and I had to make a determination whether I was going to veer into it or go straight, the sign became exceedingly clear because someone had nailed a metal sign on that oak tree that said simply this: 'Christ is the answer.'" And that's a fact. He is the answer to all of our problems. And we need to look at Christ more than we look at the circumstances.
#37 | 26:25 to 27:13 | cleaned
Let's give Him the preeminence. Now go back to Numbers chapter 13 and look at verse 29. Here's the second way in which they despise the land. Verse 29 tells us, "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." How is it that they despise the land?
#38 | 27:13 to 27:45 | cleaned
Secondly, here it is: looking at the multitudes instead of mercy. Looking at the multitudes instead of mercy. Just stop and look at verse 29 again. The Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, all of these were enemies of God and enemies of God's people. And here they are together in one huge confederation, so to speak, against God and against the people of God. Have you ever considered such powerful combined forces?
#39 | 27:45 to 28:22 | cleaned
Seemingly, this little band of Israelites could not possibly have prevailed against such a multitude. But you and I both know that they ultimately did, only through the mercy of God. Let me point out this simple truth. It is God, in His mercy, that gives us victory over our enemies. In fact, the psalmist said, "Through thy mercy, cut off mine enemies." I want you to look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 7. Several passages, but Deuteronomy chapter 7.
#40 | 28:22 to 29:03 | cleaned
And let's begin reading there with verse 17. Deuteronomy 7 verse 17. Look what God tells us. "If thou shalt say in thine heart, 'These nations are more than I. How can I dispossess them?' Thou shalt not be afraid of them. But thou shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and all of Egypt, the great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm whereby thy Lord thy God brought thee out. So shalt the Lord thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid." What's He saying?
#41 | 29:05 to 29:53 | cleaned
Don't let a multitude excite you. Don't let their strength and power disturb you. He said, you just remember what God has done for you. And you remember that God is just as capable of wiping out present and future enemies as He has done the past enemies. Turn right over to Deuteronomy chapter 20. Deuteronomy chapter 20. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Deuteronomy 20 verse 1. "When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies and seest horses and chariots and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them, for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Verse 3, "And shall say to thee, 'Hear, O Israel, you approach this day into battle against your enemies. Let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them.'" Isn't that interesting? God is telling us we are not to be afraid.
#42 | 29:54 to 31:01 | cleaned
And we'll deal with that a little bit more later. But look in your Bibles. They're 1 Kings 20. We're talking about multitudes. He says when you see this multitude, you're not to be afraid. Look in 1 Kings 20. And let's read there verse 13. 1 Kings 20 verse 13. This is concerning King Ahab and the Syrians. "And behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab, king of Israel, saying, 'Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude?'" A lot of Syrians. "'Behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.'" So God says, "You see all these people? Doesn't matter. Of my mercy, I'll deliver them into your hand today." Look in verse 28. "And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, 'Thus saith the Lord, because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not the God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.'"
#43 | 31:01 to 32:14 | cleaned
Multitudes mean nothing to God. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Second Chronicles, Chapter 20, and I want to take a few minutes to read some of these verses because this is such a powerful, powerful passage. Second Chronicles, Chapter 20, let's begin reading with verse one. Look at this.
#44 | 32:16 to 32:44 | cleaned
Now, Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David and Jehoram, his son, reigned in his stead. And he had brethren, the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah and Jehiel, and Zechariah and Azariah, Michael and Shephatiah. And all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel. And their father gave them great gifts of silver. That is not the passage I wanted. Let me see.
#45 | 32:45 to 33:15 | cleaned
OK, it is chapter 20. I was in 21. I was in chapter 21, chapter 20, verse 1. "It came to pass after this also that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, and with them also besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat in battle." Now note, you've got the Moabites, you've got the Ammonites, and others. "Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, 'There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side of Syria, and behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi.' And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah."
#46 | 33:17 to 33:55 | cleaned
"And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord. Even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah in Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court and said," here's his prayer, "'O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? And rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen?'"
#47 | 33:55 to 34:26 | cleaned
"'And in thine hand is there not power and might so that none is able to withstand thee? Art thou not our God who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever? And they dwelt there and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, If when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house and in thy presence (for thy name is in this house) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. And now behold, the children of Ammon, the children of Moab and Mount Seir, that is the Edomites, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and destroyed them not. Behold, I say, how they reward us to come and cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.'"
#48 | 34:27 to 35:32 | cleaned
Lord, Lord, we've got a great multitude coming against us. We don't know what to do. We don't know where to turn. Verse 13. "And all Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones and their wives and their children. Then upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation. And he said, 'Hearken ye, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat. Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid, nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.'"
#49 | 35:34 to 36:09 | cleaned
"'Tomorrow go ye down against them. Behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz. And ye shall find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight this battle. Set yourselves, stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with you.' And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshiping the Lord."
#50 | 36:10 to 36:38 | cleaned
Now here's the great multitude that has come out against Jehoshaphat. And what does God tell him? Don't be afraid. I'm going to take care of it. In fact, you won't even need to fight. And you know what God did? God caused the enemies to turn on each other. And when the children of Judah got there, all they did was go down and pick up the spoil. It took them seven days to pick it all up. What were they doing?
#51 | 36:38 to 37:04 | cleaned
They were fearing multitudes in Numbers 13 and 14. It's the trusting in God's mercy. Since you're in 2 Chronicles, flip over to 2 Chronicles 32. And look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 1. 2 Chronicles 32 and verse 1. "After these things and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and entered into Judah and encamped against the fenced cities, for he thought to win them for himself. And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, he took counsel with his princes and with his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains that were without the city, and so they did help him." So here's Sennacherib coming in. Now skip down to verse 5. "Also he strengthened himself and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised up the towers and another wall without, and repaired Millo and the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance."
#52 | 37:05 to 38:06 | cleaned
"And he set captains of war over the people, and he gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city and spake comfortably to them, saying, 'Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him. For there be more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh.'"
#53 | 38:08 to 38:30 | cleaned
"'But with us is the Lord our God to help us to fight our battles.' And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, King of Judah."
#54 | 38:31 to 38:41 | cleaned
Now, let me ask you a question. When Sennacherib came around to Jerusalem, did Hezekiah sit back and do nothing? No. He repaired the walls. He built another wall. He got him swords and shields and darts in abundance. But then he said, "Look, folks, we're not depending upon our fortifications nor our armament. We're depending solely upon the mercy of God. It is God that must make it effectual. It is God that must use it. Our trust is in His mercy and not in our arms." And of course, you know the story, what God did. God sent an angel and one night, with one stroke of the sword, He killed 185,000 Assyrians. So it's the mercy of God that cuts off our enemies. And no matter how great they are, no matter how multitudinous, no matter how powerful, to look at man and his strength more than God and His omnipotence is to despise God.
#55 | 38:41 to 39:55 | cleaned
The Bible says in Proverbs 29 and verse 25, "The fear of man bringeth a snare. But whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall dwell safely." You remember Matthew chapter 10? Our Lord said, "You want to know who to fear? I'll tell you who to fear. Don't fear him who can destroy the body. But you fear him whom after he has destroyed the body is able to cast you into hell." What's He saying? The proper person to fear is God Himself, not man. Go back if you would please to Numbers chapter 13.
#56 | 39:58 to 40:40 | cleaned
So far we've seen two ways in which they despise the land: looking at circumstances rather than Christ, and looking at multitudes rather than mercy. Here's the third way very quickly in verse 32, listening to wickedness instead of the word. Verse 32. "And they," that is the ten spies, "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 great stature.'"
#57 | 40:40 to 41:17 | cleaned
Now let me ask you a question. What were these spies doing? The truth is, they were lying.
#58 | 41:18 to 41:25 | cleaned
Now I want you to note, it was a wicked lie told by wicked men and believed by a wicked multitude. I find it absolutely amazing that people will believe a lie more easily and readily and quickly than they'll believe the truth. Isn't that astonishing? Isn't that amazing? You can tell a lie and people will believe it. You can tell the truth and they'll think you're lying.
#59 | 41:30 to 42:12 | cleaned
Now, let's do just a little thing, and I'm not going to dwell too much on this point because I'm going to develop this in the next lesson a little more. But here they are on the verge of going into the promised land. They've already been told. God had already promised them it was a land full of milk and honey. They had promise after promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moreover, they had seen all these miracles and signs and wonders that God had done. God has them right on the border.
#60 | 42:16 to 42:54 | cleaned
And they believe a lie rather than the truth. You know what the Bible says in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 23? Let me just quote it for you. "He brought us out, that he might bring us in." God didn't bring them out of Egypt to drop them in the desert. He brought them out to bring them in to Canaan land, in to the promise. So the truth of the matter is this: the people chose to believe a lie rather than the truth. And you know, this is absolutely an amazing thing to me.
#61 | 42:58 to 43:41 | cleaned
You look at the faithless men who are preachers, who are liars, who are perverts, who do not preach and teach the Word of God, and they have thousands in attendance every Sunday, and more money than they can shake a stick at. And yet you get some faithful man who will preach the word, and there's one little group that will believe the truth. I like what our Lord said, "Fear not, little flock."
#62 | 43:44 to 44:27 | cleaned
"It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." But why is it there's such a handful that will congregate around truth? Because the multitude had rather believe a lie. And one way they despise the land is they believe the wickedness of these wicked spies in lying against God rather than believing the Word of God Himself. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather believe God than man. And you'll get in quick trouble with God when you believe man over God. I'll point it out next time, but when you do that, you're in actuality calling God a liar. Wicked. So they listened to wickedness instead of the word.
#63 | 44:28 to 45:30 | cleaned
Fourthly, look in verse 33. Numbers chapter 13. Here's the fourth way in which they despised the land. They were looking through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith. Verse 33. "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants. And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. So we were in their sight." Now, looking through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith, let me give you a passage. If you don't memorize any other verse this week or this year, please memorize 2 Timothy 1 and verse 7.
#64 | 45:30 to 46:21 | cleaned
I'll quote it for you. "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind." God has not given us a spirit of fear. The world may give you fear. The devil may give you fear. The flesh may give you fear. Your enemies may give you fear. But God doesn't. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
#65 | 46:21 to 46:53 | cleaned
Now I want you to watch this. Let's go back and read verse 33 again. Numbers 13, verse 33. "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. So we were in their sight."
#66 | 46:53 to 47:14 | cleaned
Now listen to me carefully. Fear not only diminishes our own strength and abilities in our eyes—we're grasshoppers in our eyes—but fear also magnifies the enemy's strengths and abilities in our eyes. "And so we were in their sight." How did they know they were as grasshoppers in their enemy's sight? Did they ask them? Well, of course not. Their fear was magnifying their enemy's power and ability. They didn't have that power. They didn't have that ability. But their fear was magnifying it. So also we were in their sight.
#67 | 47:14 to 48:01 | cleaned
Now, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8. I want to tie this together in just a moment. Matthew chapter 8, look in verse 26. I want you to see what our Lord said to His very own disciples. Matthew chapter 8 and verse 26. You remember Christ is asleep in the boat. There's a great tempest. They start crying out, "Awaken, save us or we perish." And of course, Christ awakens and He calms the sea. Verse 25 says this, "And the disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, 'Lord, save us, we perish.'"
#68 | 48:01 to 48:38 | cleaned
"And he saith unto them, 'Why are ye so fearful, O ye of little faith?'" Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? What is He teaching us? If you're fearful, you're not exercising faith. If you're exercising faith, you're not fearful. Faith and fear are mutually exclusive. You cannot walk by faith and walk in fear at the same time. You cannot walk in fear and walk in faith at the same time. You're either fearful or you're exercising faith. One cannot have faith in God and fear of his enemies at the same time. Fears always dissipate and disappear before faith. You know, the Bible says in 1 John 5 and verse 4, "And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." How do we get victory over the world, the world system? By faith.
#69 | 48:38 to 50:01 | cleaned
And the children of Israel failed. They despised the pleasant land because they were looking through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith. By the way, when we hold on to our fears, we're despising God, because faith expels fear.
#70 | 50:04 to 50:33 | cleaned
Now, let me make some applications. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 14. And I want to review the first four verses. Numbers chapter 14. Let's read the first four verses. Watch carefully. "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 that we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore has the Lord brought us into 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 us a captain, and let us return into Egypt.'" Now one of the greatest insults and one of the clearest evidences of despisement is the simple truth that is manifested in verses 1 through 4, Numbers chapter 14.
#71 | 50:34 to 51:43 | cleaned
The people did not believe the land was worth fighting for. Did you hear that? They said, "Oh man, we've got giants. We've got fortified cities. Ah, wouldn't it be God we'd die in Egypt? Wouldn't it be God we'd die in this wilderness? I tell you what, let's make a captain and we'll go back into Egypt." What were they saying? What God has given us is not worth fighting for. It's not worth hazarding our lives to possess. What an insult. What a despising of God's gracious provision. And to add insult to injury, they were even saying that Egypt, in all of its sin and slavery, was better than freedom and God's provision.
#72 | 51:43 to 52:47 | cleaned
Question, do we not do the same thing today? We don't think God's truth is worth fighting for. We don't fight for it. You see, failure to act upon God's Word is in reality a despising of God's Word. When you know the truth and you refuse to act upon it, when you refuse to obey it and perform it, when you know it, you're despising God and His truth.
#73 | 52:51 to 53:31 | cleaned
What does James 4:17 say? "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." But it's more than sin. It's a despising of God and His Word. And thus the scripture says these Israelites despised the pleasant land. They looked at circumstances rather than Christ. They looked at multitudes rather than mercy. They listened to wickedness rather than the Word. And they looked through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith. And they ended up despising God's gracious provision and the provider of that provision. We must act upon God's Word and God's truth and make sure that in every area of our life, we give Him the preeminence. Let's pray. Father, help us today. Teach us. Build us up in the most holy faith. And Lord, each of us have sinned against Thee so many times, in looking at our circumstances rather than Christ. We've looked at the multitude rather than Your mercy. We've listened to wickedness rather than Your Word. And we've certainly looked through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith.
#74 | 53:32 to 55:19 | cleaned
But Lord, we ask for repentance, we ask for help and for strength to do that which is right, and to trust Thee for the results, knowing that Thou art too loving to be unkind and too wise to make a mistake. And we give our lives into Your hand and trust Thee explicitly through our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen. Amen.
#75 | 55:20 to 55:48 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:46:26Z

The Hallelujah of Confession - Part 10 of 16

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, John Weaver continues his series on Psalm 106, focusing on verse 24: 'Yea, they despised the pleasant land.' He explains that despising God's provision is equivalent to despising the Provider. Using the historical context of Numbers 13–14, he identifies four ways the Israelites despised the land: looking at circumstances rather than Christ, looking at multitudes rather than mercy, listening to wickedness instead of the Word, and looking through the eyes of fear rather than faith. Weaver emphasizes that these same sins are committed in principle today, leading to similar judgments, and calls believers to give Christ preeminence and act upon God's Word.

Introduction and Context

Weaver introduces the message as incomplete, covering only the first point on despisement from Psalm 106:24-27, and reviews the series' theme that the sins of the fathers are still with us today.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 106:24-27

"Yea, they despised the pleasant land. They believed not his word." "But murmured in their tents and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord. Therefore, he lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow their seed also among the nations and to scatter them in the lands."

Historical Background: Numbers 13–14

The historical context of Psalm 106:24 is Numbers 13–14, where the twelve spies return and ten give an evil report, leading the people to despise the land.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 13:21-33

"So they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. And they ascended by the south and came into Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, Talmai, the children of Anak were."

Now, I want you to look back to Psalm 106 and verse 24. I want to just catch this phrase, "Yea, they despised the pleasant land."

Definition of Despisement

Despisement means treating God's gracious provision as vile and contemptuous; to despise the promise is to despise the Promisor.

First Way: Looking at Circumstances Rather than Christ

The Israelites focused on walled cities and giants instead of God's power; circumstances reveal character but do not determine it.

Here's Caleb and Joshua again, and they spake, Numbers 14, verse 7,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:7-9

"And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, 'The land which we pass through to search it is an exceeding good land.' Now look, 'If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey.' Now watch this. 'Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us.'" "And their defense is departed from them."

Second Way: Looking at Multitudes Rather than Mercy

They feared the many enemy nations instead of trusting God's mercy to give victory, as seen in later biblical examples.

And let's begin reading there with verse 17. Deuteronomy 7 verse 17. Look what God tells us.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 7:17-19

"If thou shalt say in thine heart, 'These nations are more than I. How can I dispossess them?' Thou shalt not be afraid of them. But thou shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and all of Egypt, the great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm whereby thy Lord thy God brought thee out. So shalt the Lord thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid."

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 7:17-19

"When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies and seest horses and chariots and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them, for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 20:1-17

"It came to pass after this also that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, and with them also besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat in battle."

Now note, you've got the Moabites, you've got the Ammonites, and others.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 20:1-17

"Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, 'There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side of Syria, and behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi.' And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah."

Third Way: Listening to Wickedness Instead of the Word

The people believed the lying report of the ten spies rather than God's promises, demonstrating a preference for lies over truth.

Fourth Way: Looking Through Fear Rather than Faith

Fear diminished their own strength and magnified the enemy's, while faith and fear are mutually exclusive.

Application: Despising God's Provision Today

The Israelites' refusal to fight for the land shows they did not value God's gift; similarly, failing to act on God's Word is despising Him.

Scripture Reading — James 4:17

"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

The Hallelujah of Confession - Part 10 of 16

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	117091458586
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs: Kingship, Household Wisdom, and Warning
Genre	Sermon
Date	2000-07-23
Dictation Name
Book	Book 053: The Hallelujah of Confession — Chapter 10
Source Timed Segments	75

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Context: Weaver introduces the message as incomplete, covering only the first point on despisement from Psalm 106:24-27, and reviews the series' theme that the sins of the fathers are still with us today.
Historical Background: Numbers 13–14: The historical context of Psalm 106:24 is Numbers 13–14, where the twelve spies return and ten give an evil report, leading the people to despise the land.
Definition of Despisement: Despisement means treating God's gracious provision as vile and contemptuous; to despise the promise is to despise the Promisor.
First Way: Looking at Circumstances Rather than Christ: The Israelites focused on walled cities and giants instead of God's power; circumstances reveal character but do not determine it.
Second Way: Looking at Multitudes Rather than Mercy: They feared the many enemy nations instead of trusting God's mercy to give victory, as seen in later biblical examples.
Third Way: Listening to Wickedness Instead of the Word: The people believed the lying report of the ten spies rather than God's promises, demonstrating a preference for lies over truth.
Fourth Way: Looking Through Fear Rather than Faith: Fear diminished their own strength and magnified the enemy's, while faith and fear are mutually exclusive.
Application: Despising God's Provision Today: The Israelites' refusal to fight for the land shows they did not value God's gift; similarly, failing to act on God's Word is despising Him.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Sins of the fathers persist in principle today

The same sins committed by Israel are committed by believers today, leading to similar judgments.

Weaver states: 'If we commit the same sins in principle as they did in the Old Testament, then undoubtedly the judgments and the curses are still the same as well.'

Despisement is rooted in misplaced focus

The Israelites despised the land by focusing on circumstances, multitudes, lies, and fear instead of God.

Weaver outlines four ways: looking at circumstances rather than Christ, multitudes rather than mercy, wickedness rather than the Word, and fear rather than faith.

Fear negates faith

Fear and faith cannot coexist; fear is not from God and leads to a distorted view of reality.

Weaver quotes 2 Timothy 1:7 and Matthew 8:26, explaining that fear magnifies enemies and diminishes self.

Believing lies is an insult to God

Choosing to believe false reports over God's promises is calling God a liar and despising His Word.

Weaver says: 'When you do that, you're in actuality calling God a liar.'

Inaction on truth is despising God

Knowing what is right and not doing it is not just sin but a despising of God and His truth.

Weaver references James 4:17 and states: 'It's more than sin. It's a despising of God and His Word.'

Scripture References

Psalm 106:24-27: Primary text for the sermon; describes Israel despising the pleasant land, disbelieving God's word, and disobeying.
Numbers 13:21-33: Historical account of the spies' report; they saw fortified cities and giants, leading to an evil report.
Numbers 14:1-4: The congregation weeps, murmurs, and desires to return to Egypt, showing they did not value the land.
Numbers 14:7-9: Joshua and Caleb urge the people not to rebel or fear, declaring the land is good and the enemies are bread for them.
Numbers 14:22: God notes the ten temptations of Israel despite the ten wonders in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 8:7-9: Description of the good land God was giving Israel, contrasting their despising of it.
Deuteronomy 32:6: God asks if Israel is requiting Him foolishly, highlighting their ingratitude.
Deuteronomy 7:17-19: God instructs Israel not to fear nations more numerous, remembering His deliverance from Egypt.
Deuteronomy 20:1,3: Command not to fear in battle when seeing horses, chariots, and a people more than Israel.
1 Kings 20:13,28: God promises to deliver a great multitude into Ahab's hand to show He is the Lord.
2 Chronicles 20:1-17: Jehoshaphat's prayer and God's promise that the battle is His, not Israel's, against a great multitude.
2 Chronicles 32:1-8: Hezekiah's encouragement that there are more with Judah than with Assyria because God is with them.
Psalm 115:3: Our God is in the heavens and does whatever He pleases, emphasizing His sovereignty.
Psalm 2:1-4: The nations rage, but God laughs at their rebellion, showing His supreme power.
Proverbs 29:25: The fear of man brings a snare, but trusting the Lord brings safety.
Matthew 10:28: Fear God who can destroy both body and soul in hell, not man who can only kill the body.
Matthew 8:26: Jesus rebukes the disciples for being fearful and having little faith during the storm.
2 Timothy 1:7: God has not given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.
1 John 5:4: Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
James 4:17: Knowing to do good and not doing it is sin; applied as despising God's Word.

Historical References

The twelve spies sent by Moses (Numbers 13–14): Ten spies gave an evil report, causing Israel to despise the land and rebel.
The ten plagues of Egypt: God performed ten wonders in Egypt, yet Israel tempted Him ten times.
Jehoshaphat's victory over Moab and Ammon (2 Chronicles 20): God caused enemy armies to destroy each other; Judah only collected spoil.
Hezekiah's deliverance from Sennacherib (2 Chronicles 32): An angel killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night, demonstrating God's power over multitudes.
Christophany in the Old Testament (1 Corinthians 10:4): The rock that followed Israel was Christ, showing Christ's presence in the Old Testament.

Important Quotes

If you despise the provision, it means that you also despise the provider.

Core principle that rejecting God's gifts is rejecting God Himself.

Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him.

Key insight that trials expose character rather than create it.

Faith and fear are mutually exclusive. You cannot walk by faith and walk in fear at the same time.

Defines the incompatibility of faith and fear, central to the sermon's application.

When you know the truth and you refuse to act upon it, when you refuse to obey it and perform it, when you know it, you're despising God and His truth.

Practical application that inaction on known truth is a form of despising God.

Fear not only diminishes our own strength and abilities in our eyes—we're grasshoppers in our eyes—but fear also magnifies the enemy's strengths and abilities in our eyes.

Explains the psychological effect of fear, distorting self-perception and perception of opposition.

What God has given us is not worth fighting for. It's not worth hazarding our lives to possess. What an insult. What a despising of God's gracious provision.

Highlights the insult of devaluing God's gifts, paralleling Israel's desire to return to Egypt.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways do we today 'despise the pleasant land' by focusing on circumstances rather than Christ?

[Context]

Weaver argues that looking at problems instead of God's power is a form of despising Him.

[Question]

How can we practically shift our focus from the 'multitudes' of our problems to God's mercy?

[Context]

The sermon uses biblical examples like Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah to show trust in God's mercy over enemy strength.

[Question]

Why are we often more prone to believe lies than God's truth, and how can we guard against this?

[Context]

Weaver notes the human tendency to believe false reports, as Israel did with the spies.

[Question]

What are some areas where fear has caused you to see yourself as a 'grasshopper' and magnified your obstacles?

[Context]

Fear distorts self-perception and enemy perception, as seen in Numbers 13:33.

[Question]

How does failing to act on known truth equate to despising God, and what steps can we take to obey more fully?

[Context]

Weaver applies James 4:17 to show that inaction is a form of despising God's Word.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T05:42:14Z