Scripture Reading: Num. 13:17—14:38; Deut. 1:34-38; Josh. 14:6-14; Heb. 3:14

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 11　DAY 1　»

　　1 Cor. 10:11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our admonition, unto whom the ends of the ages have come.

　　Num. 14:29-30 Your corpses shall fall in this wilderness, and none of you who were numbered,...who have murmured against Me, shall come into the land, in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

　　Paul's use of the word examples [in 1 Corinthians 10:6] is very significant....First Corinthians takes the history of the children of Israel in the Old Testament as a type of the New Testament believers. In chapters 5, 7, and 8 they have experienced Christ as their Passover and have begun to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Here in chapter 10 they have been baptized unto their Moses (Christ), passing through their Red Sea (the death of Christ). They are now eating the spiritual food and drinking the spiritual drink that they may take their journey (the Christian race) toward their good land (the all-inclusive Christ). They are also warned here (v. 11) not to repeat the history of the children of Israel in doing evil against God, as illustrated in verses 6 through 11. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, p. 421)

　　The goal of God's calling the children of Israel was to enter into the promised land to enjoy its riches that they might establish God's kingdom and be God's expression on earth. However, although all had been redeemed through the passover, delivered out of the Egyptian tyranny, and brought to the mountain of God to receive the revelation of God's dwelling place, the tabernacle, nearly all fell and died in the wilderness, failing to reach this goal (Heb. 3:7-19) because of their evil doings and unbelief. Only Caleb and Joshua made it into the good land (Num. 14:27-30). This signifies that although we have been redeemed through Christ, delivered out of Satan's bondage, and brought into the revelation of God's economy, we may yet fail to reach the goal of God's calling, that is, to enter into the possession of our good land, Christ (Phil. 3:12-14), and enjoy His riches for the kingdom of God that we may be His expression in the present age and participate in the fullest enjoyment of Christ in the kingdom age (Matt. 25:21, 23). This should be a solemn warning to all New Testament believers. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 421-422)

　　We need to read the history of Israel as our history. Without God's mercy and grace, we would be the same as they. Thus, we must be very much on the alert. We should not think that it is a small thing to touch the church, the church life, the way of the church, or the ground of the church....Without the church, God has no way to go on. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were God's way. If God had not been able to accomplish His purpose with them, He would not have had a way on earth. Today the church is God's way. It is therefore a serious matter to touch the church, to say something evil or good about the church. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 155)

　　God's full salvation, which He intended for the children of Israel, included redemption through the passover lamb, exodus from Egypt, feeding by the heavenly manna, thirst-quenching by the living water from the cleft rock, and partaking of the riches of the good land of Canaan. All the Israelites shared in the passover lamb, the heavenly manna, and the living water, but of those who shared the exodus from Egypt only Joshua and Caleb entered into the good land and partook of it; all the rest fell in the wilderness (Num. 14:30; 1 Cor. 10:1-11). Though all were redeemed, only the two overcomers, Joshua and Caleb, received the prize of the good land.

　　According to what has been depicted of the children of Israel, not all believers who have been redeemed through Christ will partake of Christ as a prize to them as their rest, their satisfaction, both in the church age and in the coming kingdom. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 283-284)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msgs. 47-48

«　WEEK 11　DAY 2　»

　　John 14:1 Do not let your heart be troubled; believe into God, believe also into Me.

　　Heb. 3:12 Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief in falling away from the living God.

　　No heart is more evil than a heart of unbelief. Nothing offends God as much as our unbelief. David committed a dreadful sin, murdering a man and taking his wife. Governmentally speaking, however, this sin was not that serious, for it did not cause God to give up David. But the unbelief of the children of Israel in the wilderness caused God to give them up. Unbelief insults and offends God Himself. Every sin breaks God's righteous law, but some sins do not insult God Himself, as does the sin of unbelief. (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 265)

　　Our God is the living God. Unbelief is so evil because it insults the living, faithful, and almighty God. If we do not believe in God, in His work and in His ways, we insult Him. This is why we must beware of unbelief. Hebrews 3:10 says, "Therefore I was displeased with this generation, and I said, They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways." God's ways are different from His acts. His acts are His activities; His ways are the principles by which He acts. The children of Israel only knew His acts, but Moses knew His ways (Psa. 103:7). In the wilderness the children of Israel saw a miracle nearly every morning—the manna. If such a miracle would occur today, it would be publicized in newspapers throughout the world. Although the children of Israel witnessed such a miracle, they, unlike Moses, saw only the acts of God; they did not know God's faithful, divine ways. We should not be like the children of Israel; we must learn the ways, the principles, of our God. When the children of Israel lacked food and water, they complained and murmured. When God acted on their behalf, they were happy temporarily, but not long afterward they offended God again. If we look at ourselves, we would not criticize them, because we would see that we are the same. We may shout, "Praise the Lord!" one night in a meeting and murmur against the Lord the next morning. How we need to know the ways of God! Our God is living and has His principles in doing things. He will never deny Himself. He is able, almighty, and faithful, always keeping His promises and fulfilling His word.

　　Although God is living and faithful, the evil heart is hardened against Him (Heb. 3:8). In a sense, an evil heart is very reasonable; it reasons a great deal. However, in another sense, it is stubborn and without reason because it is hardened. Hence, it departs from the right track and goes astray, not knowing God's ways or principles. It tries God by putting Him to the test (3:9). Eventually, such a heart is self-deceiving and will be deceived (3:13). This is the condition of an evil heart. Such an evil heart always issues from the hardening. How dangerous it is for our heart to be hardened! We need to pray again and again for the Lord to soften our heart, saying, "Lord, have mercy on me. Soften my heart and never allow it to be hardened."

　　Joshua and Caleb said, "Only do not rebel against Jehovah, nor should you fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their protection has been removed from them, and Jehovah is with us; do not fear them" (Num. 14:9). Joshua and Caleb spoke the truth. However, the children of Israel did not reason according to the truth but according to the lie, not counting on the ways of God.

　　In the eyes of God, no one is as evil as the one who will not believe in Him. The unbelieving heart is the most evil heart. Nothing insults God more than our unbelief, and nothing honors Him more than our believing in Him. We must believe whatever God says in His word. If our heart does not believe God's word, it is in His eyes an evil, unbelieving heart. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 265-267, 532)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Hebrews, msgs. 25, 47

«　WEEK 11　DAY 3　»

　　Num. 13:30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

　　14:9 Only do not rebel against Jehovah, nor should you fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their protection has been removed from them, and Jehovah is with us; do not fear them.

　　Even though God had gone before them in the fire by night and in the cloud by day, seeking out places for them to camp and showing them the way they should go (Deut. 1:33), the children of Israel disregarded God's care for them in the wilderness because of the evil report brought back by ten of the twelve men who went to spy out the good land and because they forgot how He had carried them through the great and awesome wilderness (v. 31). Thus, they had an evil heart of unbelief, believing neither in God nor in His promise. They even murmured against God, saying that God brought them into the land to fall by the sword and for their wives and little ones to become a plunder (Num. 14:1-3). Hence, God swore in His wrath that not one of the unbelieving generation would see the good land which He had sworn to give to their fathers; only Caleb and Joshua were allowed to enter (Deut. 1:34-38). (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, p. 100)

　　The little ones, who the people said would become plunder, were brought into the land by God. The people and their children wandered in the wilderness forty years to bear their iniquities....Those who gave the evil report all died by a plague before Jehovah (Num. 14:26-38). This shows that it is a terrible thing not to believe in God. We need to be careful not to have an evil heart of unbelief. (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, p. 100)

　　Our faith may be very weak and small, nearly nonexistent. Since this may be our situation, we should learn to humble ourselves before God, confessing the weakness of our faith and asking Him to forgive us. This is the spirit we should have before God. But as indicated by what they said, the children of Israel did not care for God but only for themselves.

　　Their consideration was not for God but for their own interest. They did not care for God in the least, but cared only for their safety, their peace, and their existence. They did not confess their weakness or humble themselves before God. Eventually, they offended God to such an extent that they became abhorrent to Him.

　　They became abhorrent because they were so much for themselves. In everything and in every way they were for themselves, not for God's interests. If they had thought even a little about God's interests, they would have said, "God, as You have been so good to us, we just love You. We would like to sacrifice our future, our safety, our security, our existence, and everything for Your purpose. We forget about our benefit. We care only that You accomplish Your purpose. For Your purpose, let us go and possess the land."

　　What they did was mostly for themselves. This situation brought in God's judgment and punishment. (Life-study of Numbers, pp. 149-151, 157)

　　Faith is always real and true. The environment is a lie. Listen to faith, not to the lie. If our environment is good, we do not need to believe. We need to believe when we are in a difficult environment. Worry, anxiety, and even physical sickness, all are lies. Faith always tells the environment that it is a lie, not a giant. To deny the environment is faith. In Numbers 13 and 14, Joshua and Caleb took the word of God as their faith. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, "The Experience and Growth in Life," pp. 37-38)

　　When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, they were always murmuring, reasoning, and chiding. That was surely in their soul, not in their spirit. But Joshua and Caleb believed in the word of God, obeyed the Lord, and pressed toward the goal. This was surely not in their soul but in their spirit. (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 289)

　　Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, lsn. 29

«　WEEK 11　DAY 4　»

　　Heb. 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

　　3:14 For we have become partners of Christ, if indeed we hold fast the beginning of the assurance firm to the end.

　　[In Numbers 13:33 the Israelites seemed to reason], "There are giants in the land, and we are like grasshoppers in their sight. They will eat us up." This is the logic of unbelief, the logic of reasoning according to the natural concept and not counting on the ways of God or trusting in the faithfulness of God. Joshua and Caleb stood against that kind of reasoning, declaring that the people were well able to take the land. Joshua and Caleb honored God, and God, in turn, honored them for honoring Him. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 267-268)

　　Who among us can boast that he has faith? Faith is of God, faith is in God, and faith comes from God. If we would have faith, we must learn to care for God's interests and not for our benefit. The worldly people are concerned daily for their own security and benefit, but we should care for God and His interests. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 152)

　　Faith stops our activities. Faith always praises God. The example of Joshua and Caleb in the Bible shows us what it is to believe. Joshua and Caleb were not the ones who overcame in Numbers 13 and 14; it was the One in whom they trusted. God did everything. They simply enjoyed what God did. In Joshua 3 they crossed the Jordan River, but it was God who stopped the water. They simply walked over. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, "The Experience and Growth in Life," p. 37)

　　I cannot make it, but Christ can make it, and He is in me. We must have faith in the power of His resurrection. God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think and all that we dream or imagine. God will do it; God will make it. Let us follow the example of Joshua and Caleb. They had hearts full of faith. They could tell the people, "Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it" (Num. 13:30). (The All-inclusive Christ, p. 156)

　　Christ, the Captain of salvation, is the real Joshua leading God's people to take and possess the land. We, His partners, are the real Calebs sharing with Him in the taking and possessing of the land. (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 181)

　　Hebrews 3:14 says, "We have become partners of Christ." Christ is the Firstborn, and we are His brothers. Christ is the Head of the Body, and we are His members....Christ has been anointed by God to carry out God's commission. Now as Christ's partners we share with Him in carrying out God's commission.

　　The portion from Hebrews 3:7 through 3:14 deals with entering the good land. The type of this entering the good land was the entering of the land under the leadership of Joshua. Joshua was the leader, and Caleb was his partner, comrade, companion, in possessing the good land. Today Christ is the real Joshua, and we are His Calebs....When we enjoy Christ, we are His partakers. When we follow Him, we are His partners. As His partners, we are working together with Him and cooperating with Him to fulfill God's desire to have a corporate expression of Himself. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1114-1115)

　　At the time of Numbers 14:24 most of the Israelites were quite rebellious toward God, but Caleb was different. He did not have a different mind, a different will, a different heart, or different decision. Caleb had a different spirit. Verse 24 then says that Caleb fully followed the Lord. We have no other way to follow the Lord. If we are going to follow the Lord, we have to use the proper organ, our human spirit. Caleb followed the Lord by a different spirit, which was different from all the other spirits. (CWWL, 1965, vol. 3, "Our Human Spirit," pp. 232-233)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Numbers, msgs. 20-21

«　WEEK 11　DAY 5　»

　　Josh. 14:8 However my brothers who went up with me made the people's heart melt, but I fully followed Jehovah my God.

　　14 Therefore Hebron has become the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day because he fully followed Jehovah the God of Israel.

　　We must be resolute and determined in our will to stand with the Lord, just as Caleb and Joshua fully followed God (Num. 14:6-9, 24; Deut. 1:36; Josh. 14:14). Caleb fully followed God because he knew that God wanted the children of Israel to enter into the good land. He also knew that no matter how strong their enemies were, God would fight for them. Since God wanted them to enter the good land, He would accomplish everything for them. Caleb seemed to say, "If we know that we are weak, God knows that we are weak. If we know that the seven Canaanite tribes are strong, God also knows that they are strong. Since God knows these things, He would not ask us to enter the land of Canaan unless He intends to fight on our behalf and destroy our enemies." (The Sufficiency, Pursuit, and Learning of the Lord's Serving Ones, p. 102)

　　The inhabitants of the land were admittedly "men of great size," but in Caleb's eyes, they were food for God's people. He not only honored God's promises; he despised all the difficulties. Everyone who has genuine faith honors God and lightly esteems all difficulties. But this leaves no room for pride, for only those who humble themselves before God will be able to stand upon His victory.

　　Every time you meet a difficulty, every time you find yourself in an impossible situation, ask yourself this question: Am I going to starve here, or am I going to eat? If you are relying on the Lord for victory and allow His overcoming life to be manifested in you, you will find fresh nourishment and increased vitality, and you will be fed once again. Bear in mind that people who do not eat well cannot grow into maturity. Our bread is not only the word of God; our meat is not only to do His will; our bread is also the Anakim—the difficulties that are in our way. Many people take the word of God as their bread and the doing of His will as their meat, but they have not eaten the Anakim. Many eat too little of the Anakim. The more we eat the Anakim, the stronger we will become. Caleb is a grand illustration of this. Because he accepted the Anakim as "bread," he was still full of vitality at the age of eighty-five. His strength was the same at eighty-five as it was at forty. So many Anakim had been assimilated by him over the years that he had developed a constitution which showed no trace of age. This is also true in the spiritual realm. Some brothers and sisters have met few difficulties, but it is obvious that there are many weaknesses in their lives. They are weak before the Lord because they have not consumed enough Anakim. However, there are those who have met and overcome difficulty after difficulty, temptation after temptation; they are full of vigor because they have fed well on Anakim. We have to eat our difficulties and our temptation. Every difficulty and every temptation Satan puts in our way is food for us. This is a God-appointed means of spiritual progress. The sight of any trouble strikes terror into the heart of those who do not have faith, but those who trust Him say, "Here comes my food!" Praise and thank the Lord, all our trials, without exception, are bread for us. Every trial brings in growth after we have eaten of it. As we accept one trial after another, we are more and more richly nourished. (CWWN, vol. 37, "God's Keeping Power," pp. 15-16)

　　If we do not engage in the battle, we will be hungry. Daily manna is not good enough; we must take and swallow up the enemy. The enemy will be our food, and to swallow him will be our satisfaction. Brothers and sisters, you and I must have living faith to go on, to take up the battle, and to swallow the enemy....The defeated enemy is the best bread, the most tasteful bread. (The All-inclusive Christ, p. 157)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 37, ch. 3; CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, "The Experience and Growth in Life," ch. 6

«　WEEK 11　DAY 6　»

　　Rom. 16:20 Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

　　2 Tim. 4:7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith.

　　The book of Deuteronomy...shows us Christ as the goal, the aim, prepared for us by God (8:7-10). As this goal, Christ is the all- inclusive good land. The good land, the land of Canaan, is a type of the all-inclusive Christ, the Christ who is everything to us.

　　The good land provided whatever the children of Israel needed: water, wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive trees, animals, milk, honey, stones, iron, copper. All these items, most of which are mentioned in 8:7-10, are types of Christ. (Life-study of Deuteronomy, p. 39)

　　In the Old Testament the tribes of Israel each received an allotment, a portion, of the good land for an inheritance. The good land is a type of the all-inclusive Christ given to us as our inheritance. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 1088)

　　As a mixture of economy and chaos, the Christian life is a miniature of the entire universe. The history of the universe is a history of God's economy and Satan's chaos. Furthermore, the entire Bible, from the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation, is a record of the divine economy and the satanic chaos. In our married life we also have the economy of God and the chaos of Satan. The reason for this situation is that in the universe there are two sources—God and Satan.

　　We need to realize that, both in the Bible and in our experience, the satanic chaos always goes along with the divine economy....Where there is the divine economy, there is the satanic chaos. Where God is, Satan is also.

　　We were called by the Lord to be one with Him to conquer His enemy, to overcome him. Some of us may feel that there is too much chaos today....We might want to ask the Lord to deliver us out of this. Instead of delivering us, however, the Lord might allow chaos to come to our place so that we would learn how to be one with Him to conquer it, to overcome it. We are in the Lord's recovery, which is for the carrying out of God's economy on the earth....The overcomers are not delivered out of this present chaos. Instead, the overcomers conquer all the destructive chaos and triumph in the unique constructive economy.

　　The overcomers are those who suffer the chaos, but they are not disappointed or discouraged. Instead, they are strengthened and enabled to stand for and live out the divine economy. The satanic chaos is still going on around us in Christendom. Even within the Lord's recovery, we have experienced this chaos....All of us have to conquer this destructive chaos. If we are enabled by the Lord to conquer all the destructive chaos, we will triumphantly enter into the kingdom.

　　What the Lord needs is the race of overcomers to conquer all the satanic chaos and triumph in the divine economy.

　　We have to conquer the satanic chaos by the processed and consummated Triune God as the all-sufficient grace (1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 12:9; 2 Tim. 4:22). In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul says that the grace of the Lord was with him; in Galatians 6:18 he says that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is with our spirit; and in 2 Timothy 4:22 he says that the Lord is with our spirit. The Lord as the all-sufficient grace is with our spirit, and we can conquer all the satanic chaos and carry out the unique divine economy by Him as our all-sufficient grace.

　　We can conquer all the satanic chaos and carry out the divine economy according to the truth, of which the church, the manifestation of God in the flesh, is the pillar and base (1 Tim. 3:15-16). (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 3, "The Satanic Chaos in the Old Creation and the Divine Economy for the New Creation," pp. 200, 202, 273-274, 256, 246, 257)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 3, "The Satanic Chaos in the Old Creation and the Divine Economy for the New Creation," chs. 1, 3-4; Life-study of Hebrews, msg. 16