You can find the overview video that Pastor Alex showed here under the Torah Series. Just click on the Numbers video.

The book of Numbers can be broken down like this:

Wilderness of Sinai     Travel     Wilderness of Paran     Travel     Wilderness of Moab

Ch. 1-10                            10-12      Ch 13-19                       20-21     Ch. 22-36

Order                                                   Disorder                                      Re-order

In Chapter 13, God told the spies to check out the land, the people, and the cities. He put the emphasis on looking at the land. Ten of the twelve spies came back, after 40 days, very negative and discouraged. They focused on the people. They looked through a lens of fear instead of faith. Caleb and Joshua, the other 2 spies, had faith and remembered what God had promised. They wanted to take the land right then!

Due to the negative attitude, the nation let out a loud cry and wept. The negativity of 10 broke the spirit of a nation. BUT, that negative attitude began much earlier. It only took them three days to begin complaining. It became the “norm” within the camp. Because of that mindset, God had to teach them how to be dependent on Him and obedient to His plans for them as a people. He punished them by making them spend a total of 40 years wandering in circles in the desert. A whole generation had to die off before the next generation would be allowed to enter the Promised Land.

Hard seasons in life are going to happen. It’s how we handle them that matters. Will we handle them like Jesus, who walked “in a straight line” towards Jerusalem to accomplish His purpose, or will we get distracted by things that us “going in circles”?