Biblical Text: Number 13: Lost

For years they followed a God they could not see. The only thing they had was a tent and an ark crafted in the wilderness. Only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies once a year and this is where God was. They stood around the outside and watched as a cloud descended as

The various symbols Jesus employs in his preaching reflect the common lives of most of his hearers. The agrarian and pastoral themes were especially popular, because many Israelites were farmers and shepherds. Most of Jesus’ parables and

They reported that the land “flowed with milk and honey” (v.27) but also had giants, large fortified cities and “we were like grasshoppers in our own sight (v.33). The second report came from two men, Caleb and Joshua. They said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are able to overcome it” (v.30). While one group rejected the risk, the other group accepted the challenge given by Moses, “be of good courage” (v.20). “Risk perception is a highly personal process of decision making, based on an individual's frame of reference developed over a lifetime, among many other factors” (Brown, 2014,

2) There is biblical precedence for gathering intelligence on enemy terrain and forces. God told Moses to send spies into the Promised Land so that he can see for himself (Num.13-2). Moses, the customer, wanted specific intelligence on, what the land was (Num. 13:18a), the strength and numbers of the people there (Num. 13:18b), are there strongholds (Num. 13:19), and is the land bearing good crops (Num. 13:20). Joshua also used spies to ascertain the fortifications and enemy strength in Jericho. Joshua’s spies also recruited a

Imagine a world where there is no technology, air condition, airplanes, and the only way to travel is by ship. You would pray for safe travels, but there was no certainty to whether you would live to see the next day because the ocean could be unpredictable. All you had were friends and family, the ocean, and a hope for a better future. In the early 1600s, this is exactly what the pilgrims faced as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean to reach their destination in the Americas. They left Great Britain for religious freedom and trusted that God would protect them. When the pilgrims, reached the new land they began to colonize. As time passed, their dependence on God began to fade. This is one of the reasons that caused the Great Awakening.

Moving on, from what Richter named the barrier (people, time, and space), chapter three contains the outworking of God through the five men discussed before. As she states, “the biblical writers consciously organized their material in a systematic fashion in order to communicate certain central truths.” The author briefly details the aspects of the covenants within the Old Testament surrounding Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. Taking, in turn, each of them and expositing them in a way that shows the redemptive story that is taking place. “For each of these characters was called to mediate a covenant between God and humanity”. Tying into the culture of the people, God used the fallen and difficult Israelite culture to set up his redemptive plan the would show to be faithful, even to a faithless people.

Let’s talk about the world about 2,000 years ago. It was a world where the mass of people were illiterate, taxes were extremely high, and the leaders would cheat and kill to feed their ever growing need for power. We all can relate to having a good storyteller in our lives, most were read to at night by their parents or are parents themselves that read to their children. What is the purpose of storytelling? It’s simple, comfort. A good story can ease your psychological unrest as well as offer a moral purpose. Sometimes you can even relate a story to your own life and offer an explanation to something you may be experiencing. This is exactly what the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were. They told their stories of Jesus to offer comfort to their people in a time when people could not pick up a story and read it themselves. It is part of human nature to have the desire for a good story. This paper will describe several events that were written by great storytellers in the bible.

Groupthink is more likely to occur in a provocative situation with high amounts of external stress. In these situations, groupthink is especially likely when the members of the group have little hope for better solutions than those proposed by the leader. The attractiveness of the Branch Davidians' alternative to Koresh--surrendering to the FBI--was greatly undermined by the government's treatment of the adults and children who did surrender.[124]

The next step in the dwindling faith in God during this demoralizing experience is the doubting of God. The Jews thought

Jesus related a parable of a sheep who became lost (Luke 15:1-7). All activity stopped until the lost sheep was found, then rejoicing celebrated the return of the lost.

This desire to be like others caused the Hebrews to stray away from God’s ideal social structure even though God’s structure was the more perfect one that promoted an efficient allocation of wealth and resources. This straying away from God becomes the main theme of the Bible as we read of many stories that involve God using various means from prophets and punishment to bring His people away from the customs of the world and back to His perfect will for the world. Halteman also stresses the need for a supporting community of faith in order to resist the ways of the secular world.

Throughout history man’s view of God has constantly evolved. During the formation of America this is made evident when the 17th century Puritan idealism is confronted with 18th century Enlightenment. This collision of religious ideas would spark a change, and a new age in America. My research will shows the original American settlers had concepts and, emerging different understanding of the biblical scripture and, needed to come to grips with social and religious freedom from being exclusive to being more inclusive.

2. When God decided to wipe the wicked people from the face of the Earth, he first warned Noah, making a covenant to save Noah and his family.

Nations fail because God’s people have turned to men for answers and not to God and as a result we seek our will and not God’s. We turn from him because we think we know better. Unfortunately, we make ourselves out to be fools by doing so.

The parable of the Lost Sheep indicates the shepherd left ninety-nine sheep to find the one lost sheep. Why would Jesus teach to leave ninety-nine sheep for only one lost sheep? Was there another shepherd in-training to look after the ninety-nine or how long was the shepherd gone? Questions our mere mortal minds of 2017 try to answer using current culture ideals. Too often, this generation of believers get bogged down in the details and not the message of the parables. Jesus taught using parables to draw the listener to His message about the kingdom of heaven and can best be understood looking through a scriptural lens and not beyond what the Word provides.