Shelach ~ Seeing, believing and believing in yourself

(1) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “Send men to scout the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelite people; send one man from each of their ancestral tribes, each one a chieftain among them.” (3) So Moses, by the LORD’s command, sent them out from the wilderness of Paran, all the men being leaders of the Israelites. (4) And these were their names.... (17) When Moses sent them to scout the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the Negeb and on into the hill country, (18) and see what kind of country it is. Are the people who dwell in it strong or weak, few or many? ... (25) At the end of forty days they returned from scouting the land. (26) They went straight to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran, and they made their report to them and to the whole community, as they showed them the fruit of the land. (27) This is what they told him: “We came to the land you sent us to; it does indeed flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. (28) However, the people who inhabit the country are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large; moreover, we saw the Anakites there. (29) Amalekites dwell in the Negeb region; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites inhabit the hill country; and Canaanites dwell by the Sea and along the Jordan.” (30) Caleb hushed the people before Moses and said, “Let us by all means go up, and we shall gain possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.” (31) But the men who had gone up with him said, “We cannot attack that people, for it is stronger than we.” (32) Thus they spread calumnies among the Israelites about the land they had scouted, saying, “The country that we traversed and scouted is one that devours its settlers. All the people that we saw in it are men of great size; (33) we saw the Nephilim there—the Anakites are part of the Nephilim—and we were like grasshoppers to our eyes, and so we were to their eyes.”

That shall be your tzitzit; and you will see it and remember all the mitzvot of the LORD and observe them, so that you do not scout after your heart and eyes since you lust after them.

(1) There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Becorath son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of substance. (2) He had a son whose name was Saul, an excellent young man; no one among the Israelites was handsomer than he; he was a head taller than any of the people. (3) Once the asses of Saul’s father Kish went astray, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take along one of the servants and go out and look for the asses.” ... (14) So they went up to the town; and as they were entering the town, Samuel came out toward them, on his way up to the shrine. (15) Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed the following to Samuel: (16) “At this time tomorrow, I will send a man to you from the territory of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him ruler of My people Israel. He will deliver My people from the hands of the Philistines; for I have taken note of My people, their outcry has come to Me.” (17) As soon as Samuel saw Saul, the LORD declared to him, “This is the man that I told you would govern My people.” (18) Saul approached Samuel inside the gate and said to him, “Tell me, please, where is the house of the seer?” (19) And Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the shrine, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, after telling you whatever may be on your mind. (20) As for your asses that strayed three days ago, do not concern yourself about them, for they have been found. And for whom is all Israel yearning, if not for you and all your ancestral house?” (21) Saul replied, “But I am only a Benjaminite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my clan is the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin! Why do you say such things to me?” (22) Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of the guests, who numbered about thirty. (23) And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you and told you to set aside.” (24) The cook lifted up the thigh and what was on it, and set it before Saul. And [Samuel] said, “What has been reserved is set before you. Eat; it has been kept for you for this occasion, when I said I was inviting the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day. (25) They then descended from the shrine to the town, and [Samuel] talked with Saul on the roof. (26) Early, at the break of day, Samuel called to Saul on the roof. He said, “Get up, and I will send you off.” Saul arose, and the two of them, Samuel and he, went outside. (27) As they were walking toward the end of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to walk ahead of us”—and he walked ahead—“but you stop here a moment and I will make known to you the word of God.” (1) Samuel took a flask of oil and poured some on Saul’s head and kissed him, and said, “The LORD herewith anoints you ruler over His own people. (2) When you leave me today, [Samuel gives three signs to Saul, and they are fulfilled] ...(14) Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” “To look for the asses,” he replied. “And when we saw that they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” (15) “Tell me,” said Saul’s uncle, “what did Samuel say to you?” (16) Saul answered his uncle, “He just told us that the asses had been found.” But he did not tell him anything of what Samuel had said about the kingship. (17) Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah (18) and said to them, “Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ (19) But today you have rejected your God who delivered you from all your troubles and calamities. For you said, ‘No, set up a king over us!’ Now station yourselves before the LORD, by your tribes and clans.” (20) Samuel brought forward each of the tribes of Israel, and the lot indicated the tribe of Benjamin. (21) Then Samuel brought forward the tribe of Benjamin by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was indicated; and then Saul son of Kish was indicated. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. (22) They inquired of the LORD again, “Has anyone else come here?” And the LORD replied, “Yes; he is hiding among the baggage.” (23) So they ran over and brought him from there; and when he took his place among the people, he stood a head taller than all the people. (24) And Samuel said to the people, “Do you see the one whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people acclaimed him, shouting, “Long live the king!” (25) Samuel expounded to the people the rules of the monarchy, and recorded them in a document which he deposited before the LORD. Samuel then sent the people back to their homes. (26) Saul also went home to Gibeah, accompanied by upstanding men whose hearts God had touched. (27) But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” So they scorned him and brought him no gift. But he pretended not to mind.

(1) Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over His people Israel. Therefore, listen to the LORD’s command! (2) “Thus said the LORD of Hosts: I am exacting the penalty for what Amalek did to Israel, for the assault he made upon them on the road, on their way up from Egypt..... (7) Saul destroyed Amalek from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is close to Egypt, (8) and he captured King Agag of Amalek alive. He proscribed all the people, putting them to the sword; (9) but Saul and the troops spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the second-born, the lambs, and all else that was of value. They would not proscribe them; they proscribed only what was cheap and worthless. (10) The word of the LORD then came to Samuel: (11) “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from Me and has not carried out My commands.” Samuel was distressed and he entreated the LORD all night long...(13) When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have fulfilled the LORD’s command.” (14) “Then what,” demanded Samuel, “is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of oxen that I hear?” (15) Saul answered, “They were brought from the Amalekites, for the troops spared the choicest of the sheep and oxen for sacrificing to the LORD your God. And we proscribed the rest.” (16) Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night!” “Speak,” he replied. (17) And Samuel said, “You may look small to yourself, but you are the head of the tribes of Israel. The LORD anointed you king over Israel! (18) And the LORD sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and proscribe the sinful Amalekites; make war on them until you have exterminated them!’ (19) Why did you disobey the LORD and swoop down on the spoil in defiance of the LORD’s will?” ... (35) Samuel never saw Saul again to the day of his death. But Samuel grieved over Saul, because the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.