Numbers 13:17-33 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan
and said to them, "Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill
country, (18) and see what the land is, and whether the
people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, (19)
and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the
cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, (20)
and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it
or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land." Now
the time was the season of the first ripe grapes… (25)
At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. (26)
And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the
people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word
to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the
land. (27) And they told him, "We came to the land
to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. (28)
However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are
fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak
there. (29) The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb.
The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And
the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan." (30)
But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up
at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." (31)
Then the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go
up against the people, for they are stronger than we are." (32)
So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that
they had spied out, saying, "The land, through which we have gone to spy
it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw
in it are of great height. (33) And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of
Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers,
and so we seemed to them."
Why does God tell Moses to send spies into
the Promised Land, why not just take the people in and avoid the whole
possibility of them rebelling? We need to see the wisdom of God in doing this.
Consider the people of Israel, their track record was far from stellar. They
had repeatedly demonstrated ungratefulness towards God, they trusted more in
their own strength and abilities than in God. The people had called God’s
wisdom, goodness, faithfulness and power into question numerous times. They had
forsaken God and worshipped the golden calf, they had grumbled and complained
against God and lamented the fact that they were set free from slavery in
Egypt.
Consider what God has done for the people of
Israel. He has delivered them from slavery, death, starvation, and slaughter.
He has guided them safely up to this point, He has protected them, fought for
them, revealed more of Himself to them, and He has provided for them every
single day. At no point has God failed.
Now that the nation of Israel is on the brink
of entering the land, God tests them to see if they now truly believe and trust
in Him. He is testing to see if they are ready to enter into the Promised Land,
ready to serve and honour Him, upholding their covenant with Him. Are they now
ready and willing to look to Him to bring them safely into the land, help them
drive out the inhabitants and establish them in the land?
Thus far God has proved Himself faithful and
true, in fact the spies give evidence of this fact when they return. They bring
back with them some of the fruit of the land, and it is good. They also report
that the land is good, it is everything that God promised to them it would be.
It is important that we understand that God never promised them it would be
empty, the Israelites have known from the very beginning of their journey that
the Promised Land was inhabited by some of the most godless, savage and brutal
nations. But throughout the journey God has shown Himself as being more than
able to protect, fight and provide for His people. Now that they have come to
the land, see its fruit, hear that it is good, but also hear that there are
people in this land, who live in well-fortified cities and have mighty
warriors, the time has come for them to think through all they have seen God do
and then trust in Him. This is exactly what Caleb urges the people to do, but
it is to no avail.
There are many times in life when we are
called upon to trust God to lead us safely into and through what lies ahead. We
know God’s promises and where it is that He is ultimately leading us to, but we
cannot know the path He has chosen to take us on. Thus when we come to a part
of the path that looks difficult and trying, where numerous obstacles appear
and the enemy is visible, we face this very same test. We can look back through
the course of our lives and clearly see that God has not failed us. God has
proved Himself true, trustworthy, faithful, good and powerful every single day.
He has provided for us every step of the way so far and promises to do so until
we enter His eternal kingdom. Having reminded ourselves of who God is, we then
face the choice to either trust in God and continue to walk down the path, or
to panic, be overcome with fear and doubt, and either stand still paralysed by
our fears, or turn and run in another direction, hoping it will lead to the
same end. Of course this is far easier said than done, but it is not
impossible.
All that the people of Israel can see is the
thick and well-fortified walls and the giants, the huge, fearsome warriors who
will oppose them. They are blinded by these fears, to the point that they
completely forget about God, who God is and what He has done. For example, they
forget that God parted the sea for them, and then God, without any help from
the Israelites completely defeated the Egyptian army. If God can part the sea
and defeat a mighty army, whilst leading the Israelites through the sea, then a
wall made by man and strapping warriors will not be able to stand against God. But
they allow their fears to lead them to forget, to create doubt in their hearts
and minds, and therefore they disobey, they want to run away.
When we
find ourselves in a similar situation, with a difficult road ahead, numerous
obstacles and fears, with the enemy prowling around, we must not focus of these
difficulties and fears, nor allow them to cause doubts to rise in our hearts.
Instead of fixing our eyes on the giants in the land, we should fix our eyes on
Christ, for He is the one wearing the victor’s crown and is seated upon the
throne. He is our Warrior-King, He is our faithful Friend, and He is our good
Shepherd, who will fight for us, walk with us and lead us safely through. Let us
hold fast to Him, with confidence knowing that, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “He who calls you is faithful;
he will surely do it.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful. He will
establish you and guard you against the evil one.” Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold
fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is
faithful.”
Our good, good Father, thank You that You are an unfailing God, faithful
and true to all Your promises and good in all that which You do. We praise You
that our lives are a constant testimony of Your love towards us and Your faithful
care. Thank You that because of Christ, we who are in Christ, have the great
assurance that You will lead us safely into Your Kingdom. We pray that You
might help us to trust and faithfully follow You, even when there are giants in
the land, when the obstacles are great, and the enemy ferocious. May we
remember who You are and fix our eyes on Christ our Victor, Warrior-King,
Friend and Shepherd. Amen.
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