They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them. (Num.13:27-33).
This is the account of the return of the twelve spies that the Hebrews sent into Canaan when the Hebrews first came to the land after leaving Egypt. Many Christians neglect the study of the Old Testament because we live under a different covenant but the New Testament says that the things written before Christ were written for our learning (see Rom.15:4). We need to find the principles imbedded in these texts so that we can live by faith and secure the promises of God today. These principles don’t change because God doesn’t change. So…let’s take a look.
God had determined to give this land to his people hundreds of years before the Hebrews peered over the Jordan. He had promised the land to Abraham and his descendants and Moses had led them out of Egypt and brought them to the brink of the promise being fulfilled. Basically, God told them that He had already given them the land; they just needed to cross the Jordan and possess it. God promised that He would go with them and fight before them assuring them victory after victory. God had demonstrated His commitment and power through the ten plagues that brought Egypt to her knees, by the parting of the Red Sea, and by the destruction of Pharaoh’s army. He had shown His power and glory on the top of Sinai and had miraculously provided food and water for all the people in the desert.
The people counseled Moses to send spies into Canaan to get a first hand report of the topography of the land, the abundance of the land, and the people who lived there. Moses thought it was a sound idea so they dispatched twelve men – one from each tribe. When they retuned after 40 days, they reported that the land was everything God had described but the people there were strong and some were “giants” such as would be seen in Goliath years later. At the report, whatever courage the people had before quickly faded and they decided that the task was too much – God had called them to so something that was undoable. Because of their unbelief, that entire generation of Hebrews wandered in the desert for 40 years until they died. After that, their children took the land.
Several questions come to mind as a result of this account.
1. How much does God have to do to convince us that He is for us and that we can overcome any obstacle by His power? Plagues, Red Sea, manna in the wilderness, a pillar of fire by night and a cloud during the day to lead the way, the Law of God written on stone, etc. Was that not enough to prove His intent for His people and His capacity to deliver and provide? Apparently not.
2. Why did Moses not ask God about sending spies rather than taking counsel from the people? Up to that point God had directed their every step and protected them by His power. Why did Moses think they needed to know their way around the country or confirm what God had already told them was true? The Hebrews had not shown great faith or good judgment in any way up to that point. Why did Moses think it would be different then? Perhaps he thought the goodness of the land would catch their attention more that the obstacles. Whatever he thought did not bring about the results he hoped for. Fear and unbelief ruled the day.
3. Why didn’t God just send destroying angels or plague into the land and clear it out ahead of time so that the Hebrews could just walk right in and set up shop?
Here are a few principles for us.
God’s word about a thing is sufficient because He cannot lie. However, He is always willing to demonstrate His good intentions toward us and His power for us in order to give us confidence that we have understood Him and His word. For a while, God will give us miracles to produce faith; but after a while, He will expect our faith to produce the miracles. There comes a time when His actions have demonstrated His character enough that we should have at least a minimal level of faith. The greater the miracles are that He has shown us, the more faith is expected – to whom much is given, much is required. At some point, God will expect us to understand His commitment to us and His character so that we will choose to trust and obey when facing even great obstacles.
Some of us have little faith because we have never allowed God to put us in risky situations. If we are never in risky situations, we will never need a miracle. If we never need a miracle, we will never see a miracle and our faith will remain small. When our faith remains small, we will never experience all the goodness, the fruit, and the victory God has promised. We will simply live and die without experiencing everything that God has stored up for us and that Jesus has paid for.
Additionally, when God has given us a promise and a clear word to go after something, we should never dialogue with the devil or people who have demonstrated little faith in their lives.
They will always counsel us to trust in men rather than God; in what we can see rather than in what we can imagine by faith, and they will simply point out the giants rather than the amazing victories that will be ours by faith. Stay away from bad reports and from those who always see giants rather than the One who slays giants through His people.
We must also live knowing that God wants us to face obstacles that are impossible to conquer without Him. If he clears the way ahead of time we never grow, never get stronger, and never get to know Him better. We would simply become spoiled trust-fund babies, in the spiritual sense, who feel entitled to all blessings and thankful for none. Besides…when you face the impossible and Jesus shows up, life gets to be fun. Your faith becomes an adventure that enriches your life beyond measure and Jesus becomes very real. In the realm of your faith, risk is always your friend when God has called you to the risk. We should learn from David who ran toward the giant rather than away from him.
Finally, the land that was impossible to take was taken a few years later by the children of those who had no faith. The walls of Jericho could have fallen just as easily 40 years earlier if Israel had responded with just a little faith. But thankfully, children can rise above their parents in the spiritual realm usually by learning from their parent’s mistakes. One of the ways we can honor our fathers and mothers is to not judge their mistakes but to learn from them.
So today reflect on all the ways God has already demonstrated His commitment to you and His power. Consider every miracle, every answered prayer, every moment of divine protection, every healed heart and relationship, and expect God to do it all again and to do even greater things for you. Be willing to take some risk for the kingdom of God and run toward any giants that come your way today. God truly has already promised you victory. Be blessed today in Him.
