In this chapter we have a great lesson – that of trusting in the God Who saved them. We have all been in this position, whereby we look at the massive perceived difficulties, and quickly hide away rather than do what we must. In this way we minimise the power of God and have little faith. We either believe, or we do not! It is that simple. When we look at our opposition and submit to continuous fear, we have no trust in the mighty Lord Who is our God! And if we have been promised something by that same God, but we back away from them in horror from perceived dangers, we may lose all that was promised to us.
Verses 1&2
- “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
- Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.”
The Hebrews were now sited directly south of Canaan. God gave a command to Moses to send spies into Canaan, and reminds the people that He has already promised the land to the new Israelite nation. The men sent would be acknowledged chiefs. Was this choice to do with giving a greater sense of responsibility to each spy?
Verses 3-16
- “And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.
- And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
- Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
- Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
- Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
- Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.
- Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
- Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.
- Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
- Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
- Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
- Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
- Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
- These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.”
God had already chosen who the spies would be, and now lists them for Moses. The tribes were all resting in the deserts of Paran (north Arabia). The names of Caleb and Joshua stand out. Joshua was known to his fellow tribesmen as ‘Oshea’. Now, Moses called him ‘Jehoshua’ (‘He WILL save’; note that Je refers to Jehovah and is the same as ‘Jesus’). (Note: ‘Oshea’ = Hosea = Salvation. ‘Jehoshua’ = ‘Joshua’ = Jehovah is salvation. ‘Jesus’ = Jehoshua, with same meaning).
Verses 17-20
- “And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
- And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
- And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
- And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.”
The men were quickly sent out, north, starting with a mountain (part of a long range of a double row of mountains), enabling them to take a panoramic view of the land. The spies were to report on the characteristics of the people, and if they lived in tents or walled cities. Also, what was the condition of the land – was it fruitful? Were there plenty of trees (for wood)? Moses urged the chieftains to be courageous, and to bring back samples of the fruit – it was harvest-time for grapes. At that time the languages were essentially the same – semitic – so the spies did not necessarily stand out as foreigners. If anything, they merely had local dialects.
Verses 21-25
- “So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
- And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
- And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
- The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
- And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.”
The search was thorough, as the men zig-zagged their way south to north, east to west. They searched the flat desert area of Sin (also known as Zin or Tsin) in the far south of Canaan, with a range of mountains to their left. Their northern-most point was Rehob probably the same as Beth-Rehob in the land which came to be owned by the tribe of Dan. Thus, they covered what would later be known as Israel, in a very fast time – just 40 days. Then they came to Hebron, owned by the ‘children of Anak’, who were giants. A short scriptural note was made, that Hebron was built seven years before Zoan (Tanis) was built in lower Egypt. Not far from Hebron, the spies cut down a large branch of grape vine. It must have been very fruitful, for it took two men to carry the grape cluster on a pole. Others cut down samples of pomegranates and figs.
Verses 26-29
- “And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
- And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
- Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
- The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.”
The spies returned to the encampment at Kadesh (south-east of what came to be Judah, also known as Kadesh-barnea, east of the mountain range running north to south). Many people were gathered around the Tabernacle perimeter, including Moses and Aaron. The spies showed the people the huge grape evidence and began to tell everyone what Canaan was like… a land truly of milk and honey… plentiful. However, they then became despondent, telling of the strong inhabitants who lived in walled cities. They capped this scenario of strength by talking about the giants of Anak. They then spoke of other nations living in Canaan. They painted a picture of doom, even though God had proved to them time and again that numbers of enemies and their strength, were no match for God’s protection. If God is with just one man, he can beat a whole nation of pagans! If God is our shield, we need not fear the opposition, no matter how hateful, mischievous and evil they might be. It only takes a few small voices of fear to affect a whole people, reducing them to frightened slaves!
Verses 30-33
- “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
- But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
- And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
- And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
Only one voice spoke out – Caleb. He came forward and rejected the voices of the frightened spies, silencing the crowd. He urged Moses to take a fighting force (well over half a million were available) and be victorious over the Canaanites. The other spies, afraid of what they saw, and so disputing the ability of God to be their champion, said otherwise, saying the people were too tough for them. They also mentioned the many inhabitants and the men of “great stature”, the Anak giants.
How different from Caleb’s report! Today, many are made afraid by huge odds, and doubt the ability to win a confrontation. But, God specialises in overcoming numbers and strength! David and his friend, Jonathan, ran down a hill, alone, and into the Philistine camp, causing them to kill each other! To God, numbers and human strength do not matter. What matters is believing in the God Who is our protector. He will win what is, to us, unwinnable! Remember David who beat Goliath and the Philistines!
When we give in before we even start, we are already beaten. Our minds and hearts listen to our own failings, rather than to Almighty God, Who is always the victor. And He wins in His own time, even if bad things happen along the way… things God uses to prove His superiority. (The presence and power of the bad are often left in our path, to strengthen our faith and to focus our attention on the Lord).
© 18 August 2024
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Published on www.christiandoctrine.com
Bible Theology Ministries
Swansea
Wales
United Kingdom