Numbers 14:2, 3 - And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the Lord brought us to this land to [a]fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
Numbers 13:25-33; 14:6-9
The Lord sent 12 spies to search out the promised land after the people of Israel were delivered from slavery in Egypt. After spying the land for 40 days, 10 of them came back with a negative report about conquering the land, thereby frightening the Israelites and influencing them to disobey the command of God to enter the promised land.
Two of those spies – Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand, came back with a favourable report encouraging people to obey God and enter the land promised to them. This demonstrated their faith in God.
However, the Israelites sided with the 10 spies and exclaimed - “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the Lord brought us to this land to [a]fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
The Israelites had made the above cry in their sinful murmuring against the Lord.
Numbers 14:28 - Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you.
And the Lord made what they said come to pass. All their carcasses fell in the wilderness. The promise of the land of Canaan was fulfilled only in the lives of the children.
Lets look back at the story:
Numbers 13:1-2 - And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”
According to Numbers, it was God who asked Moses to send men to spy out the land of Canaan.
Deuteronomy 1:22 - “And every one of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’
According to Deuteronomy, it was the people who proposed the plan.
Putting both together, it appears that the people proposed the plan, Moses agreed and took it to the Lord, and He told him to go ahead.
However, what is important here is to note what God asked the spies to do.
Numbers 13:1 - Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel
Numbers 13:17-20 - When Moses sent them to investigate the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev, and then go up into the hill country and see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, few or many, and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or fortified cities, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether or not there are forests in it. And be brave, and bring back some of the fruit of the land.”
The Lord confirmed that he was going to give them (Numbers 13:1). All they had to do was explore the land that was going to be their home, the land that the Lord promised to give them since the days of Abraham.
If we are gifted a new house, wouldn’t we love to have a look at it even before we settle? That was what the the spies were asked to do. Moses asked them to see the beautiful land that the Lord was going to give, an get back some of the fruit of the land as a proof of its prosperity.
They were not sent with a mission to decide whether to actually possess the land.
The report of the 10 spies:
1. Numbers 13:27 - They told Moses, “We went to the land where you sent us. It is indeed flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
They affirmed that the land was indeed good and desirable. As the Lord promised, it was certainly flowing with milk and honey. They even got some of the fruit of the land.
They could have ended with these words trusting God to do the rest.
2. But they continued:
Numbers 13:28, 29 – But the inhabitants are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.
They were concerned about the obstacles. They were worried that the people there were strong, cities were fortified and descendants of Anak (giants) were there.
3. They concluded that they would not be able to possess the land.
Numbers 13:31 - But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against these people, because they are stronger than we are!”
The reasons they stated were: (v28, v32)
1. The people of the land were too strong for them
2. Cities were fortified
3. Land devours its inhabitants
4. All men were of great size
5. They appeared as grasshoppers in their own sight
The problem with the 10 spies:
They focused on themselves and their inadequacies. They judged based on their abilities and power to possess the land.
If only they would have continued saying… God has promised to give us this land and He is faithful (Remember how the Lord redeemed us from Egypt with outstretched arm and great wonders), the story would have been different.
We need to trust God based on His promises and not based on our capabilities and our circumstances.
Matthew 19:26 - Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, but for God all things are possible.”
Luke 1:37 - For nothing will be impossible with God.
Hebrews 10:23 - And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy.
To think that it could not be done means:
*limiting God’s power
*doubting His faithfulness
Nevertheless, it is always easier to be pessimistic and negative when facing difficult circumstances. It seems safer than to get into them with faith. Are there areas in your life where you have not yet taken a step of faith although you have the promises of God because you fear the impossibilities based on your own abilities and resources?
Mark 9:23 - Then Jesus said to him, “‘If you are able? All things are possible for the one who believes.”
When Jesus says – All things, He literally means it. There is no exception.
The other two spies – Joshua and Caleb also witnessed the same situation. But let’s look at their report.
1. They desired to obey God
Numbers 13:30 - Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
Caleb wanted to take possession of the land. That was what the Lord had commanded them, and Caleb wanted to do that at once.
2. They focused on God’s power and resources
Numbers 14:8 - If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.
They were confident that the Lord will give them the land irrespective of the circumstances and their abilities
3. Their confidence was in doing God’s will
Numbers 14:9 - Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”
They believed that if God purposes something, He will do it. So, they told the Israelites that the people of the land should be afraid of them and not vice versa. While the other spies saw themselves as grasshoppers before the giants of the land, these two spies placed the Lord before the giants. So, they did not fear them.
However, the sad part of the story is that the entire community of the Israelites sided with the majority.
Numbers 14:2, 3 - And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to [a]fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So, they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”
The entire crowd complained against Moses and Aaron. What has Moses and Aaron got to do with this? Was it their own decision to take the people to Canaan? The Israelites failed to understand that it was the will of God and not Moses and Aaron.
Why did they want to return to Egypt? It was in Egypt that the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage (Exodus 2:23). Now they want to go back to bondage. Why? They feared death in the land of Canaan and thought that slavery was better than death. How poor was their faith!
They suffered the consequences of their words of disbelief. They had to wander in the desert for 40 long years till the entire generation was consumed (except for Joshua and Caleb) (Numbers 14: 33,34). Only their children were able to possess the land.
Conclusion
Both group of spies saw the same thing but drew different conclusions.
The 10 measured the success against their abilities while the two measured against God’s faithfulness.
Our perspective of the things around us is very important to our success. We need to speak out words of faith against all odds. As we speak words of faith, the Lord will do just as we have spoken in His hearing (Numbers 14:28 – just as God heard their murmurings, God will hear our words of faith).
The wisest man on earth Solomon said - Death and life are in the power[a] of the tongue, and those who love its use will eat its fruit – Proverbs 18:21
What is our confession today concerning our children, our ministry, our family, our job and our future?
