Which group are we in ?

“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.””

Numbers 13: 1-2 (New King James version)

God promised the Land of Canaan to Israel. Here in this verse we read that God asks Moses to send out spies, one from each tribe into the land of Canaan. As we go through chapter 13 we read that the twelve men went out for forty days. Numbers 13: 23 , “Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs” . Can you imagine how those fruits were ? :-) When the men returned back to Moses they said in verse 27 , “Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit”

God promised them the land of Canaan , the children of Israel had seen God work miracle after miracle for them…. They went into the land of Canaan and saw with their own eyes that it was indeed a land of milk and honey.

But here is the interesting part… Of the 12 that went there were two opinions. The first by the ten men, the second by Joshua and Caleb. Lets label them as Group 1 (the ten men) and Group 2 (Joshua and Caleb)

Opinion by Group 1 : Numbers 13: 28-29 “Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan”

Opinion by Group 2 : 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”

Lets see what made the difference.

Group 1
We read in Numbers 13: 31-33 ,” But 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.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight”

They looked at two things.. the giants and themselves. Their entire comparison was between the hurdle that stood in front of them and their own physical ability to overcome.

Group 2

Numbers 14: 7-9 , “and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 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.’ 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 looked at two things.. God and within themselves. They knew God is able. He would give them the victory. The only thing they had to do was make sure they were right in the sight of God. We read in verse 8 ‘if the Lord delights in us’ ! My Pastor always says ‘A holy life is a confident life. When you know you are walking right in His sight , you will never be disturbed no matter what happens around you.’

Simple but yet powerful words: The Lord needs to delight in us , Do not rebel against God , do not fear the hurdle or the situation or the circumstance or in this case the people in the land.. know that THE LORD IS WITH US.

Which group are we in ? Have no fear , except for the fear of God . Do not let the giants scare you away from His promise .

God Bless