May 15, 2023
Big Idea
God's instruction can always be trusted.
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. 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."
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. 4 And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
17 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.
21 So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, 1 13:24 Eshcol means cluster because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.
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.”
What's in a name? When we were pregnant with our first, we prayed for the right name for our son, ultimately asking: Who do we want him to become? We chose the name Caleb, which translates to "faithful," "wholehearted," and "devoted to God." Here in Numbers 13, we see Caleb in action.
In Numbers 13:30 we see that after the other spies spoke, Caleb "quieted the people" and said, "[W]e are well able to overcome it." I initially see William Wallace-like courage here—godly men like Caleb step up, lean in, and speak out. While that's true, upon further reflection, I believe Caleb really just remembered. Caleb remembered God's promises of this land to come from Genesis 15:18-21. Caleb remembered God's power—the pillar of cloud and fire in Exodus 13 and parting the Red Sea in Exodus 14. Caleb remembered God's previous provisions for the Israelites, sweetening the water at Marah in Exodus 15, providing food via manna and quail in Exodus 16, and defeating the Amalekites at Rephidim through Moses' raised arms in Exodus 17. Caleb remembered that God is faithful!
Said differently, do we trust the witness of men over the witness of God? It is easy to belittle the other spies, but they did exactly what they were asked. It wasn't that they didn't follow the God-ordained directions to spy on Canaan, nor did they give a warped, inaccurate account. These were Israel's best leaders and warriors. Think Navy SEALs; these spies weren't wimps. Caleb saw the same giants as the other spies, but he remembered their God was bigger than the giants. See also Romans 8:31: "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
They all saw God firsthand in the desert, and most forgot. Lest we fall into pride, we all forget! Forgetfulness isn't just a stumbling block for the bumbling Israelites. See also me and you!
Do I want my son Caleb and my other kids to be warriors for Christ? Absolutely! But I want them to remember God's faithfulness as much as to be courageous.
This month's memory verse
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
1. Do you tend to forget God's promises or His power? What can you do to not forget either? (See 2 Peter 1.)
2. Which of God's previous provisions in your life do you too quickly forget? What's preventing you from writing down when and how the Lord has shown up before in your life, so you can review them regularly? (See Joshua 4.)
3. When you don't speak up like Caleb in the face of objection, is it more from a lack of faith or a fear of man? What can you do to change that? (See Hebrews 13:6.)
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Hugh Stephenson
Hugh Stephenson
Hugh Stephenson
Michael Sisson
Shawn Foster
Michael Scaman
Amy Lowther