Sermon

 

Numbers 13:1-33 (KJV)

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 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.

17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southwards, and go up into the mountain:
18 And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;

19 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be tree in it 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.
20 So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
21 And they went up through the south, and came unto Hebron; where were Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, (among whom Anak was a great man in sight of the LORD.)
22 (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 other figs and pomegranates.)
23 And that place they called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
24 And they came unto the border of the land of Egypt, and spied out the land.
25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days, and they came unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto 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.
26 And they told them, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and it surely floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
27 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.
28 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.

29 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.
30 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.

31 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

31 ...saw in it are men of a great stature.

32 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.

33 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried: and the people wept that night.

 The Spies' Mission

• The Spies' Mission: Moses didn't just send the spies for a general overview. He instructed them to assess the land's quality, the strength of the people, the layout of cities (fortified or not), and the land's resources (Numbers 13:18-20).

• The Contrast: The spies indeed confirmed the land's fertility ("flowing with milk and honey"), but the emphasis shifted quickly. Note the use of "nevertheless" and "but" (Numbers 13:27-28), marking the turn towards the negative report.

• Giants and Fear: The focus on "giants" and fortified cities created an atmosphere of fear and impossibility. The language shifts from Israel's ability to conquer, to them being like "grasshoppers" in the eyes of Canaan's inhabitants (Numbers 13:33).

Consequences of the Report:

• Loss of Confidence: The Israelites' response reveals it wasn't just the report's content, but their own mindset. They immediately conclude they cannot go up against the people (Numbers 14:1-3).
• Desire to Return to Slavery: Their despair is so deep they wish to return to Egypt, demonstrating a severe lack of trust in God's promise and the deliverance they had already experienced.

This episode highlights how even accurate information can be twisted into fuel for fear and disobedience when it's not viewed through the lens of faith in God.

Here are some key passages from the King James Version (KJV) that cover the Israelites' wandering in the wilderness:

The Spies and the Report

• Numbers 13:1-33: This details the 12 spies sent to Canaan, the fearful report of 10 spies, and the Israelites' subsequent rebellion.
• Numbers 14:26-35: God pronounces the judgment of 40 years of wandering as a consequence.