Spying Out the Land (Numbers 13:1-33)
Arriving at the southern end of the promised land, God tells Moses to send spies into the land. Each tribe sends a representative, including Joshua and Caleb. These spies do their job and follow all of the instructions that Moses gave them. The mission seems to unfold without any problems or adventure. Their initial report, in verses 25-29, seems straightforward. The land was indeed rich and good. It is inhabited by many strong nations.
Caleb’s report and response is a good one. Basically, in light of all that they have said, he encourages the people to get ready to invade the land. God will fulfill His promises and give them the land.
However, the other spies (except Joshua, we can presume from the rest of the story) discourage the people. They change their report and tell them that they will not be able to conquer the land. Instead of merely reporting who the inhabitants are, as before, they now insist that the land is full of nations too strong to conquer. They even claim that it is inhabited by Nephilim. The only other reference to Nephilim in the Bible is from before the flood. They were the giant, possibly supernatural, product of “the sons of men” and women. Possibly angel hybrids. In any case, the flood would have wiped them all out.
The job of the spies was not to help decide IF they would invade the land, but to bring back intelligence in aid of said invasion. Instead, ten of them help convince the nation that they cannot do what God is asking them to do. The same God that rescued them supernaturally out of Egypt. The same God that had parted the sea. The same God that had repeatedly punished rebellion in the camp. How is this nation still this stubborn?
Caleb’s report and response is a good one. Basically, in light of all that they have said, he encourages the people to get ready to invade the land. God will fulfill His promises and give them the land.
However, the other spies (except Joshua, we can presume from the rest of the story) discourage the people. They change their report and tell them that they will not be able to conquer the land. Instead of merely reporting who the inhabitants are, as before, they now insist that the land is full of nations too strong to conquer. They even claim that it is inhabited by Nephilim. The only other reference to Nephilim in the Bible is from before the flood. They were the giant, possibly supernatural, product of “the sons of men” and women. Possibly angel hybrids. In any case, the flood would have wiped them all out.
The job of the spies was not to help decide IF they would invade the land, but to bring back intelligence in aid of said invasion. Instead, ten of them help convince the nation that they cannot do what God is asking them to do. The same God that rescued them supernaturally out of Egypt. The same God that had parted the sea. The same God that had repeatedly punished rebellion in the camp. How is this nation still this stubborn?
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