Numbers 27:1-11, 36:1-12 – The Bold And The Dutiful

Governmental lobbying has always been a controversial activity. There are over 12,000 professional lobbyists working in Washington D.C. right now.^[1] Their goal is to influence policy on behalf of a specific group or category of people. For example, the Catfish Farmers Of America spent more than $300,000 lobbying in 2011. The Balloon Council worked to drum up support for the Helium Stewardship Act. And, the American Dehydrated Onion and Garlic Association used to spend $300,000 annually to influence US import policy.^[2]

In the book of Numbers there is a fascinating account where five sisters come before the Lord to lobby on behalf of themselves and a specific category of people. Their appeal establishes case law for Israel, just before they move into the Promised Land. But it’s more than case law. This story demonstrates to us that, in our relationship with God, He desires that we listen to Him and then boldly apply faith to our lives. When we do, the world is changed. Let’s take a look at this example and see how it might stir our hearts. 

Numbers 27:1-4 – The daughters of Zelophehad approached; Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh from the clans of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ² They stood before Moses, the priest Eleazar, the leaders, and the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, ³ “Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah’s followers, who gathered together against the Lord. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons. ⁴ Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan? Since he had no son, give us property among our father’s brothers.” 

This is after the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. These five ladies are members of the younger generation that was going into Canaan to receive it as an inheritance from the Lord. 

They had been listening to the commands of the Lord and hearing how things were going to work as Moses explained the new laws for the young nation. They heard the regulations and believed the stories of God’s power and faithfulness. They were preparing for the next stage. But, at some point, they realized there was a problem: Once they got married, they would be joining another family tree and, since they had no brothers, their family would cease to exist.

So, they talk it over. They think it through. And they decide to come and raise the issue to Moses. In fact, they had undoubtedly worked through several layers of bureaucracy before getting to this point.^[3]

But notice what what verse 2 says. They didn’t just come before Moses, but also God’s high priest, and all the leaders of Israel, and the entire community, AND before the presence of God Himself at the entrance of His Tabernacle. That’s a lot of pressure. 

On top of that, scenes like this one didn’t usually turn out very well in Leviticus and Numbers. When people came to dissent or complain about something, it usually ended with fire falling from heaven or the earth swallowing people up or a plague decimating the camp. 

But there’s a key difference in this situation. These sisters weren’t just complaining that they wanted leeks and garlic. They weren’t grumbling against Moses or saying God had failed. Instead, what they’re saying is, “We believe God. We believe the land will be given to Israel and we don’t want to sit back and allow what God wants to do to pass us by.”

We should be impressed and inspired by their boldness. Here’s what we know about the situation: These girls had no parents, they had no brothers, they had no husbands. They were single and on their own. They were of marrying age, so they weren’t very young or very old. But, in their time and culture, they didn’t have a lot of leverage. 

But they realized that God is generous and He is faithful. And they came to the conclusion that God wanted for the same thing for them that He wanted for others. 

This is wonderful boldness. They aren’t coming in anger. They aren’t brash. And they acknowledge that their father wasn’t perfect – he was a sinner who had to deal with the consequences of his sin – but, as a family, they weren’t rebels. They were on the Lord’s side. And they’ve realized that they were the only ones left to advocate on behalf of their father’s family. They nominate themselves to be vessels for God’s purposes. “Here we are, send us into the Promised Land!”

Jesus said something stunning to us. He said, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.” That is astonishing when we recognize that every single Christian has been called and commissioned to be a part of God’s global work in all sorts of ways. But many believers are content to let the opportunities pass them by – content to let others be used by God. These daughters of Zelophehad said, “We do not want to be a footnote on the margin of God’s history. We want God’s plan and promises and power to be operating in our lives.”

Numbers 27:5 – ⁵ Moses brought their case before the Lord,

This is interesting: For all his wisdom and knowledge and experience, Moses did not know the answer to this issue! He had to go and personally dialogue with the Lord about it.^[4]

Now, what’s going on here? When you read through the Law there are all these meticulous details. God had all of these plans and provisions for each aspect of life in Israel. From the national holidays to the food you eat and the clothes you wear. So, how is it possible that this issue fell through the cracks? Certainly, these sisters weren’t the only family in this situation. 

God hadn’t messed up. He wasn’t surprised by this complication. A great theme of this story is that God wants us to think through His revelation, apply it to our personal lives, develop our understanding of what He wants and how He does things, and seek Him out for more and more wisdom as we walk with Him. 

Jesus did this with the parables. He spoke in parables so that those who wanted to understand would follow up and draw near and go to Him and say, “Lord, explain this truth to me.”^[5]

Because faith with God isn’t like memorizing vocabulary for a quiz and then forgetting everything once you’ve passed. According to one study, high school students forget 95% of what they’ve learned after 3 days.^[6] That’s not what the Lord wants for our spiritual learning. 

Moses – the man who spoke to God face to face, the man who stood in the presence of God’s glory, a miracle-worker and deliverer of God’s people – he needed to go to God for leading and understanding. He needed to go and talk with the Lord about it and be directed. 

Numbers 47:6-11 – ⁶ and the Lord answered him, ⁷ “What Zelophehad’s daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers and transfer their father’s inheritance to them. ⁸ Tell the Israelites: When a man dies without having a son, transfer his inheritance to his daughter. ⁹ If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ If his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative of his clan, and he will take possession of it. This is to be a statutory ordinance for the Israelites as the Lord commanded Moses.” 

So, wait, they were right? Then why not give this stipulation from the beginning? It’s because a relationship with God is not meant to be abstract or simply theoretical, but actually applied to our personal circumstances. And sometimes God waits to lay something out for us because, frankly, we’re not very interested in it. We read in James, “You do not have because you do not ask.”

Now, there was no talk of this family deserving the inheritance. They didn’t. None of the Israelites did. In Deuteronomy 9, Moses would say, “Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.” This was all a work of grace. And we know it’s grace because the Lord went beyond what these bold sisters requested.^[7]

He opened up access to inheritance not just for this family but for any family in perpetuity that was facing the same hardship.

This is Who our God is! He is not trying to withhold any good thing from you. When they had no where to go, He welcomed them into His presence. When they had no earthly father, He stepped in to be their Father and provide for them, protect them, look to their future.

What these bold young ladies asked was unprecedented. But we serve a God Who likes to do unprecedented things. Not unbiblical things, but new things.

In 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented his printing press and established a publishing house. Soon after, he produced 180 copies of the only Book that would come off his press: The Bible.^[8] God began to do an unprecedented work because this man boldly applied his faith. In The Gutenberg Bible, Johannes wrote these lines: 

“Let us break the seal which seals up holy things and give wings to Truth in order that she may win every soul that comes into the world by her word no longer written at great expense by hands easily palsied, but multiplied like the wind by an untiring machine. Yes, it is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall soon flow in inexhaustible streams the most abundant and most marvelous liquor that has ever flowed to relieve the thirst of man!”^[9]

Through Guterberg’s living faith, God started an unprecedented work of power and grace.

But, here’s the thing: Laws often have unintended consequences. For example, when stricter safety regulations are implemented in a society, individuals tend to engage in more dangerous behavior. It’s called the “Peltzman Effect.”^[10]

In the last chapter of Numbers, Zelophehad’s family is back in the spotlight, as some other members of the clan realize an unintended consequence of the new statute. 

Numbers 36:1-4 – The family heads from the clan of the descendants of Gilead—the son of Machir, son of Manasseh—who were from the clans of the sons of Joseph, approached and addressed Moses and the leaders who were heads of the Israelite families. ² They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites. My lord was further commanded by the Lord to give our brother Zelophehad’s inheritance to his daughters. ³ If they marry any of the men from the other Israelite tribes, their inheritance will be taken away from our fathers’ inheritance and added to that of the tribe into which they marry. Therefore, part of our allotted inheritance would be taken away. ⁴ When the Jubilee comes for the Israelites, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.” 

When a woman was married, her inheritance would transfer to whatever tribe she was married to. Since the land was inheritance and not purchased, it wouldn’t be transferred back to the original tribe in the year of Jubilee. This is a problem because it could start to disrupt the geographical unity of each tribe’s territory.^[11]

Just when we think we’ve got things figured out, we realize there’s always more we don’t know. In this life, we need ongoing guidance and leading and wisdom from the Lord. Which is why it’s a great comfort to read a section of Scripture like Proverbs 1, where it says, “Here’s God’s wisdom. It’s for your whole life. It’s for every day. If you’re young and inexperienced, you can learn what to do. If you’re already wise and discerning, it will still give you yet more wisdom and guidance.” 

Numbers 36:5-9 – ⁵ So Moses commanded the Israelites at the word of the Lord, “What the tribe of Joseph’s descendants says is right. ⁶ This is what the Lord has commanded concerning Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they like provided they marry within a clan of their ancestral tribe. ⁷ No inheritance belonging to the Israelites is to transfer from tribe to tribe, because each of the Israelites is to retain the inheritance of his ancestral tribe. ⁸ Any daughter who possesses an inheritance from an Israelite tribe must marry someone from the clan of her ancestral tribe, so that each of the Israelites will possess the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹ No inheritance is to transfer from one tribe to another, because each of the Israelite tribes is to retain its inheritance.” 

According to the Lord, both the daughters of Zelophehad and the sons of Gilead were right. In this complicated situation, it wasn’t girl vs. boy. They were all on the same side. They were all trying to navigate God’s leading and submit themselves to His plans. In this case, two rights made a right. 

Now, on top of the legal rules that were being established, there’s something very personal going on. Because, the sisters had come and said, “We believe in God’s plan. We trust that He’s going to do what He promised. We want to be a part of His inheritance.” And now, they have the opportunity to show if they really believe what they said. Was it really about honoring God? Was it really about their calling and their place in God’s plan? Or, was it about owning a parcel of land? 

You see, God’s response here is: “You can have what you asked for but, if you want it, you must remain within a boundary I’m establishing.” They could have their father’s inheritance, but to keep it they would have to marry within their own tribe. It was a reasonable ask, but one that required a choice to walk in faith and be obedient to God’s command. 

Walking with God means keeping within the boundary markers He has given. Now, those boundaries are given for our good and He gives us great freedom within His boundaries. Take marriage, for example. God gave these young ladies freedom to marry anyone they’d like, which was a remarkable amount of freedom, but it had to be someone from Manasseh. So, too, you single Christians are free to marry anyone you’d like, as long as they’re part of God’s family. You must marry a Believer in Jesus Christ. It’s for your good and it is the boundary that God established in 2 Corinthians 6. We say that we want God’s blessing on our relationships and for our future, and the Lord says, “Great. I want that too. And I’m ready to pour out My grace for you if you will keep within these generous confines.” 

So now, the sisters had the chance to practice their faith. Did they really care about the higher ideals that they talked about in chapter 27? Or was their lobbying just about wealth? 

In Deuteronomy 5, Moses says, “The Lord heard your words when you spoke to me. He said to me, ‘I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. Everything they have said is right.’” Sounds like what the Lord said to these ladies, doesn’t it? But then the Lord said, “If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commands always, so that they and their children would prosper forever.”

The sisters could make a choice. They could choose inheritance within the gracious rule of God their Father, or they could choose absolute freedom for themselves and forfeit what God had set aside for them.^[12]

Numbers 36:10-12 – ¹⁰ The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses. ¹¹ Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married cousins on their father’s side. ¹² They married men from the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained within the tribe of their father’s clan. 

These ladies are fantastic. No complaining. No suggesting that God was doing something wrong to them. What incredible faithfulness! Not only were they bold, we see they were dutiful and devoted to the Lord. They double down on their trust in Him. “Yes, we believe and we’ll do it. And we are not impoverished because You’ve given us a directive or a boundary, in fact, we’re happy to obey our Lord.”

This is the very end of Numbers. And it’s an incredible ending. Because this is a book that catalogs a lot of failure and disobedience. In chapter 11 the people complain to God again and again that they don’t like what’s happening, that they don’t like the food, it leads to judgment. In chapter 12, Aaron and Miriam challenge Moses’ leadership because they don’t like the woman he married. It leads to judgment. In chapters 13 and 14 the scouts see the land and tell all the people that they shouldn’t go in. Judgment. In chapter 16, hundreds of people rebel against Moses and are destroyed. It happens over and over. Challenges and complaints and disobediences. You get to chapter 25 and the people start openly worshipping Baal. But here is this one family – these brave, bold, devoted young ladies who have every reason to complain, every reason to give up, but they believe God and know that the point of faith is to apply it to life. And so they close out the book having changed their nation because of their bold and obedient faith.

Their example reminds us that God is a generous Father, ready to move heaven and earth so we can lay hold of the good things He has set aside for us. But He waits to see who is interested. Who  wants to be used. And, sometimes He waits because we don’t ask. When we go to Him, requesting that He move on our behalf, we will then have opportunity to prove whether we’re asking with wrong motives, for our own pleasures, or whether we’re actually walking by faith, believing what God has promised and joining in His efforts. Walking with Him means keeping within His boundaries. But, that’s exactly where we want to be. Being changed and bringing change for our Lord. 

Spies Like Us (Numbers 13)

During the Cold War, the CIA’s most highly trained spies weren’t even human!

According to an article by the Smithsonian, “the U.S. government deployed nonhuman operatives—ravens, pigeons, even cats—to spy on [our] adversaries.” Animals would be deployed to carry and place electronic transmitters disguised as pieces of slate and carry out other intelligence missions.

The US government contracted the same trainers who taught theme park and television animals to do ‘whimsically human’ activities like ride bikes, beat on drums or play a game of baseball. Behind the scenes these same trainers from Hot Springs, Arkansas were teaching “ravens to deposit and retrieve objects, pigeons to warn of enemy ambushes, or even cats to eavesdrop on human conversations.”

“‘We never found an animal we could not train, never.’ said Bob Bailey, who in his career has done everything from teaching dolphins to detect submarines to inventing the Bird Brain, an apparatus that enabled a person to play tick-tack-toe against a chicken.”

There’s an interesting bit of espionage in Numbers chapter 13. The Israelites had journeyed from Egypt through the wilderness and were poised on the edge the Promised Land that the Lord had been talking to them about. And here, God allowed them to send in a party of spies to get a look at where He would be taking them.

Now, we are not Israel. Theologically speaking, it’s very important that we remember that. It’s also important to remember that Canaan is not a picture or type of Heaven. There are no giants to slay in eternity, and I’m grateful for that!

But comparing this story to our own lives we’re reminded that we are sent as soldiers behind enemy lines for our King. As we go through life there’s a lot God wants to show us and much He has for us to accomplish. And so, devotionally speaking, we can find some insights from this text. So, let’s start in and see what we see.

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.”

When the CIA does espionage it’s to figure out strategies and learn previously unknown information. That’s not why the Lord had them go in – He had already been there! He knew exactly what they would face in Canaan and what they could look forward to. We learn in Deuteronomy that the people were nervous about what lay ahead and asked if a search party could go in first. The Lord graciously condescended to their timidity and allowed this preliminary expedition. But notice how the Lord spoke to them about it. He spoke from a position of victory. He said, “I want you to go see what I am giving to you.” In the Lord’s mind, it was already concluded that He would give them the land and empower them to conquer it.
We can have confidence that there is power for us when we walk the road of faith. Even when the terrain is rough or threatening, we have the empowering and equipping of a God who has been before us and has prepared the way.

Notice too, this was a sizable team of spies. I’ve never been trained in covert operations, but I’m guessing one of the first rules is you probably don’t want to travel in a big group! But it highlights the fact that they didn’t have to be afraid, because the Lord was with them. And it shows us that there’s a lot of slots to fill when we’re doing the Lord’s work. The work of the Body is meant to be done with others and with each fulfilling some role.

Numbers 13.3 – 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 children of Israel.

They were going from the wilderness to the Promise. You’d think anticipation would be at an all time high, but that wasn’t the case. Just about everybody was nervous about what dangers were ahead, which I can understand, but, even more amazingly, later on the next generation of 2 and a half of these tribes would come to Moses and say, “You know what, we’re happy to just stay on this side of the Jordan. We don’t need to see what’s over there.” And they settle for a plot in the wilderness.

In the Christian life there’s always a danger of disregarding what the Lord has shown us and settling. When we don’t stay stirred up for the Lord and for ministry, our zeal settles and we become apathetic. The Bible calls it being lukewarm, and it’s a terrible state for a believer to be in. Or there’s the danger of settling the way these couple of tribes would – for less. They heard what was being given to them by God, but because of what it would require they decided to settle for something easier and more comfortable, something that at the moment seemed just as good, but what would eventually draw them away from their community, away from the Lord and into sin and captivity.

Settling is never a good thing in the Christian life. We should take care to stay stirred up and stay pressing on toward the goal that Christ has set before us, believing that His way is better.

Now in verses 4 through 15 they name each of these guys and the tribes they were from. And, without disrespecting them, we’re going to skip that. Drop down to verse 16.

Numbers 13.16 – These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

In the midst of this story we see that Hoshea picked up a new name, the one we know him by: Joshua.

As we live the Christian life, Christ redefines us. This is something that is said explicitly in the Word and something that is demonstrated to us a number of times. We see it here. Jacob was renamed and redefined as Israel by the Lord. We read in Mark chapter 3 that Jesus took Simon and renamed him Peter. Peter, one of the great examples of how the Lord redefines a life.

Your life is being redefined as God conforms you into the image of Christ. And when you’re finally finished you’re going to get your new name.

Revelation 2.17 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.

So the encouragement to us is to allow God to redefine us. We don’t want our desires or our liberties or our past to define us, we want to allow God to define who we are.

Numbers 13.17-20 – Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there 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.

This was going to be quite a trip. Some parts would be tougher than others. They’d go through valleys and over mountains. They’d go through forests and fields, camps and cities. There was a lot to see and a lot to learn.

None of us really want to go through a valley in life, spiritually speaking, but we can be sure that valleys lie ahead. The perspective to keep in mind is that though the terrain may be difficult, we are on our way home to an incredible inheritance.

Now here are a couple things we know about their spy trip: First, we know that what they were doing was inherently dangerous. It was espionage after all. History seems to show that people don’t like when you spy on them! We have enemies out there. And their goal is to hurt us and stop us and destroy us. We need to put on the armor God gives us and shield ourselves with faith.

But the other thing we know about this trip is that there would be fruit for them to harvest. Other than gathering knowledge that’s the one thing they were tasked to do: Bring back some fruit! To me that’s interesting.

We’re not always as fruit-oriented as God is. At least, not the kind of fruit He’s focused on. Lots of times Christians will call numeric success ‘fruit’, and that’s not really a bad thing. But we’re told in the Bible by God about the kind of fruit He wants to bear in our lives. Spiritual fruit. Fruit that blesses others and helps build up the Church. Fruit that transforms a life. And cultivating those fruits we read about in Scripture should be goals in our minds and harvests that we work towards more than numeric success either in ministry or in our regular lives.

Numbers 13.21-25 – So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath. And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 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. The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.

The Corps of Discovery led by Lewis and Clark lasted for 2 and a half years. After a while everyone back home thought they were dead, not that you can blame them.

This spy trip may not have lasted for 2 years, but this is still a long and tough trip. I don’t know if any of you are Survivor fans, but each season lasts for 39 days on some remote beach. And for those who make it till day 39, those people are tore up!

Now, our Israeli spies here were certainly more able-bodied than the average American TV contestant, but this was a tough trip. It took stamina and effort and focus.

The Christian life is a long haul with lots of ground to cover. I don’t mean to bum anyone out, but that’s just the truth. It’s good ground. It’s leading us to a land of incredible promise and glory, but it’s a long haul. I say that because just this past week I heard a pastor say in his sermon that embracing the cross and living the Christian life isn’t difficult. I’d have to disagree. It requires dedication and sacrifice and self-denial and those aren’t complicated things or impossible things, but they can certainly be painful or demanding or difficult at times. But, we do them because we know that what God has in store for us is incredible and greater and more abundantly than what we could gain for ourselves. He gives us the real future and real life when we do embrace Him and take up our cross.

Notice too before we move on that this expedition was a group effort. They traveled together, carried together. Christians don’t live in a vacuum, we don’t serve in a vacuum. We don’t grow in a vacuum. There’s a popular idea out there right now that I can just be an individual Christian who floats free and doesn’t need the Church, but that’s simply not true. If we’re dismembered, we’re going to fail to support others and be supported in key ways.

Numbers 13.26-27 – Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children 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. 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.

I love that last statement: This is the fruit! What an amazing thing to be able to point to and say, “Here’s what God has waiting for us!”

We don’t always have perfect clarity in life. Certainly when we’re in the middle of a trial or storm we wonder what’s going on and how the Lord is going to work it for good in our lives. But we do know the kind of fruit that the Lord has for us on the road we’re walking. God is very up front about the harvest we can look forward to. He says, “If you walk with Me, here’s the peace, here’s the joy, here’s the satisfaction, here’s the usefulness, here’s the wisdom, here’s the fellowship.” And like Jesus or like Paul we can focus on that fruit and that inheritance and that joy that has been set before us and press forward despite the difficulty or the danger and know that we are headed to a place where a river of life flows and we will be rewarded for our faithfulness and perseverance in this world.

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.

This wasn’t really new information. The Lord had been very clear about where they were going and the people that were there. And more importantly, He had promised and demonstrated His incredible power that would go out on their behalf. He had already given them victory in battle over the Amalekites, not to mention the fact that He single-handedly toppled not just the armies of Egypt, but the entire nation!

The problem was that 10 of the 12 (and the multitude who listened to them) allowed their desire for safety and security to be the greatest motivator of their decisions. They assumed that avoiding the Canaanites would mean they’d be safe and sound. And through their choices, they were assuming that the conquest wouldn’t be worth the cost or the difficulty.

What we allow to motivate us makes a big difference in our lives, spiritually and physically. If our main motivation is wealth or comfort or what we think of as stability and safety, then we’re often not going to be making the Godly decision.

Here’s the thing – they didn’t want to go into the land, so where are they going to go? They suggest going back to Egypt, but there isn’t an Egypt to go back to! It was laid waste by the plagues and the Egyptians would be none-too-happy to have them back. Their other option was to stay in the wilderness. Wandering around. Never growing fruit of their own. Never being built up the way the Lord wanted.

But, you know, if we don’t check our motivations, it’s easy for us to fall into this ourselves. We trade God’s plan for a wilderness because on some human level it seems safer or easier or less costly. But it’s never where we want to be. And we can’t find fulfillment in the wilderness. Every time we see this sort of attitude demonstrated in God’s word we think, “NO! Don’t do it! Just go in!” Because we see the truth from heaven’s perspective in those texts.

And that’s exactly what Caleb says to them in verse 30. Don’t settle!

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.”

We are able because God is able. Whatever giant you face, you are able because God is able. Like David we need to remember that we serve a living God and not let our hearts fail. Caleb had the kind of perspective the Lord wants us to have about our lives. Here’s how the people responded:

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.”

Couple of things – First of all, of course the Canaanites and the giants were stronger than them. But they did not have to battle alone. Sadly, the people failed to remember what God had done, what God had commanded and what God had promised.

It’s a good reminder to us of how key it is for us to remember what the Lord has said, what He has done, what He has commanded and promised, especially when we’re discouraged

Psalm 77.10-12 – I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.

We must remember the Lord and charge forward in faith, knowing who our God is and that we are able because HE is able.

Joshua and Caleb tried to get them to remember that. They gave another impassioned plea in chapter 14.

Numbers 14.6-9 – But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 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.”

These guys walked in confidence, without fear because they viewed the scene through the lens of God’s word. They believed what God said and so it didn’t matter the terrain or the fortifications or the giants.

The crowd didn’t see things that way. They viewed their situation through their desire for ease and security and as a result they made the absolutely wrong decision.

So what about us? What do we want to walk away with tonight?

The foremost encouragement is that if you’re a Christian, God is with you and He has a plan for your life and He is able to accomplish that plan. He speaks to you from a position of victory. The fruit and the inheritance He’s set before us are worth the sacrifice and the difficulty they might require. It is an abundant and eternal life that can only be found in His service.

Rather than be like this multitude who stayed in the wilderness, we want to be people who press forward and walk the road that the Lord has prepared for us.

2 Corinthians 4.17-18 – For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

We do that by remembering what God has said and done and following after Him as He leads us. Knowing that we are headed for a wonderful future, full of fruit, full of glory, greater than we could ask or imagine.