After delivering the children of Israel from Egypt, God promised to give them the Land of Canaan- a land filled with milk and honey and a place of rest. He commanded Moses to send some people from each tribe to go and spy on the land that He would give them.
Numbers 13:1-3 The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe, send one of its leaders.” So at the Lord’s command, Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran.
Moses sent them specific instructions about what they should be looking out for in the land of Canaan. But when they returned, they brought two types of reports; one was contrary to what God had told Moses. Here are some lessons we can learn from this incident in the Bible:
1). God’s Promise
Our God is a promise keeper; no matter what comes may, He will do what He says He will do because He is not a man that lies. He kept the promise He made to the children of Israel. Because of their disobedience, they wandered for a long time in the desert; God delivered and led them into the promised land.
Likewise, in our lives today, we have a lot of promises God has given us through His words. When we believe in these promises and work according to His word, He will fulfill those promises in our lives. It may take a while but be sure that He will accomplish His words in your life. He fulfilled His promises to the children of Israel. He will also fulfill the promise He made to you.
2). Follow God’s Instruction.
Moses was obedient to God, following every instruction God gave him. When we work according to the direction of God’s words, He leads us into the land He has promised us. Moses acted according to the command of God; he followed God’s words and did accordingly.
Numbers 13: 17-20 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the land’s fruit.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
When we follow God’s instructions in our lives, He will make sure that His words are fulfilled in our lives. Our obedient to His words bring provisions to us. Follow the instructions through His words, and you shall proposer in all your ways.
3). What You See Matters A lot.
What you see matters a lot in your life. You can neither see things from the eyes of the world or through the words of God. The spies Moses sent were 12 in number; 10 gave their reports according to what they saw with their naked eyes.
They didn’t see things through the eyes of faith but rather according to what they saw and understood. They forgot that He who has promised could fulfill what He has said. They focused on the wrong things more than the good things in the land.
Numbers 13:26-29 “They came back to Moses and Aaron and the Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
They saw the power of the children of Amalekites, the fortified cities, and the tall people. These things made them bring evil reports to Moses and the children of Israel. While Caleb and Joshua believed in the word of God, they saw things from different perspectives and gave an excellent report to Moses. Number 13:30-33 Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
In our lives today, we must obey God’s word and believe His report for our lives. We should not be afraid of what we hear and see because that is precisely what the enemy wants to do in our lives- to make us fearful.