Numbers 13:1-33
Spies Sent into Canaan (Deuteronomy 1:19–33)
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “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.”
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. 4 Now 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 are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.
17 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, 18 and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 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.
21 So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath. 22 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.) 23 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. 24 The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. 25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.
26 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. 27 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. 28 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. 29 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.”
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.”
31 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.” 32 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. 33 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.”
Moses was commanded by God to send spies into the promised land of Canaan, a leader from each tribe to represent all the people who would inhabit and that land. They went and saw those currently inhabiting Canaan and grew very afraid as they took their eyes off the promises of God and His faithful keeping of them since they left the bondage of Egypt through the parted waters of the Red Sea. The spies were supposed to observe and report truthfully about the numbers and strength of the inhabitants, the lay of the land itself, and to bring some fruit of the land back with them as a foretaste of what was to come. They went and observed, and brought back grapes, pomegranates, and figs, a land that truly flows with milk and honey as promised (Exodus 3:8. 33:3), and this is its fruit.but they cowered at the prospect of attacking them because “the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large.” The lying eyes of the spies were hidden from most who believed their fearful report that was skewed against the Almighty and His ability to deliver the land to them as promised, but Caleb was anxious to just go and take what had been promised because his eyes were filled with faith and not fear. The bad report of the lying spies swayed the people with fear of the size and exaggerated strength of the inhabitants and they believed their fearful report lie instead of siding with God by faith in His promises as Caleb had demonstrated to them all. We will later see (Numbers 14:34, 36-37, 38) how those who lied all died and how they brought about an aimless wandering of the rest for forty years until that faithless generation died and a new one was born to have faith in God’s ability to deliver them into the promised land at last. They discovered that you cannot hide those lying eyes of the spies who drew back in fear from the LORD instead of forging onward by trusting His commands and promises. May we not fear the path forward but live by faith in His love, light, and wisdom (Ephesians 5:1-2, 8, 15) in our journey to the heavenly country (Hebrews 11:13, 16) that He promised to all who trust in Christ and His work on the cross and out of the grave and not refuse to trust and follow Him (Hebrews 12:25) as He commands and leads us home. Remember 2 Peter 3:13-14 as we anticipate that to come!
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