Numbers 13:1-271And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2Send 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. 3And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. 4And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. 5Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. 6Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 7Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. 8Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. 9Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. 10Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. 11Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi. 12Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. 13Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. 14Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. 15Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. 17And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: 18And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 19And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 20And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, 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. 21So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. 22And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23And 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 of the pomegranates, and of the figs. 24The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. 25And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. 26And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to 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 showed them the fruit of the land. 27And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. (Numbers 13:1‑27)
AFTER A year and some months in the wilderness Israel had reached Kadesh-Barnea, just on the border of the promised land. And what a good land it was! — a land flowing with milk and honey, type of the heavenly land — the glory which God has given to His people now and which we are soon to enter.
Apparently it was the people that urged Moses to send out spies to search the land, though here in our chapter the word seems to come from the Lord Himself. The plan received God’s sanction, and twelve men were appointed, one from each tribe, and two of them were Joshua and Caleb.
It is clear from Deuteronomy 1:21,221Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 1:21)
2(There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.) (Deuteronomy 1:2)2 That the proposal to send the spies came from the people, and not from God. Had He not said He would drive out the Canaanites? What need was there to search? Had He not said it was a good land? Could they not trust His word for it? But as we have seen earlier, unbelief was at work in the hearts of the people, and their leaders as well. And now at this point on the borders of the land they seem to think they have a right to judge for themselves and be independent of God.
God had said, “Go up and possess” the land. He did not say “search it.” Was He about to cease from going before them, and leave them to fend for themselves? No indeed; His faithfulness to His word remained unchanged. But the people say, We will send men to spy out the land. They would see for themselves, and find out if the land was as good as God had said it was. Even Moses seemed pleased with their proposal, but surely he ought not to have encouraged them in a path of unbelief. But the people’s will was disobedience, and disobedience is sin.
However, God heard the words of the people and now He would prove them. So He gives Moses the command, “Send thou men.” Sometimes when willfulness is apparent God allows men, and even His children, to have their own way, yet at the same time He always accomplishes His will in the end. He will always have the last word and be glorified. Yet when we assert our own wills, we only stand in the way of our own blessing.
The twelve men went up and for forty days they searched out the land. They found it to be just as the Lord had said — a marvelous land — a land flowing with milk and honey. It was the time of the first-ripe grapes and they brought back from Eshcol a bunch of grapes so large that it took two men to carry it on a staff. They also brought back pomegranates and figs. Truly God’s word is true. What He promises He is able to perform. He never misrepresents nor exaggerates. And all He has told us of the heavenly Canaan to which the saints of God are journeying, we will find true to the ‘letter when we get there, for “All the promises of God in Him [Christ] are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” 2 Cor. 1: 20. Only He gives us a foretaste of that heavenly glory now, just as the men carried back those magnificent grapes of Eshcol. They speak of Christ the true Vine, who lives in that glory, and of all the fruits of His love, their sweetness and joy which gladden our hearts and make us long to be with Him there.
ML-09/16/1973