03- 07- 11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Numbers 13:16- 33)
THEY NEED FAITH TO SPY OUT THE PROMISED LAND
16- “These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. 17- And 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: 18- And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 19- And 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; 20- And 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. 21- So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. 22- And 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.) 23- And 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. 24- The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. 25- And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. 26- And 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. 27- And 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. 28- Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 29- The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. 30- And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31- But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32- And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33- And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
The job of the leaders was to spy out the land. They were sent by Moses with the blessing and commandment of God to go and spy. The job requires them to mingle with people and to live, and talk like them if needed. They were asked to hide their identity as not to jeopardize the plan. It was very basic and easy but could be so dangerous. The Lord was with them as He promised and as we know that He is always with us even in our weakness. Moses gave them all the details as how they would conduct themselves as they go in to spy out the land. Joshua was the one who was mentioned first in this mission, so I believe that Joshua has a special role in this endeavor as Moses’ second man. I believe that Joshua at the time was already a good leader and Moses was already grooming him to take the lead in the future. I heard a preacher said; “Success without a successor is a failure…” And Moses was a success because he let God use him and he opened the door to his successor. Apostle Paul said; (I Timothy 1:18; 2) 18- “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 2- Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.”
