But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” Numbers 13:30
We were reminded in the weekend message that our generation is among the most fearful in history, despite the numerous safety measures in place due to technological advances. Indeed, our society is extremely overcome by fear. Living in fear is not what God intended for us. While fear may attempt to help us, fear actually harms us. Fear costs us many things, namely our confidence. When we are fearful, we lose confidence in God and in the way that He is working in our lives and taking care of us.
The people of Israel lost confidence in God's care and provision for them in Numbers 13. God had previously rescued them from slavery in Egypt by performing incredible miracles. He promised them a land to live in, the Promised Land. In Numbers 13, God revealed that it was time for the Israelites to explore the land that God was going to give the Israelites. He spoke to Moses, the leader of the Israelites, and said, “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land that I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes" (verse 2). Moses obeyed, sending out twelve men, "all tribal leaders of Israel," to spy on the land of Canaan, which God was going to give them (verse 3). Moses instructed these leaders to scout out what the people currently living in the land were like and what the land was like (verse 18). Unfortunately, ten of the spies were fearful of what they saw when they spied in Canaan, and they instilled fear in the rest of the Israelites. They said, “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey… But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there” (verses 27-28). Only two of the spies, Numbers 14 reveals, tried to convince the Israelites that God would allow them to conquer Canaan. Even with the encouragement from Joshua and Caleb, the Israelites protested and threatened to go back to Egypt where they had been slaves (Numbers 14:4). Because of their fear and lack of trust in God to allow them to enter the Promised Land, only Joshua and Caleb, Numbers 14 reveals, were allowed to enter the promised land.
What gave Joshua and Caleb confidence in God? They had seen God display His power when He performed miracles and rescued Israel out of slavery. They had seen Him provide for the Israelites time and time again. They had confidence in God because they had witnessed His great power. They had no reason to doubt Him now.
It was not just Joshua and Caleb who had seen God’s power displayed before them. All of Israel had seen God’s power displayed. Everyone except Joshua and Caleb was focused on their fears and the obstacles in front of them. Joshua and Caleb remembered their God, who was more than capable of giving them the land that He had promised them.
We have also seen God’s great power displayed in our own lives. Time and time again, He has taken care of us and provided for us. The question is, how will we react in times of fear? Will we respond like Joshua and Caleb and focus on God and His power to work in our lives, or will we respond like the rest of the Israelites and only see our fears and the obstacles in front of us? I urge you to remember God's power. He has proved Himself faithful and capable of providing, and He will do it again in your life, even in the situations where you are fearful. Have confidence in Him today.
Yesterday, in our Bible study together, we were challenged to think about what is causing fear in our lives. Take a moment to think about the fear you have. How has that fear caused you to lose confidence in yourself, and how is God working in your life? Make a list of five ways you have seen God display His power in your life over the past year. Bring this list to mind often, and let it be a reminder to you that God is in control. You can have confidence in His great power, yes, even in the situation that is causing you fear. Will you walk confidently in His power today?
Numbers 13:1-33
1The Lord now said to Moses, 2 “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” 3 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. 4 These were the tribes and the names of their leaders:
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)
17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? 20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) 23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.
25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27 This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.”
30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
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