The children of Israel were on the threshold of the Promised Land. Moses sent out 12 spies into Canaan. These were no ordinary men but leaders of their tribes (Num13:1,2)
The 12 went and spied the land. Ten came back with a bad report. Two of them (Joshua and Caleb) came back with a good report. The ten said “We can’t”. Joshua and Caleb said “With God we can.” The ten managed to persuade the rest and as a result the children of Israel wasted 40 years and died in the wilderness. What a waste? What a tragedy? So near yet so far. They had heard the voice of God and seen the power of God and yet perished in the wilderness, not seeing their destiny fulfilled.
They saw the same challenges and yet the ten reacted negatively and gave a bad report (Num13:32). What was the problem with the ten?
- They were looking at their problem and themselves and not God. Their focus was not God.
- They had a grasshopper mentality. They exaggerated the size of their enemy – they saw themselves like"grasshoppers" before the giants (Num.13:33). They were overwhelmed by the problem.
- They were driven by fear not faith in God.
- They were driven by the problem, not the promises of God.
- They did not believe God. They didn’t have a close relationship with God.
What about Joshua and Caleb? How did they respond?
Num.13:30 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.”
Num.14:7-9 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.”
What did God say of them?
Num.14:24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
While the others died in the wilderness, Joshua and Caleb went into the Promised Land. They fulfilled destiny. They possessed what God had promised.
- Don’t look at your circumstances, look to God
- Don’t be driven by fear, have faith in God
- Don’t settle for second best, go for God’s best
And please don’t die in the wilderness. Get into your Land of Promise. Possess God’s promises for you and enjoy all that God has for you.
God has got His best for you….and the best is yet to come
Together with God We Can
