Numbers 13:27-30 ( NKJV )
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. 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. 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.” 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.”
When Israel was confronted with the fulfillment of their destiny, the promised land, they could not go in. The problem was unbelief and hardness of heart. The cause was the deceitful nature of sin and their failure to mix the promise they had been given, as well as their life experience, with faith. We are also on the verge of a promise and I believe the same conditions have afflicted us.
Yesterday we discovered that to mix our experiences and the promises of God with faith means that we need to look at everything through the prism of the faithfulness of God. Israel had problems, but they also had seen God move mightily in their behalf. If they had chosen to meditate upon and speak about the things God had done they would have mixed faith into the equation and they would have been able to go into the promised land.
Israel’s condition is typified by the 12 spies who were sent into Canaan ahead of the rest of the people. Here we see the report of the majority contrasted with a faith minority. Most of the time the majority around us will focus on the impossible. It was the minority, however, who had it right.
10 of the spies gave a report confirming that the land was everything God said it would be. However the rest of their report was not so glowing. We can’t take the land because the opposition is too strong. They did what Israel had trained itself to do. They grumbled, complained and mixed everything with unbelief. Their focus was on giants, the people’s strength and, later in the chapter, how the inhabitants of the land saw them as grasshoppers to be swatted away. The real problem was that they saw themselves as grasshoppers. They evaluated everything on themselves and nothing on God, His promise or His past performance.
Joshua and Caleb saw the same land and the same Giants. Their response was, “We are well able to take the land.” They mixed what they had seen with faith. They knew that God had brought them this far and would take them in the rest of the way. I believe they had rehearsed continually the promise of God. I can see them getting ready to go on this mission talking to one another. “I can’t wait to see what God has prepared for us. He has brought us through all these things to give us this land. He destroyed Egypt to give us this land. Now we get to see the prize.”
The truth is that the nature of the inhabitants was irrelevant. The strength of their fortifications was irrelevant. Nothing they had done up to this point was possible if you considered the people of Israel and their relative strength against what they were facing. When God spoke to Moses he said send out people to spy out the the land. It was Moses who said to determine the nature of the opposition. I cannot say for sure what God’s intent was, but I think His purpose may have been to show them that the promise was what He said it was. The rest was simply not a factor.
Joshua and Caleb understood this. They saw the defenses, they just didn’t think they mattered if you factored in the ally they had on their side. God had promised Israel this land. God had been fighting on their behalf since Egypt. God would not abandon them now. Israel alone could not defeat this enemy. Israel with God as their ally, their covenant partner, was well able to take possession of their promise.
You may be facing challenges that you alone cannot overcome. You are not alone. God has taken you this far. He overcame the impossibility of your sin and saved you. He has met every need you have trusted Him with. He has overcome every enemy in your life when you have taken advantage of what He offers you. With God on your side you are well able to overcome the giants, the walled cities and any other obstacle that keeps you from your promised land.
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