
Numbers 13:1-33
đ The Lord spoke to Moses (v 1)
The Lord instructed Moses to gather a chief from each tribe to go and spy out the land that the Lord âwas going to give the people.â
Notice – it was not to see if they thought it was possible – they were to go and see the land.
đ The Mission
- go up into the hill country
- see what the land is like
- see if the people are strong or weak
- see if the people are many or few
- is the land good or bad
- do they have camps or strongholds
- is the land rich or poor
- are there trees or not
- be of good courage
- bring back some fruit of the land
đ The Report
The 12 men went and spied out the land. When they returned – ten of the men brought a bad report. The land flowed with milk and honey, butâŚ
- the people were strong
- the cities were fortified and large
- the people were âstronger than usâ
- we are like grasshoppers before them
- we are not able to go up against them
đ But CalebâŚ
Good olâ Caleb said, âLetâs go at once.â
The Lord said of Caleb – in the next chapter – that he had âa different kind of spirit.â It was a kind of spirit that âfully followedâ the Lord.
Caleb didnât disagree with the report of the land. He didnât say that the people werenât that strong. Or the cities werenât that fortified.
Calebâs objection was to the peopleâs conclusion.
The ten said, âWe are not able to go up against them.â
Caleb said, âWe are well able to overcome them.â
A different spirit doesnât make someone deny the facts. It enables them to see the facts through the lens of faith and not fear.
Canaan was not the potential land.
Or the possible land.
Or the probable land.
It was the promised land.
The land that God just told them, âI am giving it to you.â
In Calebâs mind – it was as good as done.
Thatâs a different spirit.
You are loved.