We concluded Sunday's study with Moses giving the twelve men their instructions for spying out the land of Canaan. The Israelites need to know what they'll be up against when they move forward to take the land the Lord has promised them. Today we'll find them completing this reconnaissance mission and returning with their report. Upon their return, only two of the twelve men still believe they will be able to obtain possession of the land.
Before we begin, I must make the statement that nothing I say in today's Bible study has anything whatsoever to do with politics. Our text includes references to reconnaissance, military plans, and walled cities, but I want to make sure no one thinks anything I say here is related to what happened at our capitol last week or to anything political in general. When I speak of the people of Israel taking the promised land or when I talk about climbing over obstacles or facing giants with the Lord on our side, I am referring to the personal struggles we face in this life. There is absolutely no hidden agenda or hidden message whatsoever in what I'm posting. Jesus didn't talk about politics when He taught and I know of no better example than His to follow. I won't be talking about politics on this blog or engaging in any political discussions underneath the Bible study link I post to Facebook. We are here to study about and honor the Lord.
"So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)" (Numbers 13:21-22) Hebron is also called Kiriath-Arba or the City of Arba. According to the book of Joshua, Hebron was built by Arba, the father of Anak. Anak's descendants are known as the Anakim in the Bible and they were a tribe of unusually tall, warlike people according to a number of references throughout the Old Testament. It is believed they carried some form of genetic gigantism. In modern times we are aware that most cases of gigantism are not hereditary but are caused by pituitary tumors and other defects and diseases, but in rare cases gigantism can run in families, especially in families where mating has taken place between people who are too closely related to each other. A particular gene has been isolated that's responsible for causing these family members to have a larger than normal pituitary gland or a pituitary gland that produces way more growth hormones than is normal. We don't know specifically what caused gigantism in the Anakim or in other tribes and persons of the Bible, but we were told in Genesis that giants were on the earth before the Great Flood and also after, although it is believed that the number of giants was greatly reduced after the flood. The Anakim are believed to be descended from these giants.
Whoever the Anakim were, they were a very ancient tribe. Moses tells us that the city of Hebron, built by Anak's father, was seven years older than Zoan (also known as Tanis) in Egypt. In Moses' day the Egyptians boasted that they were the oldest civilized race on earth, but Moses' statement proves this wrong. Some scholars believe Moses inserted this information as a "dig" at Egypt's overwhelming pride in herself. I think he may have inserted this information so that when the spies return after having seen the Anakim in the promised land, we'll understand what caused some of them to lose their courage: they saw a very ancient, advanced, warlike tribe of large men occupying the land. The sight of these men will cause ten of the twelve spies to come back to camp shaking in their boots.
In yesterday's study Moses told the men to bring back some of the fruit of the land if they could. It was grape-bearing season for the vineyards. The men bring back bigger grapes than anyone in Israel has ever seen. "When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land." (Numbers 13:23-25) The word "eshkol" means "cluster". Why did Moses want the men to bring back some of the fruit? My personal opinion is that it's because human beings like to see proof. God has been promising a land "flowing with milk and honey"---a land of rich soil that produces food in abundance. When the people behold the size and quality of the fruit brought back by the twelve men, they'll have proof right in front of their eyes that the Lord is telling the truth about the richness of the land. This "show and tell" session is intended to bolster the people's faith in God. The Lord has told them the truth about the crops; He's telling them the truth about everything else.
The people in the camp assemble to hear the men's report. "They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: 'We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey. Here is its fruit.'" (Numbers 13:26-27) I picture the men holding up the huge cluster of grapes along with the pomegranates and figs so that everyone in the camp can see them. This fruit is impressive. Everyone is ooing and aahing over it. This fruit, which is bigger and more beautiful than any they've ever seen, is going to be the proof they need to forge fearlessly ahead in faith, right? Well, some of them still want to forge ahead in faith. Others do not.
Negative information follows the positive information as some of the men say: "But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." (Numbers 13:28-29) How do we know that not all twelve of the men came back discouraged? Because Caleb, one of the twelve men, will make a statement of faith. Because in our next chapter we'll find Joshua standing with him, begging the people to have the faith to believe what he and Caleb believe: that the Lord is more than able to keep His promise and give them victory.
Upon hearing the negative news, the voices of the assembly are raised. I don't know whether they are wailing in sorrow or are yelling their agreement that the land cannot be taken. But we know a great furor ensues because Caleb has to shout them to silence. "Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, 'We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.'" (Numbers 13:30) I am thankful for people like Caleb---people who still believe the promise of the Lord even when the task looks impossible when viewed by human eyes. Chapter 13 doesn't reveal to us that Joshua is in agreement with Caleb but when we move into Chapter 14 tomorrow we'll see Joshua standing with Caleb and imploring the people to trust the Lord because "the Lord is with us". Sweet friends, if the Lord is on our side, what else do we need? Who or what can stand against God? We need to stop focusing on the size of the task (the size of the giant) and focus on the size of our mighty Defender. Joshua and Caleb are unimpressed by the size of the Anakim or the size of the walled cities. They are thinking only about the size of their God, and because their faith is in Him, they know victory is assured.
The majority of the spies persist in their fear and doubt. Because they are afraid to enter the land, they stir up fear and doubt throughout the entire camp. "But the men who had gone up with him said, 'We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are.' And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, 'The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.'" (Numbers 13:31-33) The Anakim were people of large stature, but I feel these men are greatly exaggerating when they say that all the people they saw in the promised land were "of great size". They previously mentioned seeing the Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites and Canaanites there, and these were ordinary-sized people. They were warlike and powerful and had been established in the land for a long time; there's no doubt about that. But only a small portion of the people in the promised land were literal giants.
Were the Israelites outnumbered by the people inhabiting the promised land? Likely so. Did it seem "logical" by human standards to believe that a nomadic people without military experience could lay siege to and overtake fortified cities defended by experienced soldiers? No, by man's way of thinking it could not be done. But the people don't have to depend on their own strength and experience. Their power comes from the God who fights on their side. I've faced some situations that looked impossible, haven't you? I went through a time when most of the people close to me were telling me to give up. "It can't be done. You're beating a dead horse," they'd say. And I would have given up except I knew God was able to do what I couldn't do for myself. I didn't know for sure whether He'd sort out my circumstances in the way I wanted, but I knew He could. And He did! He did exactly what so many people were telling me He wouldn't do! My giant was huge---so big I felt like a grasshopper in comparison---but my God is bigger than any giant. I don't know what giant you might be facing today. If God weren't part of the equation, maybe the obstacles in your path would be insurmountable. If God weren't part of the equation, maybe a turnaround of your situation would be impossible. But God's not dead. God still moves on behalf of His people. Let's not be like those in Numbers 13 who wailed and shouted, "It's impossible!" Let's be like Caleb, and like Joshua, who said, "We can certainly do it," and, "The Lord is with us."
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