The children of Israel, on their way from Egypt to Canaan, had gone as far as the desert of Paran, on the borders of the promised land, when the Lord said to Moses: "Send men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel; Of every tribe of their father shall you send a man, everyone a ruler among them." (Numbers 13:1-2)
Accordingly the twelve men were chosen, and Moses sent them away with this charge: "Get up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwell therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strongholds; And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land." (Numbers 13:17-20)
So they set off, and searched the land for forty days. "And they came unto the valley of Eschol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it upon a staff between two; and they brought also of the pomegranates, and of the figs. That place was called the valley of Eschol, because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from thence." (Numbers 13:23-24)
The word "Eschol" means "a cluster." Some people, who make their own limited experience the standard by which the truthfulness or reasonableness of the Bible is judged, imagine that the account of the cluster of grapes so large that required two men to carry it, is an exaggeration; but the Bible does not need any man's testimony to substantiate it.
Yet it may be of interest to some, as showing the wondrous fruitfulness of the earth in some places, even in these last days, to read that the writer of this has himself seen a single cluster of grapes weighing twenty-eight pounds. If the one that the spies cut was still larger even than that, one man alone would find it a very difficult task to carry it uninjured for several days.
Well, what was the result of the investigation? "They returned from searching the land after forty days. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told them, and said, We came unto the land where you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it." (Numbers 13:25-27)
Thus far they were all agreed. One would suppose that the sight of such luscious fruit to people in a desert, and the knowledge that there was a country full of it within easy distance, and that the country had already been given them by the Owner thereof, would have so stirred them that nothing would restrain them from going at once to take possession. Alas! there was a "but" in the report of some of the twelve.
Having shown the desirability of the land, ten of the men added: "Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan." (Numbers 13:28-29)
What of that? Those same people dwelt there four hundred years before, when Abraham was in the land, and the Lord had mentioned them all by name, and others beside them, in the promise to Abraham. In giving the land to Israel, the Lord had full knowledge of all its encumbrances. He had promised the ancestors of Israel that: "Unto you will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance: When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it. When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people; He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, He reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm." (Psalm 105:11-15)
The same God was as well able to protect a multitude as a few.
Moreover these very people had seen the power of God, not only over a mighty nation,--the Egyptians, whom He shook off in the Red Sea,--but over the winds and the sea. They had seen how all things in heaven and earth are subservient to His will. Yet now as soon as the ten spies mentioned the people of Canaan, whom God himself had expressly named in the gift, "All the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses, and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!" (Numbers 14:1-2)
Two men alone were faithful to God in the truth. Caleb and Joshua "stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." (Numbers 13:30) "And they spoke unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land which flows with milk and honey. Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not." (Numbers 14:7-9)
Surely it would be a one-sided contest: the people of the land had no defense. True, they had cities with high walls; but, "Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain." (Psalm 127:1)
The Lord is more than all, for: "All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity." (Isaiah 40:17)
Nevertheless the ten spies said: "We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we." (Numbers 13:31)
And so much were they overcome by their foolish and wicked fears that, although they had just told how good the land was, "They brought up an evil report of the land, ... saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature." (Numbers 13:32)
Well, we know the result. It was just as each one said. Those who said, "We are not able to go up," did not go up. They could not, indeed, "because of unbelief." (Hebrews 3:19)
But those who said, "We are well able to go up and possess it," found nothing to hinder them. They did indeed find walled cities, but the walls fell down of themselves, before a finger was lifted against them. Those who expressed a wish to die in the wilderness, had their wish gratified; those who wished to possess the promised land, had it. Even so it is today. "According to your faith be it unto you." (Matthew 9:29)
God has blessed us with "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3) "His Divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness." (2 Peter 1:3)
In Christ, "we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will." (Ephesians 1:11)
Our weapons are "mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds," (2 Corinthians 10:5) while the principalities and powers with whom we are to fight have had their weapons taken away from them by the power of the Crucified One. "And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it [His cross]." (Colossians 2:15)
He is able to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us," (Ephesians 3:20) and that is: "His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion." (Ephesians 1:19-21)
It is impossible therefore for our faith to make too large demands upon God's love and power. We cannot exhaust His gifts. The word is, "All things are yours; Whether ... the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours." (1 Corinthians 3:21-22) "He that overcomes shall inherit all things;" (Revelation 21:7) and the victory has already been won for us. In Christ are all things, and He is "the desire of all nations." (Haggai 2:7)
Therefore we cannot desire a thing that is not ours already. Nay, our desires cannot begin to compass the things that God has given us; for: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit." (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)
Oh, then, "Receive the Holy Ghost," (John 20:22) and, "Be not faithless but believing," (John 20:27) for, "All things are possible to him that believes." (Mark 9:23)
God can do but very little for a man who misinterprets divine blessings, and concludes that he is favored on account of some goodness in himself.--Present Truth, June 2, 1898--Numbers 13:1-32; 14:1-9
E.J. Waggoner