God has brought me back several times to the account of the spies who were sent into the Promised Land to appraise the land. (Numbers 13-14) Moses sent one head from each of the 12 Tribes of Israel to scout out the land of Canaan, which God had promised to the children of Israel. They came back with contradictory reports. Ten of the men returned with the report that the land was fruitful and very good BUT that the people were giants—known as the children of Anak, the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites and followed the religion of the Canaanites. They said in 13: 31 “…We are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we are.” They gave an evil or negative report that they were afraid of the men who were cannibals. They said in verse 33: “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we are in their sight.” They were terrified by fear for their lives.
Then we read of the positive report from Joshua and Caleb who said in verse 30: “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” They were perplexed about the evil report and tore their clothes in dismay. They affirmed their faith in the LORD (Jesus) in Chapter 14: 8-9 “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 do not rebel against the LORD, neither fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us; their defense is departed from thee, and the LORD is with us: do not fear them.” The ten men with the evil report stoned Caleb and Joshua because they did not like what they said.
Do we see any similarities with where we are in our nation today? We have a multitude of evil reports arising from many sources. We only have to turn on the TV or look at the news on the Internet to hear the fear mongering. Sadly, many have become so fearful of death that they are afraid to live. There are 365 references in the Bible for “fear not” or “do not be afraid”—one for every day of the year! Yet, many Christians are crouching in fear and believe the evil reports and even attacking other Christians who are standing in faith and trusting God that things are not falling apart but falling into place.
Moses was God’s leader and prophet (Numbers 12: 6-8) and cried out to the LORD in intercession and said “I beseech thee, let the power of my LORD be great, according as thy hast spoken, saying, “The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” (Numbers 14: 17-19) Likewise, we have prophets and faithful intercessors hearing from the LORD and crying out for mercy for this nation and its people. There were consequences for those who did not have faith in the LORD and were not able to enter the Promised Land.
What can we learn from this account? Today we see many giants in our land—corporate giants, media giants, financial giants, medical and pharmaceutical giants, political giants, educational giants and the list goes on and on that threaten our livelihood and very existence. The question is: Will we believe the negative report and live in fear or will we stand in faith as Joshua and Caleb did believing and trusting that God is in control and that He is never too early, never too late, but always on time.
Let us rest in the commands and promises that God gave Joshua in 1: 5-9: (1.) I will be with you, I will not fail you, nor forsake you. (2) Be strong and courageous. (3) Follow God’s way—not turning to the right or to the left so that you will prosper wherever you go. (4) Mediate on God’s Word both day and night and observe what is written there. (5) Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the LORD they God is with thee wherever you go. (Verse 9) Then in Joshua 21: 44 we read: “And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that He sware unto their fathers; and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.”
God is saying to us today as true born again believers who are His true Church “Do not go by appearances, do not give up on Me and believe My prophets. Get up and take a stand, shout victory, walk by faith, stop complaining and believing the lies or bad reports and be like Joshua and Caleb. The battle is the LORD’S—His hand is moving to accomplish His will and purpose and plan. He is purifying and completing His Church. There is a present rest of God, of which the sabbath and Canaan were types, into which believers may and, therefore, should enter by faith. Hebrews 3: 12-14: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakes of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” Verse 14: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” The best is yet to come!