Moses: Giants and Grasshoppers

Numbers 13-14

The Ten Signposts of the Bible
CAMDE—400—CALY

Creation. Abraham. MOSES. David. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to Come.

What stands between you and experiencing everything God has for you? What obstacles are like giants, stopping you from moving forward to the place God wants you to be? If you could remove "that thing” holding you back, what difference would that make in your relationship with God? 

Let’s see what we can learn from today’s passage—Numbers 13-14.

Three months after God delivered Israel from Egypt, he spoke to them at Mount Sinai and gave them the law through Moses. It appears that Israel stayed near Mount Sinai for about nine months (Ex. 40:17). Then, “in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. They set out for the first time at the command of the Lord by Moses” (Num. 10:11-13).

Israel was on its way to the promised land—the land God had promised to Abraham and Moses (Gen. 17:8; Ex. 3:17). After years of slavery, the Israelites were finally going to settle in a land that was theirs, build homes, and raise their families. 

There was only one problem. The promised land was occupied by the Canaanites, a broad term for all the people living in the area. God instructed Moses to send twelve men to scout the land (Num. 13:1-2). So, Moses chose the group and gave clear, detailed instructions (Num. 13:17-20).

The spies set out, probably in pairs or groups of three. For forty days, they traveled across the area—from one end to the other—a five-hundred-mile round trip. 

When they returned, there was great excitement and some oohs and aahs as the men showed the people clusters of grapes so big they had to be tied to a pole, with two men to carry them. But... the fruit wasn’t the only sizable thing in the land.

Numbers 13:27-29
And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” 

Most people didn’t bother listening to anything else after the spies reported seeing the descendants of Anak. Josephus, the Jewish historian, described the descendants of Anak as a “race of giants who had bodies so large, and countenances so entirely different from other men, that they were surprising to the sight and terrible to the hearing.”[1] The spies added, “We seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them” (Num. 13:33).

Forget the seemingly giant clusters of grapes. There were real giants in the land! Excitement quickly turned into panic.

Caleb—along with Joshua—attempted to dispel the fears. He said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it” (Num 13:30). However, the people believed the majority report. They complained against Moses and said, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt” (Num. 14:4). 

Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua tore their clothes, fell on their faces, and pleaded with the Israelites to trust God. They said, “If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord . . . Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” (Num. 14:8-9).

The Israelites were about to stone these four men, but the Lord stepped in. He was prepared to wipe out this unfaithful generation; however, Moses pleaded with the Lord on their behalf. God did forgive, but even forgiven sins still carry consequences. 

Because of their rebellion, God said, “None of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers” (Num. 14:22-23). Therefore, every man twenty years or older would die in the desert instead of entering the promised land. Israel wandered in the desert for the next thirty-eight years until this rebellious generation had died off.

When we focus on the size of the giants instead of the power of God, we will live in unnecessary fear. When the children of the eternal, sovereign, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient Creator see themselves as grasshoppers in a land of “giants,” all bets are off. Our lives become about us, not the Lord God Almighty. Our children will see us trembling because of our lack of faith. 

We are children of the living God. In Christ, we are significant, secure, accepted, forgiven, and empowered. The Spirit of the living God dwells in us! No obstacle or giant standing in your way can match God's power!

Lock on to the person of God and his promises. Nothing is impossible for him. 

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read and reflect on Numbers 13-14. What “giants” in your life are causing you to focus more on fear than on God’s promises?

Talking to God: Ask God to help you face your “giants.”

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