Giants In The Land

Numbers 13:27–14:11 ESV

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.” But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 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. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?

Hinderances to Victory

Too focused on the problems

Unsure of God’s promises

Afraid of failure

Keys to Overcoming

Keep moving forward

Remember what God has done

Faith over fear

I find it interesting that God sent spies to the Promised Land. Surely God knew what was there, He could have just told them what to do. God has a way of using us to fulfill His purpose. We are called to respond to His work. The Israelites were afraid of what might happen and did not trust in God to bring about the victory. After all they had seen God do in Egypt and in the wilderness they continued to doubt the Almighty. God knew there were giants, He knew they had fortified cities, and He equipped the Israelites to handle it all. The Israelites were afraid, complained, and said they were better off in Egypt as slaves. They even made a plan to go back to Egypt, even if they had I’m not so sure that would have worked out the way they thought it would.

For me personally, sometimes this pastoring thing is difficult. Sometimes I think how nice it would be to have a job somewhere else that I could just do my menial tasks and leave it all at the office. As a pastor, there is more I have to do. However, this is the call God has put on my life and I would rather wear myself out and die in His service then do anything else. I will put forth the effort, these giants will fall.