*Scripture: Numbers 13:1-3, 17-33 (NKJV)* 1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel.
17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, 18 and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. 21 So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath. 22 And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. 24 The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. 25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. 26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 But 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.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” *Devotion* When the Israelites had arrived at Kadesh, in the desert of Paran, Moses sent out spies in accordance with the wishes of the people. They found a land “fl owing with milk and honey” but, as they were frightened of the people who dwelt there in the general vicinity of Hebron, whom they described as giants, they spread tales about the nature of the land, that it “devours its inhabitants.” As those who were sent to spy out the land were leaders from each of the tribes, their word apparently had validity among the people. Only Caleb is recorded as having expressed confidence in the ability of the Israelites to possess the land for their own. There are times in our personal lives and in the life of the congregation when the odds against us seem insurmountable. The temptation to fear is great because the risks seem so high even when measured against great rewards. We may choose to “err on the side of caution,” but perhaps then that is exactly what we are doing—erring! We might then pause for continued prayer, keeping in mind that rashness is not the same thing as courage. But we do well to remember that, if it be according to the will of God, we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us. (Phil. 4:13) I will lift up my eyes to the hills— >From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1) Rev. Dcn. Jerry Dulas, as eCourier of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America
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