Numbers 13:1-2
The Lord directed Moses to send spies into the land of Canaan. This was probably meant as a preview to encourage them and build excitement about their new home. Having a representative from each tribe would ensure the report from the land would be carried back and make its way through the entire tribe.
The word for 'spy' was one that means to enter the land and wander about. It wasn't a military expedition to glean troop size and locating of enemies and such.
Numbers 13:3-16
The names are not the same we've seen previously as leaders or elders. These men were probably more of a military representation. The only two name we really recognize are Caleb or the tribe of Judah and Hosehea of the tribe of Benjamin.
Hoshea means "He saves." Moses changed the name to Joshua meaning 'Ya is salvation." The name change may have been to make his name more specific to Yahweh.
Numbers 13:17-20
Moses gave direction to the spies to have answers to the questions:
- What is this land like?
- Are the people strong or week, few or many?
- Is the land they dwell in good or bad?
- Are the cities more like camps or walled strongholds.
- Is the land rich or poor?
- Are there forests there?
All these questions are very similar to what we would ask of someone going to a new or strange land. They were going in the early summer, in the most bountiful time. They would surely see the land's provision and stop grumbling about food. They were to be courageous and bring some fruit back with them.
Numbers 13:21-25
The locations tell us they went from the southernmost part of the land to the northernmost part. They came to Hebron where the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are buried with their wives. The descendants of Anak were present. See Deuteronomy 2:10-11; 2 Samuel 21:18-22. These people were considered giants, descended from the Nephilim. See Numbers 13:33; Genesis 6:1-4.
Zoan in Egypt is the city which the Greeks called Tanis. It was the capital of the region. This was in the 1200B.C. range. If Hebron was built seven years prior to that, it was a very old city. The Valley of Eschol was the highlight of the forty-day expedition where they cut some fruit of the vine.
Numbers 13:26-33
Kadesh is the southern border of land of promise. They brought their report to the people and showed the fruit to them. The report starts balance in saying that it was exactly as God had promised; a land flowing with milk and honey. The people strong, the cities were large and fortified and the descendants of Anak were present. Everyone seemed to know who the descendants of Anak were. The tribes listed detail some of people living in the land.
We can imagine the excitement of the crowd with a mixed measure of excitement and fear. Caleb quieted them and then said they should go in the land and take it. He pleaded with them to go, to take possession, and overcome it.
Suddenly, the other men got timid no wanting to enter in. They were overcome with fear and the fear spread among the people because of the giants. They saw themselves as small as grasshoppers among those giants.
© 2023 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater
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