Numbers 14:5

"Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son Jephunneh, who were of them that spied out the land, rent their clothes: and they spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If Jehovah delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it unto us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not against Jehovah, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and Jehovah is with us: fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of Jehovah appeared in the tent of meeting unto all the children of Israel."

"Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly ..." Forsaking any thought of their personal dignity, these faithful leaders moved to do everything in their power to thwart the evil purpose of the people. Note that Aaron, who also was exempted from the death sentence, and who stood faithfully with Moses was also omitted in Numbers 14:30. At this point, both Joshua and Caleb rent their clothes to demonstrate their grief and disapproval of what the people wanted to do.

"The land ... is an exceedingly good land .... "not in any sense a "land that ate up its inhabitants." They also addressed another falsehood advocated by the false spies, namely, that all the people were giants.

"They are bread for us ..." Several quaint comments on this explain the metaphor: "We shall gobble them up!"[7] "Those people will be `duck soup' for us?"[8]

"Jehovah is with us ..." Here is the true basis of all genuine confidence. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).

"Their defense is departed ..." The Hebrew here is literally, "Their shadow" or "their shade"[9] has departed. "This is a very expressive metaphor for shelter and protection in the sultry east (Compare Psalms 91:1; Psalms 121:5; Isaiah 30:2; 32:2; 49:2; and Isaiah 51:16)."[10]