Numbers 13

C. THE SPYING OUT OF THE LAND AND THE REFUSAL TO GO FORWARD FOLLOWED BY REJECTION AND EXPULSION FROM THE LAND (Chapters 13-14).

Following the arrival in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh, the tribes settled down while the land ahead could be spied out. The oases of Kadesh would provide a welcome change from the harshness of the wilderness, and they were probably glad to be able to rest once more at a place where water was not scarce.

The sending out of the spies or scouts may be seen as a wise military manoeuvre. Scouting what lay ahead was always the precursor to military activity. But in this case it must surely be seen as more than that, for it was Yahweh Who was leading His people and He would not be unaware of what lay ahead. It therefore seemingly performed a two way function. Firstly that it would let the people know how fruitful and pleasant the land was, and secondly it would face them up to what lay ahead in the way of fighting for the land. Yahweh wanted to test out their faith to see if it would be strong enough for what they would have to face. It was very much a trial of what they could cope with.

Already in the wilderness the slave mentality of the people had raised its head and they had been revealed to be in a sad psychological state. They had complained, and murmured, and wept when things had gone wrong. Even the stay at Sinai and the assurance of His dwelling among them had not combated that. Faced with the problem of fighting for the land their first reaction would be the desire to return to ‘comfortable’ slavery in Egypt (Numbers 14:3-4). So Yahweh was right therefore to be concerned lest they be insufficient for what lay ahead. He was well aware that, if their faith was not strong enough, any entry into the land, which would necessarily be followed by sustained warfare, could only end in disaster. He would have to hold them up at every turn and the result would be a nation not worthy of the name. It would result in something far different from what He intended. That was not what He had brought them there for.

The sending out of the spies must therefore be seen as a test of whether they were in a fit state to enter the land. The outcome would determine whether the entry should be made immediately, or whether a further wait was advisable. In the event the latter proved to be the true position. And indeed when an abortive attempt was made in desperation it did turn out to be disastrous. We must not see God’s refusal to let them enter into the land as simply caprice on His part. It was a studied recognition of the fact that they were not yet ready, and could not cope with what lay ahead.

He thus accepted that until they had become hardened by a time in the wilderness, with the present generation being replaced by people who had been brought up to liberty and had more backbone, an advance on the land would be inadvisable. Had they gone forward it would have required miracles even greater than those wrought in Egypt, and Yahweh clearly did not think that they were worthy of them. If His people which were called by His name were not willing to trust Him and His name, then establishing them in the land would not produce a nation which brought glory to His name, but would simply result in a nation of selfish and weak misfits who simply forgot Him. And that was not His intention. That would not be a nation worthy of being seen as the Kingdom of God.

This section from Numbers 13:1 to Numbers 14:45 deals with that situation. It consists of:

a Scouts advancing into the land to search it out (Numbers 13:1-25).

b The scouts report on what lay ahead (Numbers 13:26-33).

c The people’s response (Numbers 14:1-10).

d The anger of Yahweh (Numbers 14:11-12).

d The intercession of Moses (Numbers 14:13-19).

c Yahweh’s response (Numbers 14:20-38).

b The people report on their plans (Numbers 14:39-43)

a The people advancing into the land with devastating results (Numbers 14:44-45)