Numbers 13:3
Introduction
In Numbers 11 we see a desire in the people of God to return to Egypt. Someone who yearns back to the world – of which Egypt is a picture – proves that he does not know the true character of the world. In Numbers 13 a new problem is emerging: how do the people think about the promised land? It will appear that, just as they do not know Egypt, they do not know the promised land either. They are as unbelieving in the glory that lies before them, that is of the land of Canaan, as they are in respect of Egypt that they have left. The same goes for the wilderness they pass through.The characteristic of Israel is that they fear the enemies more than they fear the LORD. That is why they only think about the pleasant things of Egypt when they think about that land. To this they contrast the unpleasantness of the wilderness. Therefore they long to go back to Egypt. Now that they stand before the promised land, it is the other way around. They are opposed to the difficulties of conquering the land and do not want to conquer it. So they despise the blessings of it that the LORD has presented to them. They do not see the blessings, they forget them, because they are blinded by the effort it will take to possess them.The Twelve Spies
In Deuteronomy 1 it says that the people themselves are asking to send spies: “Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search out the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we should go up and the cities which we shall enter” (Deu 1:22). Now God gives them what they want. He knows their desires. They want to spy it out to compare it with their own strengths. God commands them according to their desires, that they may experience the results. It is like appointing a king in Israel. The LORD commands Samuel to appoint a king, but that is because the people want a king (1Sam 8:22a).The name change of Hosea by Moses is significant. Hosea means ‘salvation’, Joshua means ‘Yahweh is salvation’. With this Moses indicates what God will do and that the strength of the people can be found in Him. He will have spoken this change of name loud and clear as an encouragement to the people. This change of name also shows the special bond that exists between Moses and Joshua, between an old man of God and a young man of God.
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