Num 13:32-33 | KingComments | STEP | When the twelve spies leave, there is no difference between them yet to be seen. The difference becomes only clear when they return “at the end of forty days”. The number forty is the number of trial ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ). Testing of the faith reveals the state of the faith. The twelve spies show this to be the case. They have all seen the same, but only two have looked with the eyes of God. One of the two is Caleb. The name Caleb means ‘wholeheartedly’. He is worth that name. Caleb has given himself with an undivided, completely dedicated heart to the LORD and His case. For him, the punishment that comes soon is not a setback from entering the land, but a postponement. The ten other men who have spied out the land have enjoyed the same blessings as Caleb, but have never taken possession of the land. They are like the people of whom is written to have enjoyed the gifts of the heavenly land, but have been lost. “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and [then] have fallen away” ( ). These are people who have never truly, with their heart, been converted to God. Although the ten have an unbelieving heart, they cannot deny that the land flows “with milk and honey”. Milk is a healthy food we received from our mother as a baby. As believers, we are called to long for the Word, as a baby longs for its mother’s milk ( ). Honey is a picture of the natural relationships between the members of God’s people and speaks of the sweetness of brotherly love. We find in the milk and honey the blessing of the vertical and horizontal relationships. The ten spies give a correct description. They have seen no other things than God has said from the beginning ( ). But they let their report follow by a limiting “nevertheless” ( ) and shift the emphasis of the blessings to the enemies. Yet God also told them of those enemies and not only of the blessings. Already to Abraham He told him that his descendants would go to a land where there are enemies ( ). And to Moses He promised – and Moses told the people – that He would drive out the enemies from the land ( ). But if a man forgets what God has said, he will see things differently. Thus the ten feel like grasshoppers in their own eyes, because they have lost sight of God. The impression that unbelief conveys causes turmoil among the people. Caleb knows exactly what the others are talking about. He does not present things differently and does not belittle the dangers. He is not insensitive to the dangers, but he is a man of faith in what God has said. That makes the difference. With a calm confidence in the power of God, he bears witness to the certainty of victory and quietens the people. Then “the men who had gone up with him” give out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land. They paint in detail the impossibility of taking possession of the land, as if to undertake an effort for this purpose is equivalent to suicide. This way of reasoning can be applied spiritually. We reason like that, for example, when we say to others that doing Bible study is actually nonsensical, that engaging in the blessing of God’s land is a tiring activity that only causes problems. Then we present the heavenly land as an area where no life is possible. We may well wonder how we talk about living with the Lord and how we take in what He has given us as spiritual blessings.

‏ Numbers 13:32-33

The Spies Bring Back Word

When the twelve spies leave, there is no difference between them yet to be seen. The difference becomes only clear when they return “at the end of forty days”. The number forty is the number of trial (Gen 7:17; Exo 24:18; 1Sam 17:16; 1Kgs 19:8; Jona 3:4; Mk 1:13; Acts 1:3). Testing of the faith reveals the state of the faith. The twelve spies show this to be the case. They have all seen the same, but only two have looked with the eyes of God. One of the two is Caleb. The name Caleb means ‘wholeheartedly’. He is worth that name. Caleb has given himself with an undivided, completely dedicated heart to the LORD and His case. For him, the punishment that comes soon is not a setback from entering the land, but a postponement.

The ten other men who have spied out the land have enjoyed the same blessings as Caleb, but have never taken possession of the land. They are like the people of whom is written to have enjoyed the gifts of the heavenly land, but have been lost. “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and [then] have fallen away” (Heb 6:4-6). These are people who have never truly, with their heart, been converted to God. Although the ten have an unbelieving heart, they cannot deny that the land flows “with milk and honey”.

Milk is a healthy food we received from our mother as a baby. As believers, we are called to long for the Word, as a baby longs for its mother’s milk (1Pet 2:2). Honey is a picture of the natural relationships between the members of God’s people and speaks of the sweetness of brotherly love. We find in the milk and honey the blessing of the vertical and horizontal relationships.

The ten spies give a correct description. They have seen no other things than God has said from the beginning (Exo 3:8). But they let their report follow by a limiting “nevertheless” (Num 13:28) and shift the emphasis of the blessings to the enemies. Yet God also told them of those enemies and not only of the blessings.

Already to Abraham He told him that his descendants would go to a land where there are enemies (Gen 15:18-21). And to Moses He promised – and Moses told the people – that He would drive out the enemies from the land (Exo 23:27-31). But if a man forgets what God has said, he will see things differently. Thus the ten feel like grasshoppers in their own eyes, because they have lost sight of God.

The impression that unbelief conveys causes turmoil among the people. Caleb knows exactly what the others are talking about. He does not present things differently and does not belittle the dangers. He is not insensitive to the dangers, but he is a man of faith in what God has said. That makes the difference. With a calm confidence in the power of God, he bears witness to the certainty of victory and quietens the people.

Then “the men who had gone up with him” give out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land. They paint in detail the impossibility of taking possession of the land, as if to undertake an effort for this purpose is equivalent to suicide.

This way of reasoning can be applied spiritually. We reason like that, for example, when we say to others that doing Bible study is actually nonsensical, that engaging in the blessing of God’s land is a tiring activity that only causes problems. Then we present the heavenly land as an area where no life is possible. We may well wonder how we talk about living with the Lord and how we take in what He has given us as spiritual blessings.