The account of Moses sending the twelve
spies to scout out the land of promise can teach us
how to identify two groups of people: the nay-sayers
and the giant-slayers. Let’s quickly review the
account in Numbers. In chapter 13 verses 1-3 God tells
Moses to send twelve men, heads from every tribe. Then
later on we read:
Numbers 13:17-33,
14:1:
And Moses sent them to spy out the
land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this
way southward, and go up into the mountain: 18 And see the land, what
it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether
they be strong or weak, few or many; 19 And what the land is
that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what
cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents,
or in strong holds; 20 And what the land is,
whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein,
or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the
fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the
firstripe grapes. 21 So they went up, and
searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob,
as men come to Hamath. 22 And they ascended by
the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai,
and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron
was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And they came unto the
brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with
one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two
upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates,
and of the figs. 24 The place was called
the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which
the children of Israel cut down from thence 25 And they returned from
searching of the land after forty days. 26 And they went and came
to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation
of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran,
to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto
all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the
land. 27 And they told him, and
said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us,
and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this
is the fruit of it. 28 Nevertheless the people
be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are
walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children
of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell
in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the
Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains:
and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast
of Jordan. 30 And Caleb stilled the
people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once,
and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But the men that went
up with him said, We be not able to go up against the
people; for they are stronger than we. 32 And they brought up an
evil report of the land which they had searched unto
the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which
we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up
the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we
saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the
giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants:
and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so
we were in their sight. 14:1 And all the congregation
lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept
that night.
God wanted Israel to know
that the land He had promised them was real, and that
it was a land rich in resources and provisions. God
wants us to know about the blessings. His promises are
real. What He promises, He can accomplish.
Difficulties often arise when we focus on the
challenges to our faith and not on the Champion of our
faith. Too often we are defeated before we have even
engaged the enemy. We have to remember that while the
enemy is like a roaring lion roaming to and fro seeking
whom he may devour; no man was ever killed by a roar.
Twelve spies were sent, ten spies came back spineless
not willing to take what God had given them. The negative
report of these nay-sayers moved the people to fear
and to rebel against God’s will.
The Nay-Sayers are infectious, breeding doubt
and discouragement. They never see the possibility of
the promise. They are defeated by the roar, and they
are conquered by their own fear. They will give a thousand
reasons why it can't be done—even though God said
just the opposite. Unfortunately the negativism of the
nay-sayers is contagious
Twelve men went into Canaan, and all twelve men
came out. Every one of them could verify that God's
promises were real. Although the nay-sayers will often
say that they do believe that God can do what He has
promised, they doubt that He will. Nay-sayers will often
claim to worship the same God that created universe
and called life into existence, but they doubt that
He can heal, or provide, or take care of His own.
All twelve testified that the land of promise
had everything God had promised. They said, "We
went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with
milk and honey, and this is its fruit." (They had
even brought back proof of the fruitfulness of the land.)
But, they continued, "Nevertheless the people who
dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified
and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak
there.”
Even after Caleb had quieted the people and encourage
them to go on and posses the land, the Nay-Sayers continued
their drumroll of defeat. They said, "We are not
able to go up against the people, for they are stronger
than we... the land through which we have gone... is
a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people
whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we
saw giants and we were like grasshoppers in our own
sight, and so we were in their sight."
Nay-sayers doubt. They doubt themselves. They
doubt one-another. Worst of all, they doubt God. Furthermore,
if we listen to the nay-sayers, we are likely to become
infected with their doubt, too.
The nay-sayers could not get their eyes any higher
than their problems, and their doubt caused them to
pout. Because the people had become infected with doubt,
they succumbed to depression and despair. When they
began to pout, they said foolish things like, "We
would have been better off in Egypt." Or, "We
should have just died in the wilderness." They
had forgotten the song they had sung as they came out
of the Red Sea and their enemies were defeated behind
them. They turned on the leadership and would have stoned
those who dared believe that it could be done.
Those who doubt and pout, will do without. The
whole generation who refused to pass over to the promised
land, did die in the wilderness. People who will not
believe dwell in a wilderness of questions and anxiety.
Nay-sayers never get to taste and see that the Lord
is good.
The two faithful men saw the giants, too, but
they saw the God who stood above the giants. They saw
the same reality, but they refused to go along with
the popular opinion. Two men stood their ground. Two
men had the courage to believe that if God brought them
to the promise, God would lead them into the promise.
Two men were prepared to take on giants in the name
of the Lord.
These men weren’t nay-sayers, they were
giant slayers. In the face of overwhelming odds, Caleb
and Joshua believed. With the ten other men declaring
that it could not be done, they wanted to go up at once
and take the land. Giant-slayers take God at His Word.
The giant-slayer will declare in the face of doubt and
discouragement, "Let God be true and every man
a liar." The giant-slayer declares, "Every
promise in the book is mine; every jot, every tittle,
every line!"
Only the two names among the twelve are remembered.
The other ten names are written, but no one remembers
them. They faded into the dusty pages of defeated lives.
But Joshua and Caleb are household names. Some thirty-five
hundred years after this event, parents are still naming
their children Joshua and Caleb.
These two men lived through the wilderness and
came back to take the promised land. These two men crossed
over. These two men achieved greatness. They saw the
walls of Jericho fall. They drove out the enemy before
them. They walked with God and because they did, they
achieved what others did not.
The coward dies a thousand deaths, but the men
who dare to believe, are not easily turned back. The
giant-slayer achieves greatness because his trust is
in the Lord. David, another famous giant-slayer, achieved
greatness because His confidence was in the Lord. Although
his own brothers were nay-sayers, David achieved greatness
because he dared to walk with God, where lesser men
were afraid to go.
Joshua and Caleb received their portion of the
promise. They walked on the ground, they built and lived
in the land. They received blessings from God and honor
among men.
Now I am not into this "Name it and claim
it!" or "Blab it and grab it!" theology;
but when I look into the Word of God and He says, "Believer,
this is for you." Then my only question is, "When
do I want to receive it?” As surely as God promised
it, He will perform it as we believe.
Has God been calling you to kill some giants
in your life? Giants of depression, lust, fear, or whatever.
Are giants standing on your promises? Well, make today
your day to believe. Make today the day that you stop
running from the roar. Don’t be a nay-sayer, be
a giant-slayer. Submit to God. Resist the devil and
send him fleeing. Stand where Joshua and Caleb stood;
stand where David stood. Watch the giants fall!
