Year of the Bible: Part Three of Twelve Exemplo

The Twelve Spies.

The Israelites finally made it to the edge of their promised inheritance, the promised land.

As you read today, take note of the attitude of two of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb, who returned from a forty-day mission inside the borders of their promised land.

Derek Prince puts it like this, "Ten of the twelve spies focused on the problems, not the promises. Two of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb, focused on the promises, not the problems. Joshua and Caleb said, "We are well able." The other spies said, "We are not able." Each got exactly what they said. They all settled their destinies by the way they used their tongues."

Most spies said it was impossible to take the land. Their accurate-but-negative report swayed the entire Israelite community away from trusting God's promise that he would indeed drive out their enemies from the land.

Caleb and Joshua, however, exclaimed, "We are well able! Let us go up at once," but the others continued talking about how impossible it was and how difficult it would be to capture the land. The Israelites were so fearful that they made a plan to return to their captors in Egypt with a new leader. They lost sight of God in their situation. The Israelites repeatedly returned to this pattern, forgetting God and choosing to bow instead to fear.

Faith is not the opposite of fear. Fear is an emotion, and faith is a gift of God that you deploy with your will. Trust is faith in action. We can be sure that Caleb and Joshua saw the challenges the other spies saw, but instead of seeing a closed door, they placed their faith in God's ability to give those enemies into their hands. They believed God would be with them in difficulty and deliver them through it.

Question: The spies assumed they had headed the wrong way because the way would be too difficult. When have you believed you were moving the wrong way after encountering unexpected challenges? Why do you think Caleb and Joshua were able to respond so differently than the other ten spies?

Prayer: We all tend to doubt God, even after many years of following Him and learning firsthand about His ability to be faithful. Take some time now to confess your need for Him to strengthen your faith.