Commentary - Numbers 13:1-24

Bird's-eye view

We come now to one of the most tragic and pivotal moments in the history of Israel. The people of God are poised on the southern border of the Promised Land, the land sworn to their fathers. What follows is not a failure of God's promise, but a catastrophic failure of faith on the part of the people, and particularly their leaders. This chapter details the reconnaissance mission into Canaan, a mission commanded by God Himself. But we must understand that God did not command this because He needed information. He commanded it as a test for His people. Would they believe His explicit promise, or would they believe their own eyes? The central conflict of this story, and indeed of the Christian life, is the conflict between faith and sight. The spies are sent to see the goodness of the land, and they do. But most of them also see giants, and their hearts melt within them. This chapter sets the stage for the rebellion that will follow, a rebellion that resulted in forty years of wilderness wandering, a judgment that fell on an entire generation.

Outline

Context In Numbers

Having received the Law at Sinai and having been organized into a military camp, Israel has journeyed from the presence of God at the mountain to the border of their inheritance at Kadesh-barnea in the wilderness of Paran. The book of Numbers is a story of this journey, and it is largely a story of rebellion, judgment, and God's persistent covenant faithfulness despite His people's faithlessness. This episode with the spies is the apex of that rebellion. It is the point of no return for the Exodus generation. Their response to the report of the spies will determine their fate. This is the moment when they should have marched forward in faith, but instead, they will shrink back in fear, and in so doing, despise the pleasant land and disbelieve God's word.

Key Issues

Verse-by-Verse Commentary

Numbers 13:1-3

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, "Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them." So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of Yahweh, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel.

The first thing to notice is that this mission was initiated by God. "Yahweh spoke to Moses." This was not the people's bright idea, born of anxiety. This was a divine command. And notice the premise of the command: spy out the land "which I am going to give" to them. The ownership is already settled. This is not a mission to see if the land is worth taking, or if it is possible to take. God has already declared His intention. The mission, therefore, is a test of belief. Will they go and see the land through the lens of God's promise, or will they evaluate it on purely carnal, military terms? The men chosen are leaders, heads of their tribes. This is crucial. The failure that is coming is a failure of leadership. When leaders lose their nerve, the people are scattered. Moses obeys, sending them "at the command of Yahweh." Everything is proceeding as it should, on the surface.

Numbers 13:4-15

These then were their names...

Scripture does not waste ink. This list of twelve names, which we are often tempted to skim over, is here for a reason. These were real men, with real families, representing the entire covenant community. God knows His people by name. Each tribe had a stake in this. But as we read the list, our eyes should be drawn to two names in particular: Shammua from Reuben, the firstborn, and Caleb from Judah, the tribe from which the Messiah would come. And of course, Hoshea from Ephraim. Ten of these men will become infamous, instruments of a faithless report that led a nation to ruin. Two of them, Caleb and Hoshea, will become heroes of the faith. The Lord knows those who are His, even before the test begins.

Numbers 13:16

These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

Here is a detail of immense theological importance. Moses renames Hoshea. The name Hoshea means "salvation." But Moses adds the divine prefix, changing his name to Yehoshua, or Joshua, which means "Yahweh is salvation." This is not a mere nickname. This is a prophetic declaration. Moses, the representative of the Law, cannot bring the people into the land of promise. The Law can show us our sin and lead us to the border, but it cannot give us the inheritance. Only Joshua can do that. And of course, the name Joshua is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name Iesous, or Jesus. This is a profound type of Christ. Yahweh is our salvation, and it is only our Divine Joshua, Jesus, who can lead us out of the wilderness and into our true inheritance. Moses sees this, and by the Spirit, he declares it in this name change before the mission even begins.

Numbers 13:17-20

So Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, "Go up there into the Negev... And see what the land is like..."

Moses gives them their mission parameters. The instructions are straightforward and practical. Assess the geography, the people, the cities, and the agriculture. Are the people strong or weak? Are the cities fortified or open? Is the soil rich or poor? Bring back some fruit. These are all questions of fact. The facts themselves are neutral. The strength of the enemy is a fact. The height of the walls is a fact. The goodness of the fruit is a fact. The issue will not be the facts they gather, but the grid through which they interpret those facts. Will it be a grid of faith in the God who promised, or a grid of fear in their own abilities? Moses tells them to "make an effort," which in the Hebrew carries the sense of strengthening themselves, or showing themselves courageous. He is calling them to faith before they even set foot in the land.

Numbers 13:21-22

So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, at Lebo-hamath. And they had gone up into the Negev and came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

The spies are obedient to the letter of the command. They cover the full extent of the land. They come to Hebron, a place rich with covenant history. This is where Abraham, the father of the faithful, had dwelt. They are walking on holy ground, the very land God swore to their ancestor. But what do they see in Hebron? Not the legacy of Abraham's faith, but the descendants of Anak, the Anakim. These were giants, a fearsome people. The parenthetical note about Hebron being built before Zoan in Egypt is a historical anchor. It tells us that Hebron's history is ancient and significant, more so than the great cities of their former slavery. But it also reminds us of Egypt. They have been delivered from one great power, but now they see another. Will they remember the God who crushed Pharaoh, or will they tremble before the sons of Anak?

Numbers 13:23-24

Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men with some of the pomegranates and the figs. That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

Here is the evidence. It is tangible, heavy, and sweet. The land is not just good; it is supernaturally abundant. A single cluster of grapes is so massive it requires two men to carry it on a pole. This is not a land of scarcity. This is a land flowing with milk and honey, just as God had said. The name of the place, Eshcol, means "cluster." They are bringing back irrefutable proof of God's faithfulness. The very thing that should have fueled their faith will, in the mouths of the ten, become a source of discouragement. The irony is staggering. They carry the blessing of God on their shoulders, all the while their hearts are nurturing the bitter root of unbelief. The goodness of the gift will be used as an argument against the Giver.

Application

This story is written for our instruction. We too stand at the border of promises God has made to us in Christ. He has promised to build His church and that the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. He has promised us victory over sin and death. He has promised to be with us to the end of the age. But like the spies, we are sent into a world that contains giants. We see fortified cities of unbelief, and powerful cultural forces arrayed against the gospel. The test for us is the same as it was for them. Will we look at the giants and our own weakness, or will we look at the promise of God and the evidence of His goodness?

The ten faithless spies practiced what we might call "grasshopper ethics." They saw themselves as grasshoppers, and so the giants were terrifying. Caleb and Joshua saw the same giants, but they saw them in relation to a giant God, and so the Anakim were just "bread for us." The facts were the same; the perspective was everything. We are called to be people of the Joshua perspective. Our salvation is of the Lord. The battle is the Lord's. The fruit of the land, the blessings of salvation in Christ, are real and abundant. Let us not carry the evidence of God's goodness back to the camp only to complain about the size of the giants. Let us rather, by faith in our true Joshua, go up and possess the land.