Num
13:1-2, 17-20, 25-27, 30-33 (NIV) The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Send some men
to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each
ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."
. . .
17 When
Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and
on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people
who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they
live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they
unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there
trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the
land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
. . .
25 At
the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
26 They
came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the
Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and
showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: "We
went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!
Here is its fruit.
. . .
30 Then
Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take
possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."
31 But
the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they
are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad
report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored
devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33
We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We
seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
NOTE: The 12 spies
were sent to explore the land. There job was to provide intelligence, not a
recommendation of action. Information about soil, towns, and food would help to
order the attack since they would be without manna upon entering the land. They would need to establish a base of
operations and a supply network to support operations throughout the land. Ten
of the twelve spies saw their job in a different light, a much more influential
position of power. They usurped the authority of their leaders by providing an
evaluation of the proposed action, and then spread a bad report among the
Israelites. Why? And when is it appropriate to provide a recommendation? In
this case the decision had already been made. The appropriate action might be a
private discussion with leadership if it were not for the fact that God had
already decided upon their course of action. God knew what they found out, but
that fact never enters their mind as they report back their findings. They saw
things from a human perspective, which can be okay, if it wasn't for the fact
that they had already had God's perspective. Prudence is a wise choice except
when it runs counter to the revealed will of God. When God has given clear instruction
and command, we can not debate the issue using prudence. Where God has not
given clear instruction and command, it is foolish to act without prudent
judgment.
As I look upon this
new direction in our life, prudence would seem to suggest we have made a wrong
choice, but faith tells me that God had clearly communicated his will in this
regard. Therefore I need to pursue what God has revealed. Where people do make
a mistake is when they assume a "feeling" is God speaking to them.
God's direction should be clear and unmistakable.
No comments:
Post a Comment