“So they brought the Israelites a bad report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, the land through which we went to spy out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” Numbers 13:32-33 AMP
Every morning I have a choice that involves much prayer, much focus, and much meditation. That choice? Which eyes I will use that day. I’m assuming your response to this statement is one of you raising up one of your hands and then scratching your head with it in confusion. But I assure you, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are making the same decision each and every day that you trod this weary way. The true idea behind this choice is simply how you will choose to see the world around you in this day. Through the limited eyes of a homo sapien or through the unlimited eyes of Almighty God.
Numbers chapter 13 is an intensely interesting chapter. At first perusal, if you speed read through and pick up only the major details, it may not seem that way. But as you peel back the onion skins of the story, it abounds with anticipation, fear, excitement, doubt, and belief. And beyond the emotions, it appeals to the physical senses by vividly describing the promised land of Canaan and its landscape, its inhabitants, and the abundant fresh fruit that lies within its borders. As I read and reread this chapter, it leaps off the page as if I were there. But I was not there. Instead, 12 Israelite spies were. And the stories of what they saw clearly show that different eyes were at work.
By now, early in the book of Numbers, the Israelites have been out of Egyptian slavery for close to 2 years. And after those 2 years we see that they have recently completed the tabernacle that houses the glory of God, that is, the ark of the covenant. And just three chapters ago, we saw God assemble His people on an organized march that would take them to the land in which He has promised them through the great patriarchs of old. So, all they need to do is follow the pillar of cloud in which God uses to guide them, faithfully believe in God’s plan for them, and then take possession of the land. Simple as pie, yes? Well, never underestimate the stiff-necked, unbelieving hearts that beat within the chest of us humans. A search party of 12 men is assembled and they are instructed to go and scout out the land that God has already promised to give them (read a God’s promise as a Godly guarantee).
The interesting part of the chapter is when, after 40 days, the group returns with their scouting report. And as they return, they bring souvenirs. Figs, pomegranates, and a single cluster of ripe grapes that were so bountiful and heavy they needed two men to carry them on a pole between them (can you imagine?) But even though the proof was more than apparent in those grapes, the eyes that some chose to use that day told a very different story. You see, even as 2 of those men carried the grapes that proved God’s bountiful promises, the others told a different story. Ten of those men chose to use their own human eyes during those 40 days. And folks, when we use our own human eyes, they will lie to us every time.
As the report of the state of the land is formally given, we see the group split, 10 versus 2. For Joshua and Caleb, they had forgone the use of their human eyes during those 40 days and instead chose to see things through the eyes of their God. They chose to hold His Word and His promises close in their heart and then they chose to see God’s promises in everything they saw. They saw a land that truly did flow with milk and honey, just as God had told them it would. And when they saw the giants of the land, they did not compare themselves with the giants, they compared the giants with God.
Friends, today, we as followers of the Almighty God that hung the stars and spoke light into existence, have a choice. To see the giants or to see the grapes. We can use our lying human eyes that quickly move past the rich, ripe, juicy grapes and instead choose to settle on the dread and threat of the giants, or we can instead choose to do the opposite. We can instead use the spiritual eyes we have been gifted through the Holy Spirit, choose to ignore the unfounded, false threat of the giants, and simply look to the grapes. God promises to take care of the giants, if we trust Him to, and simply encourages us to rest in the goodness, provision, and promise of His grapes.
May you today refuse to see fear but instead see fortitude in the Lord ~ Dan
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
photo ~ life in the village, Bernal, Queretaro, Mexico
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