General Conference Bulletin, vol. 5

LESSONS FROM THE SENDING OUT OF THE SPIES

E. G. White

Sabbath, March 28, 11 A. M.

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.... And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan.... So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron.... And they came unto the brook of Eschol, 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. The place was called the brook Eschol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. 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. 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.” GCB March 30, 1903, page 7.9

Thus far their words had been spoken in faith; but see what followed. After describing the beauty and fertility of the land, all but two of the spies enlarged upon the difficulties and dangers that lay before the Israelites, should they undertake the conquest of Canaan. GCB March 30, 1903, page 7.10

“The people be strong that dwell in the land,” they said, “and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 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.” GCB March 30, 1903, page 7.11

Their unbelief cast a gloomy shadow over the congregation. A wail of agony arose, and mingled with the confused murmur of voices. Caleb comprehended the situation, and did all in his power to counteract the evil influence of his unfaithful associates. He did not contradict what had been said. The walls were high and the Canaanites strong. But God had promised the land to Israel. GCB March 30, 1903, page 8.1

“Let us go up at once, and possess it,” urged Caleb, “for we are well able to overcome it.” But the ten, interrupting him, pictured the obstacles in darker colors than at first. “We be not able to go up against the people,” they declared, “for they are stronger than we.... And all the people we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw 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.” GCB March 30, 1903, page 8.2

It is right that human beings should be considered as grasshoppers when compared with the Lord God of Israel. But it showed a lack of faith for the spies to speak of the Israelites thus in comparison with the people they had seen in Canaan. The children of Israel had on their side the mighty powers of heaven. The one who, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, had led them through the wilderness, was fighting for them. They had seen His power displayed at the Red Sea, when at His word the waters parted, leaving a plain path for them through the sea. Nevertheless, when the spies saw the walled cities in the promised land, they allowed unbelief to enter their hearts, and returned to the congregation with a faithless report. By the words they spoke, they leavened the minds of the people with unbelief. The record tells us what effect their murmuring had. GCB March 30, 1903, page 8.3