“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” (Nu 13:30)
The people of God were ready to cross over and enter the Promised Land. They should have trusted God’s promises and just move on to occupy their possessions. But doubters prevailed and convinced Moses to send spies to confirm the blessings (Deut 1:22). They left the desert and went into the valley of Eschol. The word ‘eschol’ means fruitfulness. They came back after forty days with a cluster of grapes, too big to carry by two men on their backs. They confirmed that the Land is good, exactly the way God promised them. ‘But…’ they say, the giants that occupy the Land are too big to be destroyed. So they spread an ‘evil report’ among the people, who soon started grumbling. Only Joshua and Caleb brought a good report, based on truth having God in the middle of the picture. They said: ‘We can certainly do it because God is with us and not with them. Their ‘protection’’ has left them. The word ‘evil report’ in Hebrew comes from the word ‘snake’. The doubters spread snake evil spirits among the congregation with their doubting words. They saw themselves as grasshoppers, like nobodies, like failures.
Doubt quenches the Spirit. Doubt is having two contrary opinions in the same time. Doubt is damaged faith. God does not answer the prayer of a doubter (Jam 1: 6-8). Doubt is much more contagious than faith. Doubt is the faith of a fool. Doubters see the problems first of all, and God is in the background. The people of faith see God first of all, and the challenges are in the background. What do you see first, in your daily life?
Joshua had faith in God’s promises. He encourages the people to trust God for the dispossession of the giants. He said that their ‘protection’ has left them. The ‘protection’ in Hebrew is the same as the word ‘shadow’. It is like a hen protecting her chicks. What Joshua was saying is that ‘the mother hen of the giants has abandoned her chicks for now. Let’s go and kill them before she returns’. There is a window of opportunity for every attack to become victory. The doubters prevailed and the people hesitated to go ahead. Doubters hate spiritual warfare. God gives the judgment. The ten doubters are killed by God. The rest people shall suffer and die in the desert. Doubt kills before you are able to enjoy your fulfilled, fruitful dreams of life. When later they tried to enter the Promised Land, they were defeated by the giants. This is because the window of opportunity of faith has been closed. In other words, the mother hen has come back to protect her giant chicks.
May we trust God and move, led by His Spirit, when the window of victory is opened! Never follow the crowd for most of the time the crowd is wrong. Follow the leading of the Spirit and the tracks of the remnant of grace. That is the narrow, holy, safe and sure path that always leads to victory and eternal life!