Number 13:26-30. Caleb Was Quick To Plant Words Of Faith.

Numbers 13: 26-30                                                                                    By Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 13:30:  “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.”  (NIV)

Verses 26-33, “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. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan. 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.”  (NIV)

God showed the spies a great land, full of good fruit. Nobody could deny it. Look at their initial report in verses 26-27. “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.” (NIV) The fruit of the land was obvious. The spies brought back a cluster of grapes so big that two of them had to carry it on a pole. They also brought back figs and pomegranates. Indeed, it was a land flowing with milk and honey. God was correct in his promises to his people. It was all before them. All they had to do is go forth in faith and obey God and advance into the land. People must have shouted with joy.

But there was some among the people who could only look at the negative things and conclude that they can not take the land. Look at verses 28-29, “But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” (NIV) The people were starting to make some other observations that could lead to negative conclusions. They were noticing that the cities were fortified and large. The people there were large and powerful and spread out throughout the land. The Anakites were giants who wore XXXL size of clothes. Goliath, whom David later fought with, was thought to be one of the remnants of the Anakites. The atmosphere, among the Israelites changed.

At this point those reporting these things did not make negative conclusions, but they moving in that direction. They were making these statements with an aura of defeat on their lips. They were about to make some negative, defeatist conclusions.

Caleb silenced the people. He was proactive and stepped in to make sure the conversation went in the right direction. The right direction should be in the positive direction, a direction where God is glorified and faith is planted in the peoples’ hearts. And so Caleb stepped up with the words that glorified the Lord. Look at verse 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.”

God was quick to guide the peoples’ hearts. His Spirit stirred in Caleb’s heart to speak up. I say this because I know that I need to focus on God and what he is doing, and not just on people and the good things that they do. The whole subject of the Bible is God and his glory, power, and majesty. God was determined to fulfill his promises to his people. He would bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey. He would fulfill his promises to Abraham to make his descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky. This would happen no matter what. It would despite of the peoples’ negative thoughts, concerning their ability to take the land. They are ruight in that they could not take the land. Human beings are full of weaknesses. But for what is impossible with people, is possible with God, if it is the will of God. Entering and possessing the Promised Land is the will of God in this case. I thank God for fulfilling his plan despite the weaknesses of his people. And now, let us think about the human response.

Caleb was a good spiritual leader.  After listening to the men’s description of the cities and the people he could sense that the whole conversation was going “south”. He did not let it go too far. He was proactive, by stepping in to make sure the conversation moved towards faith and not doubt. Spiritual leaders need to have a sense of discernment, to know when to step in and when to be quiet and leave things alone.

Caleb knew the value of spiritual encouragement. He knew there is power in words that are pregnant with faith. And he chose to speak those words to the people. A spiritual leaders needs to be a  source of constant encouragement to the people, encouraging them to have faith in God. and to obey the will of God.

Caleb knew that it was God’s will to enter in the land and possess it. That is how he could so boldly stand up and encourage the people to trust God and go forth to conquer the land. It is one thing to speak encouraging words about anything. But it is another to speak encouraging words when it is truly backed by the will of God. There are some things that we want to speak words of encouragement for that aren’t the will of God. Such encouraging words could actually be a human, psychological attempt to force our own prayer topics to come true even though they may not be the will of God. I was once a Boy Scout leader. Our scout pack was dwindling. We were not allowed to recruit in the public schools. There were no parents stepping up for leadership. I spoke encouraging words. I prayed and announced that God would build up the pack. “Watch for a miracle”, I said. But it was not the will of God. I used to head up a single family house church. I would speak words of encouragement, that God would raise up a church with 120 members and there would be Bible teachers to teach the Bible to students from Elgin to Rockford. I spoke words of encouragement for 14 years. Though God worked through our house church, eventually it ended, without my encouraging words coming to pass. Last week (2016) they tore down the house, leaving no trace of the house we poured out our energies in. The only surviving thing is the work that Christ has accomplished in peoples’ hearts. That is how it is supposed to work out anyway. I praise Jesus for what he accomplished. But I just learned through it all, that I need to be certain that it is the will of God, before I stand up, encouraging something that God has no intention to fulfill.

I pray that God may help me to be like Caleb and be in tune with the will of God. Grant me courage to speak up with truthful words of God when they are needed. Help me to be a truthful source of encouragement, following the leading of your Spirit and not just use encouraging words as human means to push my will to happen. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!