Tag: promised land

Numbers 13:30-31 ” 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.’ But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘ We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.’ “

The Lord had instructed Moses to send 12 spies into Canaan, but it was only Caleb and Joshua who urged the people to go in and conquer the Promised Land.  Which is very odd if you look at the other 10 men’s names and their meanings…remembering all these young men had been born as God directed the Jews in the wilderness for 40 years.  Their names included – God hears, God endows, God redeems, God saves, God is my deliverance, God is my kinsman.  For in the end, all their strong, valiant names couldn’t help them overcome fear.  And despite hearing about God’s covenant with Israel all their life, they only saw adversity.

Joshua 1:6-7 ” Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous…”

In this scripture, God is commanding Joshua to lead the Children of Israel into the Promised Land.  To the human mind this was an almost impossible undertaking…moving a vast sea of humanity from point A to point B.  But the Lord is girding up Joshua’s loins so to speak by commanding him to be brave and fearless…to look beyond what he saw  to what God envisioned for them.    The Lord may have a scary scenario coming up this year for you…when He calls, will you step out with the same determination and boldness as Joshua did,  or allow the fear of impossibility  to take over?

Numbers 13: 27-28 ” 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. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.’ “

In Exodus 3:8, the Lord had promised Moses a land flowing with milk and honey, and the 12 spies hadn’t denied this was what they observed.  But of the 12 spies, only Caleb and Joshua brought back a good report…the rest only saw the negatives and potential threats.  How many times have you allowed the word “but” to totally stop the will of God in your life?  How many times have you heard the voice of the Lord,  but the “giants in the land” scared you into doing nothing?  It’s time to move beyond fear, and what we perceive as unsurmountable odds…it’s time to claim our nation  again for God.