Pastor's blog

Milk and honey

"We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit," Numbers 13 v 27

I am sure you have played 'I-spy' with children at some point, 'I-spy with my little eye.' TV, cinema and novels offer a litany of thrilling spy stories. Finding out what is going on in another country without that country being aware of the investigation. Well here's a Bible story for today: an exciting spy thriller. The Israelites have just crossed the Red Sea by a miracle and are on the edge of the desert, awaiting Moses to lead them to the promised land. Promised because God confirms to Moses that he would lead the people out of slavery into the promised land, 'a land flowing with milk and honey'. In other words a prosperous land, rich and fertile.

God now tells Moses to send spies into the land where they are destined to go. 12 named men, one from each family or clan. They are sent to answer some specific questions posed by Moses:

"See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not?" Nu 13 18-20

The spies are away for 40 days and they bring back the evidence: pomegranates, figs and a branch bearing grapes. They give a report. The spies confirm that the land is fertile and rich, just as God had promised. But 10 of them point out that the towns are fortified and that the people of the land are strong and almost like giants. Caleb, one of the spies, declares that they should go and attack.

The vast crowd of the Israelites start to have doubts. They want to rebel. They want to choose another leader than Moses to lead them back to Egypt, forgetting that it is a land where they had been slaves for 400 years. Only Caleb and another spy, Joseph, desist. They plead with the people:

"If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us," Numbers 14 v 8.

God becomes angry with the assembled people. He passes judgement. Moses in prayer with God, pleads for leniency. So God commutes the punishment to 40 years of wandering in the desert so that all those older than 20 years will not come into the promised land: only Caleb and Joshua, the two of the twelve spies who believed God.

So that's the chain of events: names (of 12 spies), questions to find out, evidence from the land, a report given, doubts and God's judgement. It is the same chain of events for all of as to whether we get to the promised land, heaven, and a life of great blessing on the way.

February 2012

Phil Lambert