Grasshoppers or Giant Slayers?

The setting for this Bible plan is a gathering of Israelites to hear their twelve leaders’ surveillance report on Canaan. A summary of their most recent history includes:

- God had miraculously delivered the Israelites from Egypt (Exodus 14:1-31)

- God had miraculously showed His presence (Exodus 13:21-22) and provision (Exodus 15:22-25, Exodus 16:12-16, and Exodus 17:2-7)

- God had promised Canaan to the Israelites (Genesis 12:1–7, Genesis 26:3, Genesis 28:13, and Numbers 34:1–12).

In preparation for the Israelites taking possession of Canaan, Moses appointed twelve leaders to explore the land and bring evidence of Canaan’s prosperity. The twelve leaders surveyed Canaan in 40 days. Returning with pomegranates, figs, and a branch of grapes so large that it took two men to carry it on a pole, the leaders exclaimed, “…Look at this fruit! The land we explored is rich with milk and honey” (Numbers 13:27, CEV).

Then the surveillance report quickly diverged.

Ten doubting leaders: “But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!” (Numbers 13:28, NLT).

Caleb: “Let’s go at once to take the land….We can certainly conquer it!” (Numbers 13:30, NLT).

Ten doubting leaders: “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are! ... The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge... Next to them, we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” (Numbers 13:31–33, NLT).

The doubting leaders’ words characterized the “grasshopper” mentality. The doubting leaders saw themselves as small and weak as grasshoppers compared to Canaan’s giants.

Reflection.

Notice the doubting leaders’ lack of consideration of God’s promise to give them the land. They only considered their human abilities against the giants’ sizes and perceived abilities. How did the doubting leaders forget how God had delivered them from Pharoah’s giants and army?