And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
God tells Moses to send men into Canaan to look over the land He is already giving to Israel. Yet Moses' own retelling says the idea came from the people — so who really set this mission in motion, and why did God command it?
Read alone, this verse makes the search God's own idea. Moses' later account fills in the sequence — and what it cost.
From Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea, on the south border of the land, was only an eleven days' journey. Going backwards and forwards, it took them nearly forty years... It was the people themselves who pushed for sending the spies to search out the land. This appears to clash with Numbers 13:1-2, which says, "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan." But the two passages show the full sequence. The people proposed it. Moses agreed — he says the plan pleased him well. And God commanded it. God's first message was, "Go up and possess it"; but the people hesitated, and said they would send the spies (Deuteronomy 1:21-23). Their rebellion and their wanderings were the result.
If the plan started with the people, God's command needs explaining. One writer separates what God permitted from what He approved, and notes what Israel now chose to trust.
The Lord met the people in their unbelief and commanded Moses to send the men. He did not approve the people's desire. He allowed them to carry out their purpose, so that, knowing all the consequences involved, He might use these for their correction and instruction. The folly of unbelief was never more obvious. The Lord had guided His people by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Now they will trust the report the spies may bring about the way they should take.
God's command calls Canaan the land He is giving to Israel — a gift, not a risk to weigh up first. That wording alone, one writer argues, settles the matter.
It was theirs by His free gift, the gift of His sovereign grace... There was no need of spies. Faith never wants to spy out what God has given. It argues that what He has given must be worth having. And He is able to put us in full possession of all that His grace has bestowed.
One commentator finds the same pattern later, when Israel asked for a king.
The Lord commanded Samuel to listen to the voice of the people and make them a king. Was it that He approved of the plan? Certainly not; on the contrary, He states plainly that it was a positive rejection of Himself. Why then command Samuel to appoint a king? The command was given because of Israel's condition... Well, God gave them what they asked for, and they were very quickly called to prove the worthlessness of their plan.
Commentators differ. Others read the mission as useful, serving two ends at once.
In the first place, it was meant to encourage and spur on the people. Their representatives would see the excellence of the land for themselves, and report on it. But in the second place, it was to make them realise that there were mighty opponents. They must still rely on the power of God. Their faith was to be tested. Nothing but His power had broken Egypt and brought them out. If they truly believed that, they would have no difficulty believing that His power would break all the enemies in the land, and bring them in.
Each man sent was a leader in his tribe. Two of them later stood apart, and one writer finds their character already signalled in their names.
The names of the spies are given to us, each a prince in his tribe, and representing it... The meaning of the names of the two faithful ones is plain. "Caleb" means, no doubt, "whole-hearted," as the man is. He is the son of Jephunneh, or "who is regarded with favour": taking hold of grace is what leads to devotedness.
Many read Canaan as a picture of heaven. One writer draws a finer line.
Canaan does not represent heaven, where Christ is. When we enter that blissful place, all conflict and fighting will be over for ever. It does represent the realm of heavenly blessing that is ours in Christ. We enter into it now through spiritual conflict. So the letter to the Ephesians opens by unfolding those "spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ," and ends with warfare.
- Gift. God calls Canaan His own gift. What He gives must be worth having, and He can put His people in full possession of it.
- Request. The people asked for spies, Moses agreed, and God commanded it.
- Permission. God gave them what they asked without approving it — as He later granted Israel a king, letting them prove the worthlessness of their own plan.
- Test. Read another way, the search served God's purpose. It showed them a rich land and mighty enemies, so their faith would rest on His power.
- Possession. The land pictures the heavenly blessing that is ours in Christ now — entered not by rest, but through conflict.
Send thou men, that they may search out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel. Ye shall send a man of every tribe of his fathers, each a prince among them.
God tells Moses to send men into Canaan, one leader from every tribe. They are to search the land He is already giving to Israel. On its own the order sounds like plain common sense. But Deuteronomy 1 tells the story from the inside, and it raises a question: whose idea was this?
Two accounts of the same event sit side by side in Scripture. They look like a contradiction only until you read them together. One writer traces the order of events:
Moses reminded them that it was they themselves who had pushed for sending the spies to search out the land. This appears to clash with Numbers 13:1-2, which says "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Send men to spy out the land of Canaan." But the two passages fit together. The people proposed it. Moses consented — it pleased him well, he says here. And God commanded it. God's first message was, "Go up and possess it;" but the people hesitated, and said they would send the spies. Deuteronomy 1:21-23. Their rebellion and their wanderings were the result.
If the plan started with the people, why did God put His own word behind it? Because the command matched what was already in their hearts:
The reader may ask a question here. "Did the Lord not plainly command Moses to send spies? And if so, how was it wrong for Israel to send them?" True, the Lord did command Moses to send the spies, in Numbers 13. But this was because of the moral condition of the people, as set out in Deuteronomy 1. We learn from Deuteronomy 1:22 that the idea of sending the spies began in the heart of Israel. God saw their moral condition, and He issued a command that fully matched it.
God's sanction here is not the same as God's approval — and a wider principle stands behind it:
Here it is clear that the Lord let the wish go ahead: "Send men." We know from elsewhere how this began. It was not in faith, but unbelief. Still the Lord lets them test the principle out. That is, He lays down what agrees with His own mind. In gracious care for His people He may also go beyond it. And further, He may let something go ahead that did not start with Him, and still secure His own glory everywhere.
The order itself answers the doubt behind it. God calls the land one He is giving them. It was theirs before a single spy set foot in it.
The Lord their God had given them the land, and set it before them. It was theirs by His free gift, the gift of His sovereign grace, in keeping with the covenant made with their fathers... There was no need of spies. Faith never wants to spy out what God has given. It reasons that what He has given must be worth having. It reasons too that He is able to put us in full possession of all that His grace has bestowed.
The men chosen were not volunteers or scouts by trade. Their names also repay attention:
The names of the spies are given to us, each a prince in his tribe, and representing it... The meaning of the names of the two faithful ones is plain, and should encourage us to look further. "Caleb" means, no doubt, "whole-hearted," as the man is. He is the son of Jephunneh, or "who is regarded with favour": taking hold of grace is what leads to devotedness.
Commentators read the errand itself as a picture of something God still does:
Moses sent the "spies" (Numbers 13, 14) at the command of the Lord, to search out the land of Canaan... and to bring back some of its fruit. The Spirit of God lives in us as a present witness. He takes of the glory of the Lord Jesus, and of the things of the land of promise — that true Canaan, of which faith says, my land. So He shows us our portion.
The errand God allowed came back on the people who asked for it:
God commands many things that we are bound to do as soon as they reach us as His command. His ways are displayed in how they turn out. Yet they are only owing to our lack of faith. So the result richly confirms the faith of the faithful, of the remnant. But unbelief reaps what it has sown.
- Origin — The plan began with the people (Deuteronomy 1). Moses agreed to it. Only then did God command it, so the two accounts fit together.
- Permission — God's command matched their moral condition. He may allow what did not begin with Him, and still secure His own glory through it.
- Gift — The land was already theirs by free gift. Faith never wants to spy out what God has given, because what He gives must be worth having.
- Representatives — Moses sent twelve tribal leaders, one for each tribe. Caleb's name means whole-hearted, and his father's name points to favour received.
- Harvest — The errand confirmed the faith of the few and left unbelief to reap what it had sown.
And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of Jehovah, all of them heads of the children of Israel.
Moses sends the twelve spies out "according to the command of the LORD." Yet Deuteronomy says the people asked for the search themselves — so was the mission God's guidance, or Israel's unbelief?
Verse 3 says the mission had God's command behind it. But one writer sets that beside Moses' own later account of how the plan began.
It is worth comparing Deuteronomy 1 with Numbers 13. A reader may find it hard to judge the true nature and moral roots of the act of sending the spies. After all, in the end the people acted on "the command of the LORD." But always remember this: the Lord commanded the thing, yet that does not prove the people were right to ask for it. The giving of the law at Mount Sinai, the sending of the spies, and the appointment of a king are all proofs of this. No doubt God overruled all these things for His own glory and for man's final blessing. Still, the law was not the expression of God's heart. Setting up a king was a flat rejection of Him. And sending men to spy out the promised land showed plainly that Israel's heart was not fully satisfied with the LORD. The whole thing was the fruit of their weakness and unbelief, though God allowed it because of their state.
God had already given the land and described it. So what could spies add?
A simple heart that trusted God would never have thought of such a thing. What! God has given us this land in His grace, and He has described it fully and faithfully. Are we to send weak men to spy it out? Never. Let us say instead, "It is enough. The land is the gift of God, and so it must be good. His word is enough for our hearts. We want no spies. We look for no human testimony to confirm the word of the living God. He has given; He has spoken; this is enough."
Verse 3 shows God going along with a plan He had not started. One writer sets out how far that goes.
Here, however, the LORD clearly let them have their wish: "Send men." We know from elsewhere how this started — not in faith, but in unbelief. Still, the LORD lets them test the principle. That is, He lays down what fits His own mind. He may also go beyond that in gracious care for His people. And further still, He may let a thing go ahead which did not begin with Him, and yet secure His own glory at every point.
The verse names the starting point: the wilderness of Paran.
The wilderness south of Canaan and west of Edom. Ishmael lived here. Kadesh was in it. There the Israelites camped when they sent out the twelve spies, and again near the end of their wanderings.
The twelve were not volunteers from the crowd. Their rank carried an expectation.
The men sent were all heads in their own tribes, and so they should have been men of faith and courage.
The trip that started in unbelief still brought something back. Moses' words had never given Israel this.
They did this extra service for the camp. Moses had brought them a report of Canaan long before this, and the spies bring a report of it too. They said it truly was a good land, flowing with milk and honey. But they did more. Moses, who had brought them out of Egypt, had never done this: they held up a cluster of grapes and said, this is the fruit of it. They offered a sample, a first portion of the harvest… God gives a foretaste as well as a report. He did so in Israel's day. He commanded the spies to search the promised land while His people were still in the wilderness.
- Plea — The idea of searching the land started with the people, not with God. Deuteronomy 1 shows the root of the command in Numbers 13.
- Permission — A command from God is not always approval from God. The law at Sinai, the spies, and Israel's king all show this. He overruled each one for His own glory.
- Place — They start from Paran, the wilderness that held Kadesh. Israel would camp there again near the end of the journey.
- People — The twelve were heads of their tribes. So they should have been men of faith and courage.
- Proof — God turned the errand into a gift. Israel got more than a report — a cluster of fruit carried into the wilderness, a taste of the land itself.
And these are their names for the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;
Numbers 13:4 opens the list of twelve men sent to search out Canaan, and Reuben's tribe comes first. A line of names can look like filler, yet this one shows who the men were and what was at stake.
Each man listed from this verse on held rank in his own tribe. That sets an expectation the story soon breaks.
The men sent were all heads in their particular tribes, and so they should have been men of faith and courage. Verses 4 to 15 give their names. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character. But it is hard to speak with certainty about what they mean.
One writer walks through the order of the twelve, notes which tribe is missing and why, and marks out the two men who trusted God.
Leading men are selected to act as spies. Reuben here stands first, Simeon follows, Levi is left out, since the Levites were not to have an inheritance in the land, and Judah (praise) is third. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who represents the tribe of Judah, is mentioned here for the first time. Caleb means "brave," "whole-hearted." Caleb and Joshua were the only two in the whole company who trusted in Jehovah, and Jehovah rewarded them for their faith.
Everything the Bible records about the man named here fits in one line.
Son of Zaccur, a Reubenite. Numbers 13:4.
Commentators differ on how far to press the meaning of these names. One is cautious, as we have seen. Another works through the list and finds the clearest light in the two faithful men.
We are given the names of the spies, each a prince in his tribe and representing it. Suppose we had the skill to read their meanings rightly, in the order in which they stand. We would no doubt find light on the reason for their failure, for the most part — though at first they all agree about the land itself. The meaning of the names of the two faithful ones is plain, and should encourage us to look further. "Caleb" means, no doubt, "whole-hearted," as the man is. He stands third among the first three of the twelve, and his place matches his name exactly by number. He is the son of Jephunneh, or "who is regarded with favour": the grasp of grace is what leads to devotedness. Joshua stands second in the second three, and it is striking that each of these three names speaks of deliverance in some way: Igal, "he redeems"; Hoshea, "saviour"; Palti, "deliverance."
Reading Numbers alone, the mission looks like God's own idea. One writer points to what Scripture says elsewhere about how it started.
We know from elsewhere how this started — that it was not in faith, but in unbelief. Still, Jehovah, as we have seen, lets them prove the principle. That is, He does more than lay down what is according to His own mind. He may also, in gracious care and consideration for His people, go beyond it. And further, He may allow something to go ahead which did not begin with Him, and still everywhere secure His own glory.
The twelve saw real obstacles. They did not imagine the difficulties; the question is what unbelief did with them.
"They are stronger than we are," say the spies, but in truth their strength was gone. The cities were walled, and they saw the giants too. But when they reached Canaan at last, the walls were just as high, and the children of Anak were still there. Not one of the difficulties of unbelief had been removed. Only, when they go forward with God, difficulty is no difficulty.
- Named. This verse opens the list of twelve, Shammua of Reuben first. Each man was a head in his own tribe, so each should have been a man of faith and courage.
- Read. The names of the two faithful men speak plainly: Caleb, "whole-hearted," son of Jephunneh, "who is regarded with favour" — the grasp of grace leads to devotedness. Commentators differ on how far to press the rest.
- Ordered. Reuben stands first, Simeon second, Judah third. The list leaves Levi out, since Levi was to have no inheritance in the land.
- Sent. The search did not start in faith but in unbelief, and God allowed it. He can permit what did not begin with Him and still secure His own glory.
- Tested. The walls and the giants still stood when Israel entered at last. Not one difficulty had gone. Going forward with God is what makes difficulty no difficulty.
for the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;
Numbers 13:5 is a single line in a roll call: Shaphat, son of Hori, is the man Simeon sent to look at Canaan. That one name raises two questions. Why does the list matter? And why did these leading men fail?
Each name in this list, including Simeon's, belonged to the head of a tribe.
The men sent were all heads in their particular tribes, and therefore should have been men of faith and courage. The names of these are given in verses 4 to 15. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character, but it is difficult to speak with certainty of their meanings.
Others read the names as a key to the story that follows, and admit the reading is partial.
The names of the spies are given us, each a prince in his tribe, and representing it. If we had the skill to read their meanings correctly, in the connection in which they stand, we would no doubt find light given to us as to the reason for their failure, for the most part, although at first they are unanimous about the land itself.
Simeon's man comes second in the list. One commentator notes who is in and who is left out.
Leading men are selected to act as spies. Reuben here stands first, Simeon follows, Levi is left out, for the Levites were not to have an inheritance in the land, Judah (praise) is the third.
Another writer follows that absence through to the question of blame.
By far the greatest part of the people shared in that sin of unbelief. Joshua and Caleb were the exceptions. To them we believe we must add the tribe of Levi, for that tribe had nothing to do with the sending of the spies. No one on that mission represented them.
Commentators find Simeon a hard tribe to describe.
Of Simeon it is difficult to speak with clearness. The name given him does not seem to describe him. In his prophecy about the tribe, Jacob does not appear to refer to it. Moses, in his blessing, leaves Simeon out entirely. There is little or no history attached to them. They are usually found joined with others — in the land, with Judah. Their inheritance falls within the portion of Judah (Joshua 19:1). They have no individual man of any special prominence.
Another writer gives the name a meaning and ties it to the tribe's place inside Judah.
Simeon means "hearkening," for the one whose habit is to listen to God will certainly praise Him, and so has title to an inheritance within Judah, whose name means "praise."
Numbers presents the mission as God's command. One writer points to Deuteronomy for where the plan began.
We would not know from the account before us what we find in Deuteronomy, that this spying out of the land originated with the people, and not with God. We need not wonder, therefore, that it ends disastrously. Yet God sanctions it: how much may He have to sanction in this way, as what must be because of what we are! and how much trial does our unbelief make necessary for us! He had told them all they needed to know of the goodness of the land, and assured them of His gift of it to them. In truth, the evil of it lay only in the state of their hearts, in the motive, which with them was unbelief. Faith finds encouragement in the very thing that dismays the unbelieving.
Mackintosh points back to what Moses had already told them.
If simple faith had governed them, they would have acted on these stirring words of Moses: "See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed." There is not a single syllable about spies in this splendid passage. What does faith want with spies, when it has the word and the presence of the living God? If Jehovah had given them a land, it must be worth having.
The twelve reached the land and came back alive. Mackintosh draws a question out of that.
And if "twelve men" could get to Eshcol, why not 600,000? Could not the same hand that shielded the one shield the other as well? Faith says "Yes." But unbelief shrinks from responsibility and recoils before difficulty. The people were no more willing to advance after the spies returned than before they set out. They were in a state of unbelief, first and last. And what was the result? Out of the 600,000 who came up out of Egypt, only two had enough energy to set foot in the land of Canaan.
- Named — Simeon's man stands second in the twelve. Each man led his own tribe. Each had the standing that should have produced faith and courage.
- Absent — Levi is missing from the twelve. That tribe had no inheritance in the land, sent no one, and so shared none of the guilt.
- Sanctioned — Numbers presents the mission as God's command. Deuteronomy shows it began with the people. God allowed what their unbelief made necessary.
- Unnecessary — God had already described the land and promised to give it. Faith needed no spies. It had His word and His presence.
- Tested — Twelve men walked the land and came back alive. That was proof enough for six hundred thousand. In the end only two men who left Egypt set foot in Canaan.
for the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;
Numbers 13 lists twelve men, one from each tribe, sent ahead to scout Canaan. Verse 6 names Judah's man — and his name, his father's name and his family line all raise questions the short line does not answer.
Moses' later account of the mission shows where the plan came from:
Caleb's name first appears when the spies are sent to search out the land of Canaan. Moses' account in Deuteronomy 1 makes it very clear that this mission grew out of the people's unbelief. God had told them to go up and take the land. Instead they came to Moses and said, "Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come." The Lord met the people in their unbelief and told Moses to send the men. He was not approving what the people wanted. He was allowing them to carry out their plan.
Caleb went as Judah's man, and what he brought back reflected on his whole tribe:
These two leaders brought their own tribes into their rightful prominence by their faith and devotedness, in contrast with the other spies who brought back a bad report. Caleb was of the royal tribe of Judah.
The verse gives a name and a father's name. One writer finds meaning in both:
Scripture gives us the names of the spies, each a prince in his tribe, and representing it… The meaning of the names of the two faithful men is plain, and should encourage us to look further. "Caleb" means, no doubt, "whole-hearted," as the man is. He stands third among the first three of the twelve, so his place in the list matches his name exactly in number. He is the son of Jephunneh, which means "who is regarded with favour": it is the understanding of grace that leads to devotedness.
The phrase "from the tribe of Judah" is more surprising than it looks. Later passages call Caleb a Kenizzite, and one writer reads that as pointing to an origin outside Israel:
Joshua 14 tells us that Caleb was the son of Jephunneh, a Kenizzite. He had probably come from the mountains of southern Canaan and attached himself to the tribe of Judah. So by birth he was a stranger to the covenants of promise. He was one of the first-fruits of the Gentile harvest, of which there were many samples in the Old Testament. However, his birth barrier did not hinder him from being an Israelite in spirit.
His place in the tribe was given, not inherited:
So Caleb, who by birth had no right of citizenship in Israel, received that right within Judah because of his faith.
All twelve saw the same land and the same giants. What separated Caleb was not better eyesight but a different measuring stick:
What unbelief does is to compare ourselves and our own strength with circumstances. What faith does is to compare God with circumstances. Take the case of the spies, Numbers 13, 14. They said, "all the people that we saw in it are of great height… and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." If the Israelites measured their own height against the height of the Anakim, they had no business there. What did Caleb and Joshua say? They calmed the people, saying, "they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." In other words, they compared these sons of Anak with God.
Then came the Lord's own word about him:
"My servant Caleb," said the LORD, "because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it." This shows how welcome Caleb's faithful testimony had been to the Lord's heart… he followed fully, and this became the mark of his life — a mark which Caleb himself was glad to accept and recall.
Years later the promise paid out in ground:
At 85 years of age he claimed the territory his feet had walked over, the land God had promised him. The Anakim held it, but he won and inherited Kirjath-arba, or Hebron… He is a picture of the Christian who by faith actually occupies and enjoys the place God has given him, despite everything that opposes him.
- Favour first. "Jephunneh" means "who is regarded with favour" — understanding grace is what produces devotedness.
- Whole-hearted next. "Caleb" means whole-hearted, and the man matched his name.
- Grace makes room. With no birth-right of citizenship in Israel, he received his place within Judah by faith.
- Faith measures rightly. Unbelief sizes itself against the giants; faith sizes the giants against God.
- Following fully inherits. At 85 he claimed the ground his feet had walked over, and took Hebron from the giants.
for the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;
Numbers 13:7 is a single line in a roll call — one name, one father, one tribe. It sits in the list of twelve men sent from the edge of Canaan to look the land over. The list reads like a formality. Yet the commentators treat it as a decisive moment: why were these men picked, and why did a nation need spies for a land God had already promised?
The names are not filler. One writer reads the list closely. The second group of three includes Igal, the man named here from Issachar, and all three names speak of deliverance.
The names of the spies are given to us, each a prince in his tribe, and representing it. Suppose we had the skill to read their meanings rightly, and to see how they connect. No doubt we would then find light on the reason for their failure in most cases, although at first they all agree about the land itself... Joshua stands second in the second group of three, and it is remarkable that each of these three speaks of deliverance in some way: Igal, "he redeems"; Hoshea, "saviour"; Palti, "deliverance."
The twelve were not volunteers. They represented their tribes. One commentator notes which tribe sent no one, and the two aims behind the mission.
At the opening of chapter 13 we find the people had moved northward and were camped on the borders of the Promised Land. From that spot, at the commandment of the Lord, a leading man from each tribe, except the tribe of Levi, went to search out the land they were to enter. This command clearly had a twofold bearing. In the first place, it was to encourage the people and spur them on. Their representatives would see for themselves how good the land was, and report on it. But in the second place, it was to make them realise that there were mighty opponents. So they must still rely on the power of God. This would test their faith.
Because each man held rank in his tribe, more was rightly expected of him.
The men sent were all heads in their particular tribes, and therefore should have been men of faith and courage. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character, but it is difficult to speak with certainty of their meanings.
Numbers presents the mission as God's own command. That raises a plain difficulty, and one writer answers it.
It may be, however, that the reader still feels some difficulty about the question of the spies. He may be inclined to ask, how could it be wrong to send them, when the Lord told them to do so? The answer is, the wrong was not in the act of sending them when they were told, but in the wish to send them at all. The wish was the fruit of unbelief; and the command to send them was because of that unbelief.
The same errand therefore worked two opposite ways in the twelve men who went on it.
He had told them all that they needed to know of the goodness of the land, and assured them of His gift of it to them, and of His casting out the present inhabitants for their sins. What more did they need to know?... In truth, the evil of it lay only in the state of their hearts — in their motive, which was unbelief. Faith finds encouragement in the very thing that unsettles the unbelieving. Each is confirmed in its own way.
Of the twelve names recorded in this chapter, only two survived the aftermath.
This judgment began very quickly. The ten men who had discouraged the hearts of the people were struck by a plague and died "before the Lord" (vv. 36-37). Of all the twelve spies who were heads of the people, only Joshua and Caleb were spared.
Their failure becomes a mirror.
So, "they could not enter in because of unbelief," as the apostle says. Here is the crowning failure in the professing Church too: the failure to enter into the heavenly portion. People stop being pilgrims and become only desert wanderers.
- Named — Each man in the list, the one from Issachar included, led and represented his whole tribe. Levi alone sent no one.
- Chosen — Rank raised the standard: heads of tribes should have been men of faith and courage.
- Tested — The errand showed them two things: how good the land was, and how strong its people were. Both were meant to make them lean on God's power.
- Divided — One mission, two results: what encouraged faith unsettled unbelief, and each heart was confirmed in what it already was.
- Ended — Ten of the twelve names stop here, struck down by a plague. Only Joshua and Caleb were spared. Unbelief, not the report, is what shut the rest out.
for the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun;
Numbers 13:8 is one line in a roll call: the man Ephraim sends to scout Canaan is Hoshea the son of Nun. He appears here under his old name. By the end of the same list Moses gives him a new one. So this quiet verse is the first we see of Joshua among the twelve.
The mission started with the people, not with Moses. Notice what they asked for — and what they never asked.
As Israel drew nearer to Canaan, God told Moses to send a man from each of the twelve tribes to spy out the land (vv. 1-2). Compare this with Deuteronomy 1:22-23. There we see that the people of Israel had first come to Moses. They wanted men sent to search out the land and bring back advice: which way should Israel take to enter it, and which cities should they attack first? Notice that in this scripture there is no question of deciding whether to go into the land, but only which way.
Hoshea did not volunteer. Ephraim sent him as its head man, and that rank carried an expectation.
The men sent were all heads in their particular tribes, and therefore should have been men of faith and courage. Verses 4 to 15 give their names. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character. But it is hard to be certain what those meanings are.
Commentators differ on this. Others do read the names, and find meaning both in Hoshea's own name and in the group of three where he stands:
Joshua stands second in the second group of three. Strikingly, each of these three names speaks of deliverance in some way: Igal, "he redeems"; Hoshea, "saviour"; Palti, "deliverance." Hoshea, whom Moses named Jehoshua, "Jehovah the Saviour," is the son of Nun, which means "son."
Only one man on the list gets a new name. The change is small but decisive: Moses puts God's own name in front of it.
The name in its full, uncontracted form given to Joshua by Moses. He "called Hoshea the son of Nun Jehoshua," changing his name from "Deliverance" to "Jehovah is Saviour." Numbers 13:16; 1 Chronicles 7:27.
"Jehoshua" is the full form of the name; the ESV spells it "Joshua" in verse 16.
That new name is the same name the Lord Jesus would later bear. One writer sets the work of the two men side by side.
Moses was the mediator between God and the people while they travelled through the wilderness. Joshua was the saviour who brought the people out of the wilderness, and their leader into the land of rest and promise. So Moses shows us the Lord in His priesthood, or mediatorship, as He is now with the church. Joshua shows us His character as Saviour of Israel in the days to come, when He will lead His ransomed tribes into their promised rest. Jesus is Saviour, and Jesus and Joshua are one: "Jesus" is the Greek form and "Joshua" the Hebrew form of the very same name.
Moses dies, and Joshua takes his place. One writer reads that handover as a picture of how Christ brings us into our own inheritance.
The leader of the people, Moses, is clearly a picture of the Lord Jesus, and just as Moses through death gave place to Joshua, so Christ told His disciples, "it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7). Joshua had been constantly the companion of Moses, just as the Spirit of God had always been with the Lord Jesus. We may rightly regard Joshua as a picture of Christ also — not Christ outside us, but "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Christ is in us by the power of the Spirit of God. That is how He leads us into our heavenly inheritance, pictured by Joshua leading Israel into Canaan.
One other name on this list stays joined to Joshua's from here on. A writer turns that partnership into a question for the reader.
From this moment Caleb's name stays so close to Joshua's that you could almost call them inseparable. Together they search the land, together they cross the desert, together they enter Canaan… The great name of Joshua overshadows Caleb's name, you might say, and stamps its own character on it. These two men have only one thought. They share the same faith, confidence and courage, the same starting-point, the same path, the same purpose of heart, the same goal. Is it so with us, dear readers?
- The list: Moses sent twelve heads of tribes, men whose rank meant they should have been men of faith and courage.
- The question: the people never asked whether to enter the land, only which way to go in.
- The change: Moses altered one name on the list, from "Deliverance" to "Jehovah is Saviour."
- The Name: Joshua is the Hebrew of the Greek "Jesus" — the Saviour who leads His people into rest.
- The company: Joshua's name pulls Caleb's along with it. That is the test for every reader — is your life bound up with Christ's?
for the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu;
Numbers 13:9 is one line in a roll-call: the man chosen from Benjamin to go and look at the land God had promised. It names only him and his father, so three questions stand out: who were these twelve men, why did Israel send them, and how did it all end?
Palti appears here as Benjamin's man among twelve. One writer treats the whole list of names as a clue to what went wrong.
The names of the spies are given to us, each a prince in his tribe, and representing it. If we could read their meanings rightly, in the setting where they stand, we would surely find light on why most of them failed. At first, though, they all agree about the land itself.
Their rank set a standard. Commentators differ, though, over how much the name meanings can carry.
The men sent were all heads in their particular tribes, and therefore should have been men of faith and courage. Verses 4 to 15 give their names. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character, but it is hard to be sure what those meanings are.
Another writer reads the names more boldly. He sets Palti beside two names near his in the list and finds all three pointing one way.
The meaning of the names of the two faithful ones is plain, and should encourage us to look further. "Caleb" means, no doubt, "whole-hearted," as the man is... Joshua stands second in the second three. What stands out is that each of these three speaks of deliverance in some way: Igal, "he redeems"; Hoshea, "saviour"; Palti, "deliverance."
Palti carried the name of Benjamin into the mission. That name was given twice over — once by a dying mother, once by a father.
The youngest son of Jacob by his beloved wife Rachel. She died at his birth and named him BEN-ONI, meaning "son of my sorrow." Yet his father named him BENJAMIN, "son of the right hand" (Genesis 35:18, 24). He is a picture of Christ in two ways: exalted at God's right hand (Benjamin), and rejected — the cause of Israel's suffering in the last days (Ben-oni). Rachel here stands for Israel (Micah 5).
Two things sit side by side in this mission: God's sanction, and the unbelief that asked for it.
The Lord has brought the people to the borders of the land; Moses tells them to go up. The people propose sending spies; Moses consents. It seems that they had God's sanction, for they went according to the word of the Lord. But the weakness and unbelief of the people prompted this request. God commands many things, and we must do them as soon as He commands them. His ways are displayed in how they turn out. Yet such things are only owing to our lack of faith.
Palti was one of the ten who brought back the report. That report had two faults, and the second is the deeper one.
"They are stronger than we are," say the spies, but in truth their own strength had gone. The cities were walled, and they saw the giants too. But when they reached Canaan at last, the walls were just as high, and the children of Anak were still there. Not one of the difficulties of unbelief had gone. Only, when they go forward with God, difficulty is no difficulty... In all this I find two things. First, it is an evil report of the land — there is nothing good in it. Second, they leave God out altogether. Had they thought of God, the question would have been this: Is God a grasshopper or not?
The roll of twelve did not end as it began.
This judgment began very quickly. A plague struck the ten men who had discouraged the hearts of the people, and they died "before the Lord" (vv. 36-37). Of all the twelve spies who were heads of the people, only Joshua and Caleb were spared.
- Named — Palti son of Raphu went as a prince of his tribe, standing in for Benjamin, whose name means "son of the right hand."
- Chosen — as heads of their tribes, these twelve should have been men of faith and courage. Their rank was the reason for the choice.
- Deliverance — one writer reads Palti's name as "deliverance" and sets it beside Igal and Hoshea, all three pointing one way. Others say such meanings are not certain.
- Sent — God sanctioned the mission, but the people's weak faith prompted it.
- Sifted — the same walls and giants stood there later when Israel went in with God. Ten of these leaders died; only Joshua and Caleb lived.
for the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;
Numbers 13:10 is a single line in a roll call: twelve men, one from each tribe, listed by name and father before they set out to search Canaan. Gaddiel son of Sodi stands for Zebulun — and his name raises a question: why name all twelve men, when ten of them came back and broke Israel's courage?
Each man carried his tribe's standing with him. One commentator thinks their names repay a closer look:
The names of the spies are given to us. Each one was a prince in his tribe, and stood for it. If we had the skill to read their meanings correctly, along with the way they are linked together, we would no doubt find light on the reason for their failure in most cases. This is so even though at first they all agree about the land itself. The meaning of the names of the two faithful spies is plain, and it should encourage us to look further. Caleb means, no doubt, "whole-hearted," and that is what the man was.
Commentators differ on how far this can be pressed. Another writer starts from the men's rank instead, and is careful about name meanings:
The men sent were all heads in their particular tribes, and so they should have been men of faith and courage. Verses 4 to 15 give their names. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character. But it is hard to speak with certainty about those meanings.
This tribe's name has a clear meaning, and it comes from Leah's own words when she named her son:
And now we go on to Zebulun, whose meaning is simple, from his name and the way Leah uses it. She called him Zebulun, which means dwelling, and said, "This time my husband will dwell with me." The spiritual thought connected with Zebulun is dwelling in the relation which God has given us to Himself. That is the only true thought of consecration.
Translations differ over Leah's words here: some render them "my husband will honor me." This writer follows the older reading, "dwell with me," which matches the name.
Zebulun appears tenth here, out of its usual place. One writer notes what sets this list apart:
When it is a matter of spying out the land, all the tribes are deliberately mixed and mingled.
Read in Numbers alone, the mission looks like God's own idea. Deuteronomy tells a fuller story, and that changes how the roll call reads:
From the account before us we would not learn what Deuteronomy tells us: this spying out of the land started with the people, and not with God. No wonder, then, that it ends in disaster. Yet God allows it... He had told them all they needed to know about how good the land was. He had assured them that He was giving it to them, and that He would drive out the people living there because of their sins. What more did they need to know?... In truth, the evil of it lay only in the state of their hearts, in the motive, which with them was unbelief. Faith finds encouragement in the very thing that dismays the unbelieving.
Gaddiel came back with the group that turned Israel against the land. Their failure was not in the facts they reported, but in what they made those facts mean:
The evil report was not that the spies lied when they said the people were strong and the cities were great. All this would only make the power of God more obvious. The evil was that in effect the report denied God's power, and denied His right to give the land to whomever He pleased. To unbelief the land belonged to giants, and they themselves were only grasshoppers. What could they do?
- Chosen. Every man here, Gaddiel included, was a prince in his tribe. He went as its representative, so his report carried his whole tribe with it.
- Named. Scripture records every name. One writer reads their meanings for the reason behind the failure; another warns that those meanings cannot be pinned down.
- Mingled. For this errand the tribes are mixed and mingled, so Zebulun appears tenth, out of its usual place.
- Tested. The errand itself came from the people, not from God. He had already said the land was good, and He had promised to drive out the people living there. The search added nothing they needed.
- Divided. The ten did not deny that the giants were real. They denied God's power and His right to give the land away, and called themselves grasshoppers.
for the tribe of Joseph, for the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi;
Gaddi, son of Susi, is one of twelve men sent to explore Canaan. His tribe carries two names here — Joseph and Manasseh — which raises two questions: why the double name, and why record men whose mission ended in disaster?
Every name in this list belongs to a tribal leader, not a volunteer.
The men sent were all heads in their particular tribes, and therefore should have been men of faith and courage. The names of these are given in verses 4 to 15. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character, but it is difficult to speak with certainty of their meanings.
Another writer goes further. He thinks the names themselves, read rightly, would show why most of these men failed:
The names of the spies are given to us, each a prince in his tribe, and representing it. Suppose we had the skill to read their meanings rightly, in the connection in which they stand. We would doubtless find light as to the reason for their failure, for the most part — although at first they are unanimous about the land itself. The meaning of the names of the two faithful ones is plain, and should encourage us to look further.
Manasseh appears here as a stand-in for Joseph, and the reason reaches back to the birthright. Joseph received the firstborn's double share, and that share was paid out in his two sons.
For instance, 1 Chronicles 5:2 tells us, concerning Israel, "the birthright was Joseph's." Verse 1 tells us that the birthright of Reuben, the eldest son, "was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel." We can see why Joseph had two sons and only two: so that he might have the double portion of the firstborn. So in the dividing up of territory, each of Israel's sons had a single portion, that is, one tribe each (Levi excluded for obvious reasons). Joseph had the double portion, two tribes: Ephraim and Manasseh.
That double portion is also what keeps the count at twelve.
Since he has two portions, the number of the tribes remains twelve, although Levi is not counted.
Manasseh's name carries its own picture. One writer sets him beside his brother Ephraim:
Ephraim counts on his headship as a right. Manasseh, on the other hand, true to his name, is the picture of one who does not dwell in the past. He forgets it, and presses forward in the energy of a present faith.
The father's name here, Susi, has a meaning of its own. One writer ties it to the name of Jesus' disciple Philip:
Philip, of Bethsaida like the one before, answers in Greek to the Hebrew name Susi, father of Gaddi (Numbers 13:11). It means "fond of horses."
The list exists because Israel asked for spies. One writer looks at Deuteronomy to find where that idea came from:
A careful study of Deuteronomy will clearly show that unbelief on the part of Israel was the origin of the mission of the spies. God allowed it, and He can work His sovereign will despite everything... In the third chapter of Exodus, Scripture first hints at His purpose. It also describes the land as it looked to His eye. Its great goodness, fertility and beauty are all traced there. God had cast Israel on the faithfulness of His word and promise. How, then, could He have started something that was a slur on His truthfulness and the certainty of His word? No; the LORD permitted it, but never started it.
Gaddi was a prince of his tribe, and the title did not protect him. Ten of the twelve came back with the very unbelief they went out to cure.
But sadly, the people were not governed by faith, but by dark and depressing unbelief. Even the spies were under the power of the same God-dishonouring spirit — the very men sent to assure and steady the congregation. Only two of them were brilliant exceptions. In short, the whole plan proved a failure. The outcome only made plain the true condition of the hearts of the people.
- Birthright. Reuben lost the birthright, so it passed to Joseph's sons. Manasseh therefore stands here for Joseph.
- Twelve. That double portion keeps the tribal count at twelve, even though Levi is not counted.
- Forgetting. Manasseh's name pictures a man who refuses to dwell on the past and presses forward in present faith.
- Princes. Each spy was a head of his tribe, so each should have been a man of faith and courage.
- Failure. The mission sprang from unbelief. The men sent to steady the people caught it themselves. Rank is no substitute for trust.
for the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;
This verse is one line of a roll call. Ammiel, son of Gemalli, stood for the tribe of Dan among the twelve men sent to explore Canaan. That one name opens the chapter's larger questions. Who chose these men? Why did the mission happen at all? And how did it end?
One reference work sums him up in a line:
Chief man of the tribe of Dan sent to search the land.
Every name on the list belongs to a leader like him.
The men sent were all heads in their particular tribes, and therefore should have been men of faith and courage. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character, but it is difficult to speak with certainty of their meanings.
The roll call exists because Israel asked for the search first.
The Lord met the people in their unbelief, and commanded Moses to send the men (Numbers 13:1-2). He did not approve what the people wanted. He only allowed them to carry out their plan. He knew all that would follow, and He would use it to correct and teach them. The folly of unbelief was never clearer. The Lord had guided His people by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Now they will trust the spies' report to tell them which way to go.
So Ammiel was sent on an errand God permitted rather than approved.
One writer points out how the tribes appear in this list:
When it is a matter of spying out the land, all the tribes are deliberately mixed and mingled.
The list also leaves one tribe out, and explains the meaning of two names.
Leading men are selected to act as spies. Reuben here stands first, Simeon follows, Levi is left out, for the Levites were not to have an inheritance in the land, Judah (praise) is the third. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who represents the tribe of Judah, is here mentioned for the first time. Caleb means "brave," "wholehearted." Joshua's name is given also as "Oshea." Oshea means "saviour" and Joshua is "Jehovah is Saviour." Joshua is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ; the name "Jesus" is the Greek equivalent.
Commentators differ over how far the meanings of the names can be pressed.
The names of the spies are given us, each a prince in his tribe, and representing it. If we had the skill to read their meanings correctly, and to see how they connect, we would surely be given light on why most of them failed. At first, though, they all agreed about the land itself. The meaning of the names of the two faithful men is clear, and it should encourage us to look further. "Caleb" means, no doubt, "wholehearted," as the man is... He is the son of Jephunneh, which means "who is regarded with favour." Grasping grace is what leads to devotedness.
Ten of the twelve, Ammiel among them, discouraged the people with their report.
This judgment began very quickly, for the ten men who had discouraged the hearts of the people were stricken by a plague and died "before the Lord" (Numbers 14:36-37). Of all the twelve spies who were heads of the people, only Joshua and Caleb were spared.
The ten and the two saw the same giants. What separated them was what they measured those giants against.
What unbelief does is to compare ourselves and our own strength with circumstances. What faith does is to compare God with circumstances. Take the case of the spies; Numbers 13, 14. They said, "all the people that we saw in it are of great height... and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." If the Israelites compared their stature with that of the Anakim, they had no business there. What did Caleb and Joshua say? They stilled the people, saying, "they are bread for us; their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." That is, they compared these sons of Anak with God. What did it matter then whether they were giants or grasshoppers? They spoke the language of faith. This was not reasoning about circumstances. It was simply saying, greater is He who is for us than all that can be against us. God was there. That is what makes the path of faith so simple.
- Request. The mission began with the people's unbelief. God allowed it rather than proposed it. He used what followed to correct and teach them.
- Representatives. Ammiel was Dan's chief man. Each of the twelve led a tribe, so each should have shown faith and courage.
- Roll. The tribes appear mixed and mingled here. Levi is left out, because the Levites were to have no inheritance in the land.
- Reading. The names may carry meaning. The clearest are Caleb, "wholehearted," and Joshua, "Jehovah is Saviour." Their lives matched their names.
- Result. Ten of these leaders died by plague. Only Joshua and Caleb lived. They measured the giants against God; the ten measured themselves against the giants.
for the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael;
Numbers 13 lists twelve men, one from each tribe. Each is named with his father's name, and verse 13 gives Asher's man. The list looks like plain record-keeping. But these are the men whose report would decide a whole generation's future.
The only fixed information Scripture gives about this man is his family and his tribe, and a reference work in the collection states it plainly.
Son of Michael, of the tribe of Asher. Numbers 13:13.
The tribe he stood for carried a name with meaning, and the blessing spoken over Asher later matches it.
Asher, meaning "happy," fittingly closes this list of blessings. "Most blessed of sons be Asher; let him be the favorite of his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil" (v.24). Dipping his foot in oil speaks of the Holy Spirit (the oil) influencing his walk from this time onward.
Sethur was not a volunteer or an unknown. Each of the twelve was a leader in his own tribe, and that raised what was expected of him.
The men sent were all heads in their own tribes, and so should have been men of faith and courage. Verses 4 to 15 give their names. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character. But it is hard to speak with certainty about what those names mean.
The command to send men came from the Lord, yet the wish behind it started with the people. One writer traces how God can let a plan run that did not begin with Him.
This was not only a spirit of complaining and distrust of Jehovah, which infected the whole people... it was grave unbelief about the land they were journeying to. Here, however, it is clear that Jehovah allowed the wish to be carried out: "Send men." We know from elsewhere how this started. It was not in faith, but unbelief. Still Jehovah, as we have seen, lets them prove the principle. That is, He does not only lay down what fits His own mind. In gracious care and thought for His people, He may also go beyond it. And further, He may allow something to be carried out that did not come from Himself at first — and yet everywhere secure His own glory.
One writer sees purpose in that.
When it is a matter of spying out the land, all the tribes are deliberately mixed and mingled.
These twelve were sent to search the land and bring back some of its fruit. One writer draws a picture from that for believers now.
Moses sent the "spies" (Numbers 13, 14) at the command of Jehovah. They were to search out the land of Canaan, "which," Jehovah said, "I am giving to the people of Israel," and to bring back some of its fruit. The Spirit of God lives in us as a present witness. He takes the glory of the Lord Jesus and the things of the land of promise — that true Canaan, of which faith says, My land — and so shows us our portion.
The men who talked the nation out of the land did not outlive their own report. Sethur was one of them.
This judgment began fast. A plague struck the ten men who had discouraged the hearts of the people, and they died "before the Lord" (vs.36-37). Of all the twelve spies who were heads of the people, only Joshua and Caleb were spared.
- Named — Sethur son of Michael stood for Asher. That name means "happy," and Asher's blessing points to the Spirit shaping his walk.
- Chosen — every one of the twelve was a head of his tribe. Each should have been a man of faith and courage.
- Sent — the command came from the Lord, but the wish behind it rose from unbelief. God let a plan run that did not begin with Him, and still secured His own glory.
- Shown — the errand was to search the land God was giving and bring back its fruit. The Spirit does the same now, showing believers their portion in Christ.
- Judged — ten of the twelve died by plague. Only Joshua and Caleb lived, so a place on this list counted for nothing without faith.
for the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;
Numbers 13 lists twelve men by name, one from each tribe. This verse gives Naphtali's man: Nahbi son of Vophsi. Scripture tells us nothing else about him. So why did God keep these names, and what became of a man given such a place?
Each of the twelve stood at the head of his tribe, and that place carried an expectation.
All the men sent were heads in their own tribes. So they should have been men of faith and courage. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character. But it is hard to speak with certainty about what they mean.
Commentators differ on how far we can press the names. Another writer takes the two names we can read as an invitation to look at the rest.
The names of the spies are given us, each a prince in his tribe, and representing it. Suppose we had the skill to read their meanings correctly, in the setting where they stand. We would no doubt find light on the reason for their failure, for the most part — although at first they all agree about the land itself. The meaning of the names of the two faithful ones is plain, and it should encourage us to look further. "Caleb" means, no doubt, "whole-hearted," as the man is. He is the son of Jephunneh, or "who is regarded with favour": it is the grasp of grace that leads to devotedness.
Other passages tell us where the search really began.
We know from elsewhere how this started — that it was not in faith, but in unbelief. Yet Jehovah, as we have seen, lets them test the principle. He lays down what agrees with His own mind. In gracious care for His people He may also go beyond it. And He may even let something go ahead that did not come from Him at first, and still secure His own glory everywhere.
The same instinct works in us whenever we want more information before we act.
Instead of going on simply in faith, how often do we raise a cloud of questions to get a human estimate of a thing! At last we find out that the walls are up to heaven. Instead of doing the thing in front of us, we look at every question and difficulty we can raise. And so it ended in their not going into the land at all.
The name of Nahbi's tribe carries a lesson for every believer.
Naphtali means "my wrestlings," so this adds the lesson of overcoming in conflict. In this matter too Naphtali represents all Israel. In one very real sense every true believer is an overcomer. "Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:5). The victory that overcomes the world is not our works, but our faith (1 John 5:4)... Believers are all overcomers in principle, and ought to be so in daily practice too.
Nahbi is not Caleb, and he is not Joshua. That places him with the majority.
Twelve spies had searched out the land of Canaan, but only two of them brought back good news.
What made the majority report evil was not inaccurate reporting of walls and giants. One factor was simply absent from their arithmetic.
In all this I find two things. It is an evil report of the land — there is nothing good in it. And then, God is left out completely. If they had thought of God, the question would have been this: Is God a grasshopper or not?
These men did not keep their fear to themselves.
They said, truly enough, that they were no match for these giants. But they were men of no faith, so they left God completely out of their thoughts — all of them except Caleb and Joshua. As a result they measured themselves against the giants and their cities. Then they passed their unbelieving fears on to the mass of the people.
- Name. Scripture names Nahbi son of Vophsi only as Naphtali's man among the twelve. He headed his tribe, so he should have been a man of faith and courage.
- Naphtali. His tribe's name means "my wrestlings" — the note of overcoming. Believers are overcomers in principle, and ought to be so in daily practice.
- Errand. The search grew out of unbelief, not faith. God allowed what did not come from Him, and still secured His own glory.
- Report. Only Caleb and Joshua kept God in view. The other ten brought back an evil report, because they left God out of their thoughts.
- Result. Ten leaders measured themselves against giants and handed their fear to the whole nation. That is the cost of raising questions instead of taking the next step in faith.
for the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
Numbers 13:15 closes the roll call of the twelve men sent to explore Canaan. It names Gad's representative, Geuel son of Machi. A list of unfamiliar names can look like filler. In fact it records Israel's leaders at the moment the nation stood on the edge of the land God had promised. Ten of these twelve would fail.
A Bible dictionary has only one line to give on Geuel's father:
A Gadite, father of Geuel. Numbers 13:15.
Geuel was a leader in his tribe, and that raised what was expected of him:
The men sent were all heads in their particular tribes, and therefore should have been men of faith and courage. No doubt the meanings of their names may have something to do with their character, but it is difficult to speak with certainty of their meanings.
One tribe is missing from the list, and the reason is tied to the land itself:
Leading men are selected to act as spies. Reuben stands first here, and Simeon follows. Levi is left out, because the Levites were not to have an inheritance in the land. Judah (praise) is the third. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who represents the tribe of Judah, is here mentioned for the first time. Caleb means "brave," "whole hearted." Joshua's name also appears as "Oshea." Oshea means "saviour" and Joshua means "Jehovah is Saviour." The name of Joshua is found some 250 times in the Bible. He is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Jesus" is the Greek form of the same name.
Commentators differ over how far the names can be pressed. Leslie Grant holds back; F. W. Grant thinks they repay study, starting with the two whose meaning is plain:
The names of the spies are given to us, each a prince in his tribe, and representing it. If we had the skill to read their meanings rightly, and to see how they connect, we would no doubt learn why most of them failed. That is so even though at first they all agree about the land itself. The meaning of the names of the two faithful ones is plain, and it should encourage us to look further.
On its own, Numbers 13 makes the mission look like God's idea. Deuteronomy tells a different story:
We would not know from the account before us what we find in Deuteronomy — that this spying out of the land began with the people, not with God. We need not be surprised, then, that it ends in disaster. Yet God sanctions it: how much may He have to sanction in this way, simply because of what we are! And how much trial our unbelief brings on us! He had told them everything they needed to know about the goodness of the land.
Mackintosh presses the point with a run of questions:
Should not all this have been enough for Israel? Should they not have been satisfied with the testimony of God? Had He not spied out the land for them, and told them all about it? And was this not enough? What need was there to send men to spy out the land? Did God not know all about it? Was there a spot "from Dan to Beersheba" that He was not perfectly acquainted with?
The list of names was meant to reassure the nation. Instead it recorded who fell:
But sadly, the people were not governed by faith. They were governed by dark and depressing unbelief. Even the spies themselves — the very men sent to reassure and steady the congregation — were under the power of that same God-dishonouring spirit, with two brilliant exceptions. In short, the whole plan proved a failure.
Gaebelein names what that unbelief really was:
They carried the evidence of His promise on their shoulders while they carried unbelief in their hearts. They brought an evil report of the land. The Hebrew for "bringing up an evil report" is translated in Proverbs 10:18 as "uttering a slander." Unbelief slanders God; it is an insult to the Lord.
- Named. Geuel son of Machi completes the twelve; Scripture names Machi nowhere else, yet God recorded him here.
- Chosen. Every man on the list was a head of his tribe, so each should have been a man of faith and courage.
- Asked for. The mission began with the people, not with God, and He allowed what their unbelief made necessary.
- Failed. Ten of the twelve caught the very fear they were sent to cure; only two came back trusting God.
- Slandered. Their bad report was more than nerves; in Hebrew the phrase matches "uttering a slander" in Proverbs 10:18, and unbelief slanders God.
These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to search out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Jehoshua.
Moses lists the twelve men chosen to spy out the land. Then he does something he does for no one else on the list: he gives one man a new name.
The ESV reads Hoshea and Joshua. Older translations read "Oshea" and "Jehoshua." The change is not cosmetic. Moses put God's own name inside it.
This is the name in its full, unshortened form, given to Joshua by Moses. He "called OSHEA the son of Nun Jehoshua," changing his name from 'Deliverance' to 'Jehovah is Saviour.' Num. 13:16; 1 Chr. 7:27.
The name he had carried spoke of rescue in the abstract. The new one says who does the rescuing.
Oshea means "saviour" and Joshua is "Jehovah is Saviour." The Bible uses the name of Joshua some 250 times. He is the type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Caleb and Joshua were the only two in the whole company who trusted in Jehovah.
Only two of the twelve trusted God, and the man with the new name was one of them.
Moses does not ask permission. Naming, in Scripture, is never a neutral act.
We may note that the authority to give a name always marks moral supremacy in Scripture. See Gen. 2:19-20, 23; Gen. 5:3; Numbers 13:16; Isaiah 62:2; Hosea 1; John 1:42, etc.
The new name comes at a low point in Joshua's life. He had just made a mistake, and yet Moses does not sideline him.
Despite his recent mistake, Joshua is appointed to go and search the land, and Moses marks him out by the name Jehoshua instead of Oshea. This shows us that he was now, according to his new name, entering on a new line of service. He had until then been only Moses' minister or servant, to carry out his instructions. Now, with eleven other heads of the people, he is sent on a special mission to inspect the land and report back. Only Caleb and Joshua bring back a good report. They bear witness for God and for the goodness of what He had sworn to give them, while their companions did not believe.
The name came before the proof. Joshua then bore witness for God when the others would not.
One writer reads the list of names as a set. Joshua's new name sits among other names that speak of rescue.
Joshua stands second in the second group of three. Remarkably, each of these three names speaks of deliverance in some way: Igal, "he redeems"; Hoshea, "saviour"; Palti, "deliverance." Hoshea, whom Moses named Jehoshua, "Jehovah the Saviour," is the son of Nun, which means "son." Is this because He saves as Son of God (Jehovah the Son)? And because He also takes the place of Son of Man, to bring us to obedience to the Father?
He offers this as a question, not a conclusion.
The name Jesus is not a title. It belongs to the Person Himself.
"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow." The name of Jesus is a personal name — Jah-Oshua (Jehoshua) — Jehovah — Saviour. It is the name of His Person. The name "Christ" expresses a title — that of a man who is appointed.
The man who gave the name could not do what the name means.
Besides the question of disobedience, there is another reason why Moses could not lead Israel into the land. Moses was the lawgiver, and law cannot bring God's people into God's inheritance for them, even with the help of a legal priesthood. It was Joshua who led Israel into their land, for his name means "Jehovah is Savior."
The two men picture two different works.
Moses was the mediator between God and the people while they travelled through the wilderness. Joshua was the saviour of the people out of the wilderness, and their leader into the land of rest and promise... Jesus is Saviour, and Jesus and Joshua are one name: Jesus is the Greek form, Joshua the Hebrew form of the very same name.
- Name. "Hoshea" meant deliverance; Moses put God's own name into it, so it became "Jehovah is Saviour."
- Authority. In Scripture, the right to give a name always marks moral supremacy. Moses names; Joshua receives.
- Service. The new name marked a new line of service. Joshua was no longer only Moses' helper, but a man sent to inspect the land.
- Failure no bar. Joshua had just made a mistake, yet the mistake did not disqualify him. Moses sent him anyway, and he reported in faith with Caleb.
- Fulfilment. Joshua and Jesus are one name, Hebrew and Greek. The lawgiver could not bring the people into the inheritance. The one named "Jehovah is Saviour" did.