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.