In the book of numbers there is a pivotal story concerning the nation of Israel. They were being led to the “Promise Land” after being in exile for many years. The Lord speaks to moses and asks him to select one chief from every tribe in Israel and go look into the land of Canaan. Moses does this and this is his charge to them:

Numbers 13: 17-20

17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country

18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many,

19 and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds,

20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

Upon their return from there 40 day espionage, the spies gave report:

Numbers 13: 26 – 29

And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.

And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.

The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

One of the spies, Caleb, spoke up to say this in verse 30 “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

The following verses and chapters outline the crying and complaining of the people of Israel. They do not trust in the what the Lord was promising them, instead choosing to believe the accounts given to them by the spies that chose to report on fear.

In Chapter 14 we see that God honors Caleb and his descendants because of his “different spirit”. He believed the Lord God.

Sometimes it is hard to see the relevance in the Old Testament. It is hard to find the comparisons to our modern culture, however I found this one to be pretty easy. God has called us to a commission. He has called us to love God and love our neighbors. We see open hostility even among the brethren on social media and the likes… even face to face, whether over who to vote for, whether or not we should have guns, how we should honor our countries traditions, etc. As Christians should we not be like Caleb and act on the commissions God has called us to instead of falling into the great vast pool of public complaint? Shouldn’t we be of a “different spirit” or as 1 Peter 2:9  says: “a peculiar people”?

1 Peter 2:9

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;

I think for me, it starts by remembering the gospel and holding my thoughts captive and weighing them against what God has called me to do, that he is called me “out of darkness into His marvelous light”!!

Soli Deo Gloria

Jesse Horne