19th.: But, There are Giants in the Land
As the mass exodus of Israelites first approached the land of Canaan,
Moses sent twelve men, one from each tribe of Israel, to spy out the Land (Num. chapter 13).
They came back with good and bad news.
The land was a good place to live (Num. 13:27)
but
giants lived there (Num. 13:32-33).
Two of the scouts (Joshua, and Caleb) said that if God was with them, the giants would lose (Num. 13:30).
But the people sided with the ten men who feared the giants.
Even after they had seen God whup the Egyptians, they still did not trust God, as we see with:
“And the people wept that night. And all the children murmured against Moses …,
’Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would God we had died in this wilderness.
Wherefore has the Lord brought us into this land to fall by the sword?’” (Num. 14:1b-3a).
The people of Israel did not seem to understand what the Lord was doing.
Instead they wanted to return to Egypt (Num. 14:4), even though (it is speculated)
the Egyptians would have tried to kill them, if they did go back.
The Israelites did not want to face down the giants, despite God’s assurances.
Needless to say, they did not ask the Lord for His opinion.
“When you are in tribulation, … if you turn to the Lord thy God, … he will not forget thee.” (Deut. 4:30-31)