“26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
This passage deals with the two opposing reports given when Moses sent twelve spies to scout out the land that God had promised them. Ten of the twelve spies returned with an evil report. They claimed that the land was great, but urged against challenging the giants, the men of war--they were as grasshoppers compared to these men. They had forgotten that God had promised them the land, and that God had already defeated the giants. Why is it that when God delivers us, we are so intrigued by the life from which we've been freed?
Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church said, “It’s easier to live in the predictability of slavery, rather than the uncertainty of freedom. “ This was certainly true of the Israelites. They had just crossed the red sea, and they wanted to return to Egypt where they were slaves. God had miraculously delivered them out of the bonds of slavery, but they built a golden calf to worship. God had told them that they would inhabit the land of milk and honey, but they chose to roam the dessert for forty years, away from the promised land. They chose the predictability of slavery, rather than the uncertainty of freedom.
Are we so different from the Israelites? Fear and uncertainty often keep us in the predictability of slavery. The longer we stay in this bondage, the easier it becomes--it is easy to fear the uncertainty of freedom.
The giants in the passage represent the situations in our lives. They are intimidating and powerful, and we see ourselves as too weak to overcome them. It keeps us in the predictability of slavery--the comfort of sin. We all struggle with something, and the struggle grows when we empower it.
Caleb and Joshua gave a good report, "Let us go up, we are able to overcome it!" Christ has already claimed the victory that allows us to overcome. Jesus paid the price for our freedom. Trust in God. He knew you before you were formed. Don’t live in the predictability of slavery, but walk in the freedom that only Jesus can give.