Numbers 12:23-33 What Story?

Numbers 12:23-33 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. ³³ We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” 

Negative propaganda can have a devastating effect on the moral of a population. Once the negative mood has set in, it can be very hard to raise the moral of a people. Great leaders recognize the power of the story in order to change the mood of a nation.

When Great Briton was facing the threat of Hitler’s forces at the beginning of WWII, Winston Churchill’s radio speeches kept the population going, despite the bombings and battlefield losses across the channel in the rest of Europe. His carefully crafted talks were able to rally the citizens to accomplish unparalleled victory.

France at the same time accepted a very different message from their leaders. They accepted defeat and capitulated to the German forces, and their leader’s reflected that pessimism in their rhetoric. They were defeated by their own attitude.

Our text tells a small part of the bigger story of Israel’s move from slavery to freedom. They are getting ready, after a year or so traveling to the Promised Land, to actually enter the Land. They have been through obedience training along the way, the reason it took them a little more than a year rather than a month.

So Moses, at the LORD’s direction, sends an advanced party into this Promised Land to find out what it was like. They are to find out about the strength of the people there, the fortifications of the towns, the agricultural potential, the forestry and fruitfulness of the land. We might say they were gathering intelligence on their new residence.

Often when we moved during our life we would scope out the new city we were moving to. We would find out about housing and shopping, restaurants and commuting traffic, schools and recreation. We then contacted a realtor to help us with our housing search.

But when the Israelite spies come back from their reconnaissance mission, there are two reports. The minority report is that it is the perfect place to live and will be easy to take because the LORD is with them. The majority report is very pessimistic.

Our text is part of that majority report. And they spread that report and get people on their side. They play into the people’s fear and persuade them to listen to them and not invade.

But what we see is not an actual report, but their own fear expressing itself. “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes.” They went on the exploratory journey with their conclusion already in their hearts and minds. They saw what they expected to see. They were afraid and so they saw scary things.

Isn’t it so often the way life is now? People so often see what they expect to see, read and hear what their preconceived ideas feed them. They are unable to see with the eyes of faith and hope. They see death and destruction everywhere.

This is especially true in the age of social media and the one voice news media. Only one story gets told, so only one opinion gets formed. And right now that opinion is that we are doomed!

But there is more to the story for us, just as there was more to their story. The LORD promised to be with them, and He has promised to be with us as well. Whose story are we going to believe and live out?