Today’s reading ought to have shortened the bible by about 65 pages – and there you were, wondering why it got so long! As we arrive at Numbers chapter 13 the Israelites have also arrived: at the borders of the Promised Land, a few months after leaving Egypt. God has kept them safe as they’ve journeyed through the desert, given his Law to Moses, provided food and water, and met with them regularly at the Tent of Meeting (as we saw yesterday).
Now it’s time to enter the land God had promised them – or is it? It starts well enough: Moses sends a crack squad inside the borders to take a look (13:3), and Caleb and Joshua return full of faith. Caleb even advises Moses to go for it (v30). But the others think differently: ‘We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.’ (v31)
This report spreads, and like all rumours, picks up speed as it goes. By the time it reaches most of the camp, the inhabitants of the Promised Land are like giants (v32), against which God’s people are like grasshoppers (v33)!
Even so, Joshua and Caleb still try and convince the crowd that God is bigger than the obstacles they face; much better to trust God: ‘Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.’ (v9) It doesn’t work. The people dig their heels in, and are only spared a worse fate because Moses intervenes (again) with God. And so, for the next 65 pages the Israelites spend 40 years in the wilderness, and then have the law re-read to them – which takes us through the rest of Numbers and Deuteronomy.
This is a great passage for our times. We face huge challenges at present, and each of them can seem like giants. And these challenges are real, and frightening. But God is bigger than all of them. As Jesus encourages us: what matters most is not the mountain, but Who moves it.
It’s not a magic cure or a magic wand: but it is a word of hope. God is enough. Us plus God can overcome whatever we face. May we be inspired by Joshua’s example today, seize that mustard seed of faith, and pray into our challenges. What matters is not the mountain, but Who can move it.