The children of Israel have come to the edge of the Promised Land. Their new home and life of abundance is in sight. !2 men are chosen to go and spy out the land before the Israelites enter (v1-16). The spies were to consider what the land was like and also the strength of the people living their (v17-25).

The report after 40 days was that the land was very fruitful (v26-27), a land flowing with milk and honey.  The report then focuses on the strength of the inhabitants (v28-29). Archaeology confirms there were well fortified cities.

Caleb, one of the twelve spies is very positive and calls for a confident advance (v30). We need ‘Calebs’ in our church today, men and women of faith who see and believe what God can do. The other spies were very negative and began to lie about the goodness of the land and exaggerate the strength of the inhabitants (v31-33).

When it comes to looking to the future are you a Caleb, a person of vision and faith, or are you like these other spies, always seeing and even exaggerating the problems that will be faced?  We need to be a realistic, but a part of being realistic is being aware of the greatness of the god we serve.