THE HILL OF DIFFICULTY
But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” —Numbers 13:30-33
People have a tendency to take a path they think is of least resistance and a path they believe to be more pleasant and comfortable. This is seen in Pilgrim’s Progress at 5:45 when Pilgrim comes to the Hill of Difficulty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnScYAl-dww There are those who take what appears to the easy path, but it does not end well.
The passage above gives two very different viewpoints from those who were chosen to “spy out the land.” They were to scout out the land to see what kind it was. Their mission was not to decide whether they were to go into the land or not. The Lord had said to Moses, “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites” (Numbers 13:1-2). So they did not have to make the decision about going in. The Lord had already told Moses that He was giving them the land! Now Caleb, and later Joshua as well, told the people “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” Caleb sought to be obedient to the Lord’s plan and encouraged the nation to do the same. But the others who spied out the land, ten of them, said “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites.” So, the minority said, “The land is good! Let’s go take it!” The majority said, “We can’t do it. They are stronger than we are. The people are huge there.” Then the majority of the spies sought to discourage the whole nation from being obedient to the Lord. The consequence for discouraging the nation from being obedient would affect a whole generation.
When the Lord tells us to do something we are to do it! We are not to come up with excuses as to why we cannot. That is rebellion and wickedness. Do not side with the majority that seeks to disobey the Lord. That will only bring dire consequences. Be obedient even if you are in the minority and you will be blessed. The key principle is to be obedient to the Lord regardless if those around us decide to do so or not. But let us encourage those around us to be obedient to His will as well. May it be so!
Dear Father, may I obey You even if I may be in the minority. My desire is to be faithful to You as the first-most priority. Please help me to be sensitive through the Holy Spirit as to Your desires for me and then may I act in the authority of my Lord Jesus to carry out those desires.