Bible Discussion Thread

whatis the meaning of numbers 13:27_30

Hello Edna. Numbers 13:27-30 ties in with the rest of this chapter. Briefly, Moses had called in the leaders of each of the twelve tribes (plus Joshua) to go and spy out the land (Canaan) before them prior to them proceeding to conquer it.

So they went out & brought out a dual report. One, that it truly was a "land that floweth with milk and honey" (i.e. a phrase used to denote a very fertile & abundant land), so it was a land that would be very useful for them for their cattle & agriculture. Though secondly, it was also a land that had tall and strong men there, with fortified cities which could easily overpower them. Eleven of those leaders brought in this report & advised that they should not proceed because they would be defeated. But only one amongst them, Caleb of Judah, who also saw what the other men saw, but Caleb also saw his God who had promised them this land & would supernaturally overcome these great & powerful people.

You can read the aftermath of this incident in the next chapter, where both Caleb & Joshua rent their clothes in dismay because of the faithlessness of the people, and the LORD commended Caleb, saying, "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it" ( Numbers 14:24). I hope this short comment will help you understand what was happening at that time.