Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
Of the tribe of Joseph, namely of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi was the representative, ruler and spy sent by Moses to search Canaan with the others. He is named as the spy from Manasseh, here identified as part of Joseph's tribe, and is counted among the ten unfaithful spies. The verse belongs to the account and list of the twelve men sent to search and explore Canaan. Beyond listing him among the twelve, there is no separate explanation of Gaddi's individual role.
The search lasted forty days, and the searchers returned with fruit showing that the land was fertile, but reported that it was difficult to conquer. All except Caleb and Joshua discouraged the people from trying to possess it, citing its strong inhabitants, walled cities, and the descendants of Anak. Joshua was also one of the twelve, and he with one other spy gave a faithful report of the land's richness and urged Israel to enter and possess it in God's strength and in reliance on God. Gaddi was among the ten unfaithful spies whose report and unbelief contributed to Israel's rebellion and to the sentence that those aged twenty and older would die in the wilderness.
The evil report led to God's judgment that the people would wander forty years, and when they later tried to enter the land they were defeated because the favorable time had passed, their enemies were ready, and they went against Moses' warning that the Lord was not with them. The spies' example warns against unbelief, showing that words of doubt and discouragement and actions serving selfish aims can harm God's work. The history of the report of the twelve spies applies to God's people today, for cowardly complaining and drawing back from action when risks must be met are re-enacted now with the same unwillingness to heed faithful reports and true counsel as in the days of Caleb and Joshua.
The servants of God who bear the burden of His cause with strict self-denial and suffering of privation to help His people are seldom better appreciated now than then, and they would become discouraged except for the continual evidences their Master gives of His wisdom and assistance. Long the Lord has borne with His people, forgiven their wanderings, and waited for them to give Him room in their hearts, but false ideas, jealousy, and distrust have crowded Him out, for ancient Israel was repeatedly tested and found wanting and few received the faithful warnings given them of God. Darkness and unbelief do not decrease as the time of the second advent of Christ nears, truth becomes less palatable to the carnally minded, and their hearts are slow to believe and tardy to repent. Few who are professedly of Israel with minds enlightened by revelations of divine wisdom dare to come boldly forward as Caleb did and stand firmly for God and the right, and because those the Lord has chosen to conduct His work will not be turned from integrity to gratify the selfish and unconsecrated, they become the target for hatred and malicious falsehood. Satan is wide awake and working warily in these last days, and God calls for men of spiritual nerve and stamina to resist his artifices.
Of the tribe of Joseph, namely of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi was the representative, ruler and spy sent by Moses to search Canaan with the others. He is named as the spy from Manasseh, here identified as part of Joseph's tribe, and is counted among the ten unfaithful spies. The verse belongs to the account and list of the twelve men sent to search and explore Canaan. Beyond listing him among the twelve, there is no separate explanation of Gaddi's individual role.
The search lasted forty days, and the searchers returned with fruit showing that the land was fertile, but reported that it was difficult to conquer. All except Caleb and Joshua discouraged the people from trying to possess it, citing its strong inhabitants, walled cities, and the descendants of Anak. Joshua was also one of the twelve, and he with one other spy gave a faithful report of the land's richness and urged Israel to enter and possess it in God's strength and in reliance on God. Gaddi was among the ten unfaithful spies whose report and unbelief contributed to Israel's rebellion and to the sentence that those aged twenty and older would die in the wilderness.
The evil report led to God's judgment that the people would wander forty years, and when they later tried to enter the land they were defeated because the favorable time had passed, their enemies were ready, and they went against Moses' warning that the Lord was not with them. The spies' example warns against unbelief, showing that words of doubt and discouragement and actions serving selfish aims can harm God's work. The history of the report of the twelve spies applies to God's people today, for cowardly complaining and drawing back from action when risks must be met are re-enacted now with the same unwillingness to heed faithful reports and true counsel as in the days of Caleb and Joshua.
The servants of God who bear the burden of His cause with strict self-denial and suffering of privation to help His people are seldom better appreciated now than then, and they would become discouraged except for the continual evidences their Master gives of His wisdom and assistance. Long the Lord has borne with His people, forgiven their wanderings, and waited for them to give Him room in their hearts, but false ideas, jealousy, and distrust have crowded Him out, for ancient Israel was repeatedly tested and found wanting and few received the faithful warnings given them of God. Darkness and unbelief do not decrease as the time of the second advent of Christ nears, truth becomes less palatable to the carnally minded, and their hearts are slow to believe and tardy to repent. Few who are professedly of Israel with minds enlightened by revelations of divine wisdom dare to come boldly forward as Caleb did and stand firmly for God and the right, and because those the Lord has chosen to conduct His work will not be turned from integrity to gratify the selfish and unconsecrated, they become the target for hatred and malicious falsehood. Satan is wide awake and working warily in these last days, and God calls for men of spiritual nerve and stamina to resist his artifices.