Numbers 13:27
And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
The spies unanimously confirmed that Canaan was fertile and abundant, flowing with milk and honey, and displayed its fruit as proof. After a forty-day search by one ruler from each tribe, they returned to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation at Kadesh with grapes, figs, and pomegranates, including one cluster of grapes so large that two men carried it on a staff, in fulfillment of the instruction to bring back fruit. Up to this point they spoke in faith and told the truth about the beauty and fertility of the land before all but two turned to unbelief. Although all agreed the land was good, most of the spies used the strength of its people and its fortified, walled, very great cities to discourage Israel from possessing it, and the people forgot God's power and promise to bring them from Egyptian bondage and destroy enemies before them, limiting His work and murmuring against their leaders. That faithful report met with unwillingness and complaining, and its history still warns God's people near the second advent when truth becomes less palatable, hearts are slow to believe, and discouraging talk told only as things appear harms the cause for lack of spiritual eyesight and faith.
Fertile Land Report
The spies unanimously confirmed that Canaan was fertile and abundant, a land flowing with milk and honey, and they displayed its fruit as proof. That display fulfilled the instruction to bring back fruit from the land. The confirmation was given as evidence that the land Israel was to possess was rich and good.
The fruit shown included grapes, figs, and pomegranates growing in abundance. One cluster of grapes was so large that two men carried it on a staff, carried between them. The rich produce, and especially that huge cluster, demonstrated the abundance of the land.
The report was made after a forty-day search of Canaan, returning to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation at Kadesh, indeed to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of Israel. The search had been commanded by God through Moses with one ruler from each tribe. Up to this point in the report the spies spoke in faith and told the truth, faithfully and truly describing the beauty and fertility of the land. All agreed Canaan was good and fertile, before all but two enlarged on difficulties and dangers in unbelief.
Joshua was one of the twelve spies sent to search Canaan, and with only one other gave this faithful account of the richness of the promised land. He declared that it flowed with milk and honey and presented its fruit as proof. He joined that testimony with urging the people to go up and possess the land in the strength of God, encouraging Israel to enter. That faithfulness proved him well qualified to lead Israel into Canaan after Moses.
Unbelief After Good Report
The spies were unanimous that Canaan was good, fertile and abundant, flowing with milk and honey, with its produce displayed as proof, yet most of them used the strength of its inhabitants and its fortified cities to discourage Israel from trying to possess it. Their favorable report was followed by a faithless emphasis on the power of its people and cities, enlarging upon the difficulties and dangers of conquest and declaring the cities walled and very great and the people strong and impossible to conquer. They had been sent near the end of the journey from slavery through the wilderness to view the promised land beyond the Jordan and bring back a report, after God had shown what He would be to them and what He would do for them and had destroyed their enemies before them, yet they returned with hearts filled with unbelief. That unbelieving turn caused Israel to forget God's power and promise and moved the congregation from its first joy and hope of possessing the land toward fear and unbelief.
The later charge that the land devours its inhabitants is contradicted by this testimony that it is fruitful and prosperous, for a country so unhealthy could not also be fertile and prosperous, showing that charge to be a lie used to discourage possession. The congregation first heard the favorable report with joy and hope of possessing the land. Then they answered that good report with disappointment, bitter reproaches, wailing, and murmuring against their leaders.
In that unbelief they did not reflect and reason that God who had brought them out thus far would certainly give them the land, but left God out of the question and acted as though taking Jericho, the key to Canaan, must depend solely on power of arms. They should have fully trusted God's declaration that He would give them the country, remembering how He wrought for them in bringing them out of Egyptian bondage, cutting a path through the waters of the sea, destroying Pharaoh's pursuing host, and destroying enemies before them. Instead they limited the work of God, distrusted His hand, repeated their former error of murmuring against Moses and Aaron, blamed their leaders for bringing trouble upon Israel, called this the end of their high hopes after traveling from Egypt to possess this land, and charged them with deceiving the people and leading them astray. By their report they accused Moses and God Himself of deception in promising a land they could not possess, even appointing a captain to lead them back to bondage.
The report belongs to the search of the land that was followed by Israel's wilderness wandering and, after the appointed time had passed, by a defeated attempt to enter the land. It thus connects the spies' report with unbelief and rebellion that brought punishment and destruction.
Warning for God's People
The faithful and true report that the promised land flows with milk and honey, proved by its fruit, together with the true counsel of Caleb and Joshua, is the kind of warning still met with unwillingness, cowardly complaining, and drawing back when risks must be faced. Its history applies to God's people today as they near the second advent of Christ, when truth becomes less palatable to the carnally minded and hearts are slow to believe and tardy to repent. Few enlightened by divine wisdom dare to stand boldly and firmly for God and the right as Caleb did. Self-denying servants who bear the burden of the cause and suffer privation to help the people are unappreciated, hated, and made the target of malicious falsehood for refusing to turn from integrity.
The report also contains an unfaithful, exaggerated, and discouraging element concerning entrance into the promised land that set the people almost frantic with disappointment. Repeating such discouraging talk does harm to the cause, for it tells matters only as they appear without spiritual eyesight to discern spiritual things and without faith to take hold of the work. It misleads hearers by confident assertions.