Numbers 13:33, commentary and pictures

The verse gives the closing words of the ten spies' fearful report, that they had seen the sons of Anak descended from giants and judged themselves as tiny and powerless as grasshoppers beside them, supposing the inhabitants saw them the same way, to argue that Israel could not take Canaan. Their picture of very great walled cities and strong Anakim giants was in many respects correct, though those who held it a lying exaggeration teach that it magnified the danger by calling all the people of massive giant stature while calling the land unhealthful and devouring its inhabitants. The fatal mistake was not in seeing the facts but in measuring the conquest by human strength and arms alone and leaving God's promised help out of account, so fear made formidable obstacles seem insurmountable and the grasshopper image shows how unbelief magnifies difficulty. It was right to count human beings as grasshoppers beside the Lord God of Israel, but wrong to lack faith to face the Canaanites when heaven's mighty powers and the One who parted the Red Sea fought for Israel, as Caleb's trust showed that real giants and fortified cities did not make victory impossible. That unbelief forgot God's deliverance from Egypt, spread despair and murmuring against Moses and faithful Caleb and Joshua, and brought the sentence of forty years wandering until that generation died, a warning not to repeat their talk of defeat and giants but to advance boldly trusting the mighty Savior to give victory.

Report's Words and Setting

The verse gives the closing words of the fearful report of the ten spies, who said they saw the sons of Anak descended from giants and judged themselves to be as tiny and powerless as grasshoppers beside them, believing the inhabitants saw them the same way. Their estimate of themselves as grasshoppers expressed discouragement and unbelief about taking the land, magnifying the danger of the Anakim and arguing that Israel could not possess Canaan despite God's promise and power to lead them in. It was a faithless, false and evil interpretation that spread fear and discouragement through Israel, expressing cowardice and unbelief in contrast to the confidence of Caleb and Joshua that Israel could take the land. By turning the congregation against God's faithful witnesses Joshua and Caleb it led the people toward rebellion and a wish to return to Egypt.

It came after a truthful description of the beauty and fertility of Canaan and after Caleb urged going up at once to possess the promised land because Israel was well able to overcome it. The ten interrupted him and pictured the obstacles in darker colors than at first, declaring Israel was not able to go up because the people were stronger and all the people were men of great stature, giants, the sons of Anak come of the giants, beside whom the Israelites were as grasshoppers in their own sight and in the giants' sight. Caleb did not contradict that the walls were high and the Canaanites strong.

The report dwelt on very great walled and fortified cities and strong people including Anakim giants, before whom the spies saw themselves as grasshoppers and the Hebrews seemed like pygmies. In many respects and largely this description of the giants and defenses was correct. Caleb, by contrast, had a different spirit and is held up as a faithful example who would not let apparent obstacles block the work.

The report was not only evil but lying and contradictory, distorting the truth to discourage every attempt to possess Canaan by representing the climate as unhealthful and the land as eating up its inhabitants while also claiming all its people were of giant stature and massive proportions. If the land was unhealthy and ate up its inhabitants its people could not have grown to such size, yet the fearful, exaggerated view magnified the danger, made the spies feel insignificant before the Anakim, and stirred the people almost to panic. It showed hearts set against God and against Moses, Aaron, Caleb and Joshua, growing firmer in purpose with every step in the wrong course, showing that when men in responsible positions yield their hearts to unbelief there are no bounds to how far they will advance in evil, led on by Satan beyond what they realize when they start.

The sons of Anak were famed for marvelous physical strength far beyond ordinary men, and descendants of that giant race dwelt among the Philistines. Even their great power could not be compared with Samson's strength, which far exceeded anything the Philistines had ever known and therefore must have been supernatural rather than natural.

Unbelief in the Report

The report was an evil, false, unfaithful and discouraging witness about the land that dishonored God by unbelief and served satanic powers in complete rebellion. One word of such unbelief prepares the way for more, and any who can be tempted to it are not left alone. By that interpretation of the land the bearers of the report carried the disappointed congregation with them to the wrong side, so that all wept and murmured against Moses and Aaron, wished they had died in Egypt or in the wilderness, charged God with bringing them to fall by the sword and leave wives and children a prey, proposed a captain to return to Egypt, and, inspired by satanic agencies, cried out against Joshua and Caleb and bade stone them for testifying that the land is exceeding good, that Israel must not rebel, and that the people need not be feared because their defence is departed and the Lord is with Israel.

The spies measured the conquest by human strength and power of arms alone and left God's promised help out of account. They saw the Anakim as giants and judged themselves tiny and powerless beside them, even imagining the inhabitants saw them as grasshoppers, and their description breathed unbelief and despair. In many respects their description of the land was correct, and the fatal mistake was not in recognizing the facts but in distrusting God's power to overthrow enemies and give the country, which alone kept Israel from entering at that time. That unbelief left God out of the taking of Jericho the key to Canaan, instead of fully trusting His declaration to give the country.

Fear distorted their view and made them feel insignificant, so formidable obstacles seemed insurmountable and defeat was expected. The cowardly spies used the danger as a reason to retreat, while Caleb's faith kept him from fearing the giants and enabled him to defend what was right and urge immediate action. The grasshopper image shows how fear and unbelief magnified the difficulty and undermined faith in God's direction, focusing on obstacles until they appeared impossible to overcome and discouraging God's people from advancing. People may in this way see only intimidating obstacles and failure when clearer vision would see God and angels ready to give victory to His truth when He intends success.

It is right for human beings to be counted as grasshoppers when compared with the Lord God of Israel, but it was lack of faith to compare Israel with the Canaanites in this way. Israel had on its side the mighty powers of heaven, and the One who led in the pillar of cloud was fighting for them, as seen when He parted the Red Sea to make a path through the sea. The spies let unbelief enter when they saw the walled cities and brought back a faithless report that leavened the people with unbelief and drove the congregation to murmuring and desperation. Words of unbelief are seeds that bear fruit and must not be spoken, but met with silence, trust, and prayer that opens the heart to Jesus.

That unbelief forgot how God had wrought in bringing Israel from Egyptian bondage, cutting a path through the waters of the sea and destroying Pharaoh's pursuing host, and so limited the work of God and distrusted the hand that had safely guided them. Instead of reflecting and reasoning that God who brought them so far would certainly give them Canaan, Israel vented disappointment in bitter reproaches and wailing, murmured against Moses and Aaron, blamed leaders for bringing trouble, and declared an end to all high hopes of possessing the land traveled all the way from Egypt to obtain. It exposed unsubdued hearts not in harmony with God's plans, with hearts set against God and against Moses, Aaron, Caleb and Joshua, growing firmer in purpose with every step in the wrong course. When men in responsible positions yield their hearts to unbelief there are no bounds to how far they will advance in evil, led on by Satan beyond what they realize at the start.

The report distorts the truth to discourage every attempt to possess Canaan, and was not only evil but lying and contradictory, representing the climate as unhealthful and the land as eating up its inhabitants while also representing all the people as of giant stature, though an unhealthy devouring land could not have produced such massive proportions. It stands as the example of distrust of God in which, when difficulties arise, speaking of defeat, disaster and ruin repeats the spies' failure to trust that God would lead His people to victory.

Faith Against Fear

The fear in the closing words of the report distorted how danger was seen, for the spies pictured themselves as tiny and powerless beside the Anakim and assumed the people of the land viewed them the same way. That fearful picture spread despair and made Israel forget God's power, and the cowardly spies treated the danger as a reason to retreat and expect defeat. The giants and fortified cities were real, yet Caleb's trust in God showed those obstacles did not make victory impossible. With Joshua he urged immediate action in confidence that Israel could take the land despite formidable obstacles, embodying courage against retreat.

Caleb's faith in God kept him from fearing the giants and gave him courage to stand firm and defend what was right. While fear and a sense of weakness made the obstacles seem insurmountable and discouraged Israel, he lived by a different spirit. He stands as a faithful example who would not let apparent obstacles block the work.

Joshua was one of the twelve sent to search the promised land, and with one other he gave a faithful account of its richness and attractions instead of magnifying its dangers. Where the report discouraged Israel from entering, he encouraged the people to go up and take possession in reliance on God and in God's strength.

Rebellion and Judgment

The fearful closing claim to have seen giant sons of Anak and to be mere grasshoppers beside them and in their sight magnified the danger and expressed unbelief in God's power to lead Israel into Canaan. That faithless and false interpretation spread fear, discouragement and despair through the camp and made the people feel unable to take the land and trust God to give it to them. Instead of reflecting and reasoning that the God who had brought them so far would certainly give them Canaan, the congregation vented disappointment in weeping, bitter reproaches and wailing and murmured against Moses and Aaron. The report thus discouraged Israel, helped provoke rebellion against God despite His plan to lead them in, and turned the people against His faithful witnesses Joshua and Caleb toward a wish to return to Egypt.

All the congregation wept and murmured, wished they had died in Egypt or in the wilderness, and charged God with bringing them to fall by the sword and leave wives and children a prey. They accused Moses and God of deception in promising a land they could not possess, declared an end to all high hopes of possessing the land traveled all the way from Egypt to obtain, and proposed to make a captain and return to bondage in Egypt. Inspired by satanic agencies, they cried out against the faithful spies Joshua and Caleb and bade stone them for daring to bear the truthful representation that the land is exceeding good. Joshua and Caleb testified that Israel must not rebel against the Lord and that the people of the land need not be feared because their defence is departed and the Lord is with Israel.

For this cowardly rebellion judgment fell that all above twenty years of age should die before reaching the promised land. God sentenced Israel to wander in the wilderness forty years until all from twenty years old and upward who left Egypt died, and the ten unfaithful spies died. After God declared the forty years of wandering, Israel tried to enter the land too late in a presumptuous advance without God; their enemies were prepared, and the advance ended in defeat. Their fear and lack of trust made them miss the chance to take Jericho, the key to Canaan, and to possess the land forty years earlier, though the later capture showed they could have possessed it had they trusted God. Israel later complained that the delay had been unnecessary, forgetting that their own response to the report had brought it about.

The history of the twelve spies stands as cowardly complaining and drawing back from action when danger is faced, with refusal to heed faithful reports and true counsel. These responses are repeated among God's people.

Links to Later History

The mere description of the giants in Canaan terrified Israel thirty-eight years before Israel faced Og of Bashan. That terror was distrust of God that led to repeated failure, to being given up to the power of enemies, and to danger of disaster and defeat. The fear is recalled as Israel again faces a race of giants of marvelous size and strength, descendants of the giant race, distinguished for violence and cruelty and the terror of surrounding nations, with Og their king remarkable even among giants for size and prowess.

The report that the cities of Canaan were walled and very great and that the sons of the giants dwelling there were a powerful race beside whom Israel was like mere pygmies was in many respects correct. Hearing this true report about giants and defenses, Israel failed to trust God to overthrow enemies, rebelled against Him, declared the conquest an utter impossibility, appointed a captain to lead back to Egypt, and tried to put to death the only two who still kept faith and courage. Because of this unbelief judgment fell that all above twenty years of age should die before reaching the promised land, a sentence fulfilled in the wilderness before Israel was led the second time to the borders of Canaan. The same test of faith met again in far more severe form against the violent, skillful, well-equipped armies of Og and Sihon was then met by obedience and trust and gave complete and glorious victory. The report had staggered the faith of the fathers so that the conquest of the land had seemed an overwhelming task, a memory recalled when their children crossed the Jordan.

Warning for Today

The fearful view that saw descendants of Anak as giants and Israel as grasshoppers in their own eyes and in the eyes of the inhabitants became a discouraging example for workers who, when faced with difficulties, spread doubt instead of waiting to understand God's purpose. That work of discouraging the people and weakening confidence must not be followed.

People may see only intimidating obstacles and failure and feel small and powerless, while clearer vision sees God and angels ready to give victory to His truth when He intends success. Fear made the spies see the inhabitants as giants and themselves as powerless grasshoppers. The image of many tall sons of Anak stands for the great difficulties believers face, yet they are to advance boldly, trusting God and keeping His commandments.

In the last days Satan has come down in great power knowing his time is short, and the ground must be fought inch by inch in the whole armor of God. With the commandments of God written in heart and mind, His people go on strong and bold despite many tall sons of Anak standing in the way. They cry the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus until Jesus steps out from between God and man and the sealing is finished.

Instead of talking about the giants in the way, one should speak of the mighty Savior who does the work and gives strength for the conflict. It is right to count human beings as grasshoppers compared with the Lord God of Israel, but it was lack of faith to compare Israel with the Canaanites, for Israel had heaven's mighty powers on its side and the One who led in the pillar of cloud fighting for them, as seen when He parted the Red Sea to make a path through the sea. The discouraging report that Israel could not possess the land is an example of unbelief and an evil report, showing why God's people should reject discouragement and labor with faith and patience trusting God honors faith. Words of unbelief are seeds bearing fruit and must not be spoken, but met with silence, trust, and prayer opening the heart to Jesus, after unbelief entered at sight of walled cities and a faithless report leavened the people with unbelief and drove the congregation to murmuring and desperation.

The same unbelieving spirit that discouraged the people and hindered God's work can cause lasting harm and delay the work for years. The fear that made the spies see themselves as tiny and powerless beside the Anakim discouraged Israel as the people were about to enter Canaan, illustrating the kind of misleading influence that could turn people from following God's direction. Setting forth formidable objections and magnifying difficulties repeats that unfaithful report. To talk of heavy indebtedness upon God's institution and of objections to where it is located, such as objections to the Health Retreat's location and debt, is to repeat the discouraging report that magnified obstacles and made the people seem powerless.