And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
Numbers 13:4 names Shammua the son of Zaccur as the man of the tribe of Reuben among the twelve men sent to search and inspect Canaan, the land God had promised Israel. One ruler was taken from each tribe, and Moses sent them to search Canaan. The spying mission began at the people's proposal and was permitted by God.
The scouts returned after forty days with evidence that the land was fertile and rich in fruit. Caleb and Joshua, Joshua being one of the spies, gave a faithful report and true counsel about the richness of the land, encouraging Israel to go up and possess it in God's strength. The other spies brought back an evil report, meeting risk with cowardly complaining and drawing back and discouraging Israel from attempting to possess it. The verse does not say whether Shammua shared the faithful report given by Joshua and the one other.
The spies' unbelief and the people's acceptance of the evil report in rebellion brought God's judgment that they would wander in the wilderness for forty years. When the people then tried to enter the land, the favorable time had passed, their enemies were prepared, and Moses warned that the Lord was not with them, but they went up presumptuously and were defeated. The visit of the spies took place forty years before Israel's journey from Mount Hor, and the Canaanite nations remembered that earlier visit and watched Israel's movements, anticipating an invasion.
Joshua's faithful work as a spy, together with his long service as minister to Moses during the wilderness wandering, his seeing the wonderful works of God wrought by Moses, and his understanding of the disposition of the people, qualified him to be appointed leader of Israel after the death of Moses to conduct them to the promised land. The unfaithful example of the spies warns against unbelief and against discouraging words and actions that turn others from their duty. That history applies to God's people today, and its scenes of complaining, drawing back from action, and unwillingness to heed faithful reports and true counsel are re-enacted now as then, while the servants of God who bear the burden of His cause, practicing strict self-denial and suffering privation to help His people, are seldom better appreciated now than then.
Ancient Israel was repeatedly tested and found wanting, and few received the faithful warnings God gave them. Darkness and unbelief do not decrease as the time of the second advent of Christ nears, and truth becomes less palatable to the carnally minded, whose hearts are slow to believe and tardy to repent. 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. Few whose minds have been enlightened dare come boldly forward as Caleb did and stand firmly for God and the right, and because those 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. The servants of God might become discouraged except for the continual evidences their Master gives them of His wisdom and assistance, for 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.
Numbers 13:4 names Shammua the son of Zaccur as the man of the tribe of Reuben among the twelve men sent to search and inspect Canaan, the land God had promised Israel. One ruler was taken from each tribe, and Moses sent them to search Canaan. The spying mission began at the people's proposal and was permitted by God.
The scouts returned after forty days with evidence that the land was fertile and rich in fruit. Caleb and Joshua, Joshua being one of the spies, gave a faithful report and true counsel about the richness of the land, encouraging Israel to go up and possess it in God's strength. The other spies brought back an evil report, meeting risk with cowardly complaining and drawing back and discouraging Israel from attempting to possess it. The verse does not say whether Shammua shared the faithful report given by Joshua and the one other.
The spies' unbelief and the people's acceptance of the evil report in rebellion brought God's judgment that they would wander in the wilderness for forty years. When the people then tried to enter the land, the favorable time had passed, their enemies were prepared, and Moses warned that the Lord was not with them, but they went up presumptuously and were defeated. The visit of the spies took place forty years before Israel's journey from Mount Hor, and the Canaanite nations remembered that earlier visit and watched Israel's movements, anticipating an invasion.
Joshua's faithful work as a spy, together with his long service as minister to Moses during the wilderness wandering, his seeing the wonderful works of God wrought by Moses, and his understanding of the disposition of the people, qualified him to be appointed leader of Israel after the death of Moses to conduct them to the promised land. The unfaithful example of the spies warns against unbelief and against discouraging words and actions that turn others from their duty. That history applies to God's people today, and its scenes of complaining, drawing back from action, and unwillingness to heed faithful reports and true counsel are re-enacted now as then, while the servants of God who bear the burden of His cause, practicing strict self-denial and suffering privation to help His people, are seldom better appreciated now than then.
Ancient Israel was repeatedly tested and found wanting, and few received the faithful warnings God gave them. Darkness and unbelief do not decrease as the time of the second advent of Christ nears, and truth becomes less palatable to the carnally minded, whose hearts are slow to believe and tardy to repent. 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. Few whose minds have been enlightened dare come boldly forward as Caleb did and stand firmly for God and the right, and because those 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. The servants of God might become discouraged except for the continual evidences their Master gives them of His wisdom and assistance, for 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.