Christine Caine — Your Focus Determines Your Vision
So Numbers 13: The Lord said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders." And it goes through the list.
It goes through from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; From the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; from the tribe of Manessah, Gaddi son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. There's a reason I mention those names; you'll get it in a minute. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name of Joshua.) When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said this, "Go up through the Negev and on to the hill country. See what the land is like.
Now this is the land that God has already said, "I'm giving it to them." Remember, we said that right in the beginning. God is already giving it to them. So Moses said, "Go and see what this land is like." ...And whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.
What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are the trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.
Now he wasn't saying if the land is bad God's not going to give it to you because he can't. If the people who live there are strong God can't give it to you because God's not that strong. He's not saying if the cities are walled and not fortified then God can't give it to you. He was not sending them in to say, "If you think it's okay then we'll be able to take them."
The question was never if -- it was how are we going to take the land? God has already said he's giving it to us. It's a done deal. God is giving us the land. I want you to go in and see how we're going to take what God has already given us. But they turned a "how" into an "if."
That's what happened here -- that's what we do. We think somehow, O God mustn't have known that the city was fortified. God must not have known how big those giants are! Oh God is taken by surprise by who is in government. O God is so shocked by the legislation changes! Oh, he is in heaven having a meltdown. Poor God!
That's how we treat him because that's how they were about to treat him. So the Lord said, "I'm giving it to them. It's a done deal." Do you notice who he sent out? He sent out leaders.
Go get 12 leaders of the 12 tribes, one each of the leaders, and the thing that I've found, it's often seasoned people that have seen God do the most miracles that end up saying, "God can't do miracles anymore." Isn't it amazing to me? Because these guys had seen the Red Sea part -- these guys had seen manna from heaven -- these guys had seen God do miracles! And look what's about to happen. That's what happened.
So Moses said, "Go and see." Not if -- but how. So then they come back, let's just pick this up in verse 21: So they went up and they explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak lived.
Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there.
At the end of 40 days -- it's so significant -- they returned from exploring the land. Now check this out. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.
So they're holding the fruit. They're holding the promise. How often do we do this? I've got the promise in my hand. They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit." Yes! It's got in it what God said. Here it all is. But -- oh, the body of Christ needs a but-ectomy.