Daily Devotion | Numbers 13 | 2026 May 01

Title: Daily Devotion | Numbers 13 | 2026 May 01

Scripture: Numbers 13 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 May 01

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

All right, dear brothers and sisters, peace to you. We thank God for His grace. We have come to a new day to study the daily devotion. The Scripture we are studying today is Numbers chapter 13. Let us pray. O God, thank You. Thank You for leading us to see such a story, so that it may become a lesson for us. Lord, let us walk by faith and not by sight. Let us truly depend on Your mighty power of death and resurrection. Lord, forgive and pardon us for the sins in our lives, for our weakness, our shrinking back, and our following after this world. Let us truly overcome by relying on You in Your word. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

All right, we come to Numbers chapter 13. At the beginning, as always, we begin with the word of God. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, You shall send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe you shall send a man, every one a chief among them, to lead them to see the land.

From the later result, we find that this seems not to be very ideal. It seems as if God did something wrong, right? Is there a possibility that if they had not seen the land, if they had simply lowered their heads and kept fighting forward, perhaps they might have fought their way in, right? But God seems to have done something that looks very unsuccessful. He says, You first go and look. If there were no verse 1 in chapter 13, if there were no command, “You first go and look,” perhaps they would have said, Let us just fight. Perhaps we could still fight, and perhaps they would still have courage, because they would not know what was ahead. But God says, You must go and take a look.

So Moses sent men. Here there are twelve men. These twelve men all have their names recorded, and it tells us which tribe each one belonged to and who each man was. Among them, we should pay attention especially to two people. One is Caleb from the tribe of Judah. The other is Hoshea the son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim. Later, after Hoshea is mentioned, verse 16 especially says that Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.

Yes, this is a name change. We must pay special attention to this kind of name change. I think I already mentioned this before when we were in Genesis. Changing a name is a very serious matter, and in the will of God there is something that needs to be changed in him. Joshua’s name is Jesus. That is, the Jesus in the New Testament, in Hebrew, is Joshua. This man who in the future will succeed Moses is called Jesus. This is something with very strong spiritual meaning. It shows that Moses is going to hand the baton over to Jesus.

All right, let us look at the content. These twelve men were chosen. Of course, we can imagine that these twelve men, besides being leaders within their own tribes, certainly had the best physical quality, the best ability to react, and the best mental state, right? I heard one preacher say that these were like special forces. Although that is a bit of an anachronism, I think the meaning is probably about right. On the one hand, they had honorable status; on the other hand, they had strong power. These people were chosen.

Then Moses told them what the content was: You go up into the Negeb and see what the land is like. Because they were at Kadesh, in the southern region, they were going from south to north. Everyone needs to know the general map. They were in Egypt. Egypt is in the south, in North Africa. They were going to the Middle East, so they were going from the south toward the north. It was like this. They had to pass through the wilderness.

During this time, what were the things they needed to pay attention to? Whether the people were strong or weak, whether they were few or many. This concerns the people. Whether the land in which they lived was good or bad. That is, what was the land like? Were the people weak or strong? Were they many or few? And the land—was it good or bad? Because it concerns whether it was fertile or not. Whether the cities they lived in were camps or strongholds. A camp is only a tented camp; that is called a camp. A stronghold means that they had built cities. Also, they were to see whether the land was rich or poor, whether there were trees there or not. They were to be courageous and bring some fruit of the land. The time is especially explained: it was the season of the first ripe grapes.

The season of the first ripe grapes was roughly from late June to mid-July according to the solar calendar. It was already the hot season. They had set out on the twentieth day of the second month in the second year, from Mount Sinai. The twentieth day of the second month was according to their Jewish calendar. According to the solar calendar, it was probably around April or May. So they set out in April or May, and the distance to this place was actually very close. They probably arrived in about ten days or so. But did they not have that event where they wanted meat? They ate meat for a month.

So with that, and with Miriam being delayed seven days, in this way it was probably late June and mid-July, around that time. It specifically tells us that it was the middle of summer. When they came here, they went up into this place, from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. That is, from south to north, they went through it once. They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. This place, Hebron, is especially mentioned, because later some things will come out in connection with this place. Something will happen later. This is later the city of David, a city in the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah.

Here it specifically says that in Hebron there were the descendants of Anak: Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai. This is very clearly explained later in verse 33, that the descendants of Anak were a group of giants. Their stature was especially tall. Here it also especially highlights one point: Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. What does this mean? It means that even Zoan in Egypt was not as impressive as Hebron. So did Moses not tell them to see whether the cities were camps or fortified cities? They were all fortified cities, and they were even older and stronger than the Egyptian ones. The meaning is that it would be very hard to fight. There were giants, and there were fortified cities. The meaning is that there was no way to fight. That is the meaning.

When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a cluster of grapes. It really was very large. Two men carried one cluster of grapes. Think about it. How big would that cluster of grapes have to be? I have not lived in the countryside, but I can imagine that grapes carried by two people must be a lot. Would it have been over a hundred jin? One cluster of grapes, right? All right, after forty days they returned. They came to Kadesh, to the wilderness of Paran, and reported to Moses and Aaron.

They reported two things. First, the place they went to was indeed a land flowing with milk and honey. Look, this is its fruit. God’s word is true. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. But the people are strong, and the cities are large and high. That is, you told us to go see the people, right? You told us to go see the cities, right? They said the people are strong, and the cities are large and high. And they also saw the descendants of Anak. The descendants of Anak were very famous giants. I do not know whether you have ever seen this kind of person, someone whose body is especially tall and large. God have mercy on me.

I really have seen this kind of giant. Sometimes when we watch martial arts movies, it seems as if those who are skilled in martial arts are very powerful. But that is because they have never seen giants. I really have seen people over two meters tall. Actually, when such a person stands in front of you, do not even talk about whether you know martial arts. You simply have no desire to fight him at all. Why? Because in front of him, you are like a little chick. Someone of my height, in front of those people, would probably come up to around their waist, maybe just a little above their stomach. When he shakes hands with us, our hand in his hand is like a little finger.

When this kind of person stands there, all the fierce generals in the martial arts movies and martial arts novels that Chinese people watch—because they have not seen the descendants of Anak—after you see them, you know what a fierce general is. You cannot possibly defeat them. They are more than two meters tall, and the thickness of their bodies is more than one meter. Look at this kind of person. How could you possibly fight him? It is impossible. So I have seen such people.

Then after they saw them, they said the descendants of Anak were there. The Amalekites were in the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites lived in the hill country. That means it was hard to fight. The Canaanites lived by the sea and along the Jordan. The meaning is that the people were strong, and these people were distributed all over. It was impossible to fight them.

When Caleb heard this, he immediately spoke. He quieted the people. Caleb said, Do not speak like this. We should go up, and we will surely win. But the men who had gone up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are. Concerning the land they had spied out, they gave a bad report. The land through which we have gone to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. We went there; it is a dead end. All the people we saw there are of great height. We saw the descendants of Anak there. They are mighty men, giants. In our own sight we were like grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. Should we go fight? This is the situation.

So chapter 13 is a very failed battle. The twelve spies of Israel, these special-forces-like men, these people who had honorable status and strong power among the people of Israel, saw it. After they went to the land of Canaan and came back, the land was good, the people were strong, and the cities were large and broad. The meaning is that fighting was impossible.

So brothers and sisters, I think when we are in Numbers chapter 13, we truly see the weakness of God’s people. And there is also this point, the point I mentioned about verses 1 and 2: why did God want them to go and see this one time? It seems that if they had not seen it, nothing would have happened. Perhaps they would have gone and fought. In fact, I think God’s intention here is very clear. It is to let the Israelites see this: are you going to walk by your sight, or are you going to believe My promise? He lets you see. That is the meaning. By sight, you cannot win. But by the promise, if you go up with My promise, you can win. So here God is training their faith.

Regrettably, up to this point, the Israelites had not learned the lesson of faith at all. They were still walking by sight. Although in the wilderness they sometimes appeared very obedient, right? Whatever God said, they did. They also offered for the tabernacle. Of course, these things are also faith. We cannot say that their self-denying offerings were not faith. They were, right? And we especially mentioned the precious stones, right? In my house I have precious stones, taken from the Egyptians. Now You ask me to offer them, and I cannot bear to part with them, right? This indeed is an expression of faith. We cannot deny this point.

But the test of faith must keep escalating. To what point? Now it has reached the point where your life is required. Before, what was required was your time, your money, and enduring the plainness of the food. That was one step. Now it has reached the point of life and death. All right, you go up, and it means death. This is such a test. So God is also leading the faith of the Israelites, continually training it. Now, when we come to chapter 13, what does it mean? It means you must consider whether you trust My promise or believe your own judgment.

Very regrettably, Israel failed collectively at this point. Thanks be to the Lord, there were still two men, Joshua and Caleb. These two did not follow them. That is the matter of chapter 14 below.

All right, now let us think about this story placed before us. What kind of reminder does it give us? This is the condition of Christians. If you truly believe in Jesus, basically you will probably face a dead end. Will you still believe God’s promise, or will you believe your sight? This kind of choice is placed in the heart of every brother and sister.

Let us first speak from the level of persecution, right? For example, governments that persecute Christianity, right? And these bosses and clients, right? These people are like mighty men, giants. They look at us as grasshoppers, and we are also grasshoppers, right? If the government comes to persecute you, you have no way at all, right? You have no guns and no cannons. If they want to arrest you, they arrest you. If they want to beat you, they beat you, right? This is one situation where it seems the church cannot survive.

Then from the personal level, you say, If you do not let me falsify accounts, and if you say that as a manager I must come to worship the boss, he can fire me in a minute. The boss is a giant, right? The client is a giant. What should I do? If I follow him, I have food to eat. If I do not follow him, I lose my job. Who will support you? Will the church support you? Right? So these questions are really placed before our eyes.

So brothers and sisters, do not think this has nothing to do with us. On the contrary, it has too much to do with us. God even intentionally lets us see our smallness before the people of the world, right? Like tents, with nothing, nothing at all. Over there they have fortified cities, right? They built their strongholds long ago. How can you fight this battle?

So I have reminded everyone many times that believing in Jesus is a matter of risking your life. That is, you must believe at the risk of your life. You must not fear death. Once you fear death, you lose. Only if you do not fear death can you win. This means that you believe God’s promise to such a degree that even if I die, even if I lose my job, then I lose my job, right? I will not falsify accounts. Even if there are tens of millions of assets on that side, and if I falsify the accounts I can get hundreds of thousands, or even over a million, right? If I get over a million, would that not be enough for this life? But what we think is: your life may be enough, but what about afterward? What will happen after that? This is what you must consider. But the people of the world do not think about that, right? Let me first take these few million and then talk later. Falsify accounts for someone, and then confess sin; confess, and God will forgive you. With this kind of thinking, there is no way to truly believe, right?

The leader wants you to work overtime, and you cannot gather for worship on the Lord’s Day. Things like this. This is where you must overcome by relying on the Lord, walk by faith and not by sight, and rely on the Lord to bear it. Now I want to get married, but I cannot find a spouse. There is no suitable spouse. What should I do? By faith, believe that God is able to rule over it. In fact, every choice is a direct collision. In the end, when it is brought to its final point, when the reasoning reaches the end, it is a question of death and life. And the greatest advantage Christians have is that we do not fear death, right? If you are very afraid of death, it is very hard for you to be a Christian. You are afraid of losing your job. You are afraid of being despised by people. You are afraid of this, afraid of that, and in the end all of it is fear of death. If you do not fear death, you hold firm, right? I will simply die. Then you have won. By faith you have walked in.

If you are very afraid of death, right, then you cannot enter the land of Canaan. So chapter 13 clearly tells us this matter. And God intentionally brings you to see it once, so that you may know how powerful it is. Do you still believe?

This is speaking about one level, the level of persecution. There is also the level of temptation, right? If you follow this world and the flesh, it is very comfortable, right? Corrupt things, eating well and drinking well—this is very good, right? Then do you have the courage to refuse? I must obey the law. God says I must live a holy life. God says I must follow Him. Then can you still restrain the lusts of your flesh, right? You must restrain them. You say, I cannot hold back. I want fine food, beauty, and things like that. Can you bear it, right? Can you rely on the Lord and withstand it? This is the level of temptation. You still need to have a heart of death. I am not afraid. I believe that my greatest joy and my greatest satisfaction are with God. Although these corruptions of the flesh bring me temporary bodily pleasure, they will finally pass away. What I seek is that final joy, the joy of being with God. Do you have this heart?

So there are two levels. One level is when we face persecution: can we rely on the Lord and hold firm? The other is when we face temptation: can we rely on the Lord and hold firm? The original principle is all here: walk by faith, not by sight. Do you believe that in God’s hand there is the greatest joy? Do you believe that in God’s hand there is the greatest power? This is a question of faith.

In fact, along the whole way as God brought them out of Egypt, He had already very clearly told this group of Israelites: Has My arm really become short? Right? Has this not always been God’s word? Egypt was so powerful. At that time it was the greatest strong nation. At that time the land of Canaan was not even as powerful as Egypt. So, if I was able to bring you out of Egypt, and if I was able to drown the horses and soldiers of Egypt in the Red Sea, could I not bring you into Canaan?

This is actually the unspoken meaning behind God’s leading them to spy out the land of Canaan. God’s unspoken word behind it is this, right? God’s meaning is: I want you to see. Although He did not say it explicitly, the question is here: I can bring you out of Egypt; do I not have a way to bring you into Canaan? Did I bring you out not in order that you might obey My law? Or has My arm become short? This has been the constant reminder given to them along the way.

But the people simply could not hear. They could not see God’s promise, and they could not hear God’s promise. So I think this is an extremely great reminder to us, right? Sometimes God makes the environment especially powerful, so that we have no way at all to overcome, right? The weakness of the church, right? The lack of material resources. But God intentionally places us in this environment. Why? Because He wants to tell us that He is mighty. When you trust in His mighty power and follow His mighty power, then you can truly obtain this beautiful blessing.

So I think here, brothers and sisters, in chapter 13, we need to stop well and think carefully: how did the Israelites fail? Where did they fail? Why did they fail? It is that they walked by sight and not by faith. What they saw was the environment.

So Jesus speaks very clearly, and it is recorded both in Matthew and in Luke, right? Do you want to follow Me? If anyone comes to Me and does not love Me more than he loves his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple, right? Luke chapter 14 says, Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.

So here Jesus has already spoken this word very clearly. This includes your life. At this point, the Israelites were about to lose their lives. Before this, offering precious stones, obeying commandments, offering for the tabernacle—all of that was still possible. And listening to commandments was also still all right. But when it came to the point of life and death, they drew back. And now God is precisely bringing them to the point of life and death. Can you obey? Do you believe that God’s word is true, that God can bring you in, or do you look at the environment?

So dear brothers and sisters, we must continually, through the Bible, believe in the greatness of God, believe in the mighty power of God, believe that God’s arm has not become short. Do not look at the environment. Firmly rely on that Jesus Christ who was crucified for us and who died and rose again. Believe that we have the resurrection. Only in this way can we truly enter the land of Canaan. Otherwise, when the trials in the environment come one after another and grow greater and greater, we will shrink back. May God forgive our sins, so that we may truly rely on the Lord to fight that victorious battle. All right, our sharing today will simply stop here. Thank you, everyone.