Shelach-Lecha — The Twelve Presidents and the Two Men Who Looked at the Same Facts and Saw God

Not Just Anybody — The Presidents of the Tribes

When God commanded Moses to send men to scout the land of Canaan, Moses did not pick just anybody who wanted to go. He sent the presidents, the heads, of each of the 12 tribes — the most talented, the most capable, the ones with proven gifts of leadership. That makes the story much more significant than it first appears.

The 12 men traveled from the Sinai desert all the way to Lebo Hamath in Lebanon, examining everything in between: the agriculture, the cities, the fortifications, the inhabitants. After 40 days — and the number 40 is not accidental; it is typological, a number that throughout the Bible means testing — they came back to Moses with their report.

The facts they brought back were accurate. Every one of the 12 men brought back accurate information — the same data, the same experience. If you go to the original Hebrew text and even to the ancient Greek Septuagint text it is even more clearly the same report. The interpretation of the truth is what is in question. What you do with the known facts. The ten spies did not lie regarding the facts. The land was exactly as God had described: a land of milk and honey. They brought back a grape bunch so enormous that two men had to carry it on a pole — that image, two men carrying a great grape cluster, became the symbol of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. The land was fruitful, the cities were real, the inhabitants were strong. All 12 spies agreed on every fact. The freedom that the ten took to themselves was to make a recommendation that was never part of their mission. They took executive privileges that were not granted or included in their mission statement. Their job was to bring information. What you do with the known facts — the interpretation of the truth — is where everything fell apart.

The Forty Days and the Forty Years

The number 40 is typological. The children of Israel wandered 40 years in the wilderness — testing. Yeshua was 40 days in the wilderness — testing. These 12 leaders of the tribes spent 40 days walking up and down the land — testing. The Torah is telling us that this mission was not only to test the land, but to test the leadership of the tribes of Israel. And 10 of the 12 failed.

Here is what the ten said upon return:

Look carefully at the difference between the ten spies' report and the report of Caleb and Joshua.

What is missing in the words of the ten spies? There is only one thing missing — God is missing. When God is missing from our programs and plans and future, we are doomed at that instant.

These people were the leaders of the tribes. They all crossed the sea on dry land. They all ate manna from heaven daily. They all stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, received the Torah, and heard the voice of God speak from the cloud. They all drank water that was bitter and saw the hand of God make the water drinkable. They all had a hand in the building of the Lord's tabernacle. After all those experiences, they still did not understand who God is and what is His power over the universe and the forces of nature. They considered the people of the land of Canaan more powerful than the God who took them out of Egypt. This was even a bigger sin than the Golden Calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. How do I know it was a bigger sin? Because of the punishment: we measure the seriousness of a sin by the punishment the Torah gives it.

Faith Is a Track Record, Not a Doctrine

Biblical faith is not defined by agreement with this doctrine or another. It is defined by how much you trust God with your life, and with your family, and with all that you are and possess. There is no list of doctrines we are obligated to believe or accept other than two things: belief in one God who created the heavens and the earth, and the belief that Yeshua is the Messiah and the Son of the living God. But everyone had to love God enough to trust Him — that He will be faithful to care for His children.

Caleb and Joshua looked at the same facts and saw God behind them. They tore their clothes in mourning at the people's despair and said: "If God wants us, if God brought us to this land, if God gave us this land — with God, we can do it." Faith does not rely on our own strength. Faith relies on our track record of the past. As Ben-Gurion said:

That's what the ten leaders of the tribes didn't have. They didn't calculate: we left Egypt; the sea was in front of us, the Egyptian army behind us — did we have a chance? No, but God took us through. God's track record was overwhelming. They allowed reality to poison their faith.

The letter of James commands that whatever we decide to do, we say: "God willing." In Hebrew: b'retzon HaShem. Joshua and Caleb said, "With God's will, we can do it." And they eventually did.