I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Numbers 14-15.

Ten of the twelve spies who the Israelites sent into the Promised Land to report on it told them that the people of the land were too strong for them.  In fact, when Joshua and Caleb argued that God could and would give them the land, they considered stoning them for it.  Think about that, ten of the twelve “experts” were wrong.  Well, not exactly wrong, just looking at it wrong.  They were right when they said that the people of the land were stronger than the Israelites, but they were not taking God into account.  The people listened to the majority of the “experts”.  Not only did 10 out of the 12 experts agree, one of those who disagreed was a flunky to Moses.  So, there were ten experts who told the people that they were not as strong as the people of the land.  Those ten experts were correct, but they were not telling the whole story. Caleb and Joshua told the people to trust God and not to worry.  The people of Israel failed to compare what the experts told them to their own experience.  Their own experience showed that God could provide when it seemed impossible.  This was only around two years from when God had sent the Plagues on Egypt.  When we listen to the experts let us be sure to measure what they say against our own experience, that will allow us to recognize the ones who get it right, even when they are in the minority (and they usually are in the minority).