Has fear ever overtaken your faith? The Israelites saw giants and forgot they were children of the King. Fear shrank their faith, and in that moment, the promises of God seemed smaller than the shadows cast by their enemies. What they saw with their eyes overpowered what they should have remembered in their hearts, resulting in an entire generation wandering in the wilderness.Numbers 13:1–15:41, offers a timeless lesson in trust, perspective, and identity. It begins with God telling Moses, “Send men on your behalf to reconnoiter the land Kena’an, which I am giving to the people of Israel.” The key phrase is “on your behalf.” This was not God’s idea.
It was the people who wanted to send spies, a point Moses clarifies later in Deuteronomy 1:22: “You approached me, every one of you, and said, ‘Let’s send men ahead of us to explore the country…’” The sin, then, wasn’t in gathering intelligence—it was in choosing fear and unbelief over faith in God’s promise. This “Sin of the Spies” had greater consequences than even that of the sin of the Golden Calf. Hebrews 3:19 states it plainly: “So we see that they were not able to enter because of lack of trust.” They believed more in the size of the giants than in the strength of God. Instead of focusing on God, they turned inward to themselves as Numbers 13:33 reveals: “To ourselves we looked like grasshoppers…” The emotion of fear becomes self-indulgent, leaving faith in the balance. They forgot they were God’s people, chosen and beloved.
One of the lessons from the unbelief of the spies is that we must remember to esteem ourselves properly. From the very beginning, we were created b’tzelem Elohim—in the image of God. If we lose sight of that, we see ourselves as outsiders rather than heirs. Knowing your worth in God’s eyes gives you the boldness to claim what He’s promised. That’s what Israel missed in that moment. And it’s what many believers still struggle with today. The failure was in fearing what their eyes saw, the giants, rather than trusting in God. To remedy that, the Lord commanded them to wear tzit tzit (Numbers 15:38-40)— the blue fringes at the corners of their garment to remind them of heaven, and the commandments.
The verbal connection here is the Hebrew word ure’etim, meaning, “And you shall see,” and it appears only three times in the Torah. The first occurs when Moses briefs the spies: “And you shall see the land, what it is (Numbers 13:18).” The second is in the commandment of the tzit tzit: “And you shall see it and remember all of God’s commandments (Numbers 15:39).” It is the heavenly viewpoint that changes our perceptions. Had the Israelites seen God rather than their fears, there outcome would be different. As Christ followers, we’re called to that same perspective. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Trusting is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see.” The difference between fear and faith is seeing the world from a heavenly perspective. Choose to see with heaven’s eyes by trusting in the Lord’s great love for you.
