Numbers 13 and 14 record a key episode in the story of the Israelite nation. They had just been miraculously freed from captivity in Egypt and were on the verge of entering the land that God had promised them. God told Moses to send twelve men to explore the land that he was giving them.

Upon their return from their exploration of the land, ten of the twelve men gave a discouraging report. They said that the land was indeed fruitful, but the people living there were too powerful for them to overcome.

The whole community then became fearful, even suggesting that they go back to Egypt. Two of the explorers, Caleb and Joshua, tried to convince the people that the other ten were wrong and that they should take the land according to God’s plan. Unfortunately, the community chose to follow the suggestions of the ten, thereby rebelling against God.

God was extremely displeased with Israel and threatened to destroy the whole nation and start over with Moses. However, Moses pleaded with the Lord on behalf of the people, and the Lord relented—he would not destroy them.

The Israelites would, however, pay the price for their sin. The ten men who brought the bad report died of a plague and the rest of the community would wander through the wilderness for forty years before they could finally enter the promised land.

From this Scripture, we learn that the majority is not always right. Only two of the twelve had faith. We can’t always follow the crowd. In this case, there was no safety in numbers.

We also see that obstacles are real, but so is God! The ten weren’t wrong about the difficulty of the mission; they just failed to realize that God was bigger than their problems. Their lack of faith resulted in fear and disobedience, and their sin spread to other people. Let’s remember that sin and negativity are dangerously contagious.

Notice too that the people’s fear warped their view of reality. They would rather go back to live in slavery than to live in the freedom that God was ready, willing and able to provide! Many today choose to live in the slavery of sin rather than to accept the freedom that God offers us through Jesus.

Consider your place in God’s story. Choose your side carefully! Don’t go along with the unfaithful majority. Choose to be a part of the faithful few!