When the people of God came up to a land of decision called Canaan they were confronted with an opportunity to believe God and trust the outcome to Him for their victory or they could believe a lie and miss the future blessings prepared for them.
As they investigated the land two different stories or versions of what transpired in Canaan emerged. Something was different between the two. One was the truth the other was a twisting of the truth in order to sway the congregation to accept it as the truth. Out of twelve who spied out the land the majority of ten opposed the truth of the two and influenced the congregation with its destiny.
The congregation chose to believe the explanation of Canaan by the majority of ten rather than the minority of two. God called it an evil report. Because these chose to accept the majority report of the ten they spent the remaining years stuck in the same endless routine of circling a mountain of nowhere.
Did the ten have influence more than the two? Did they have some level of maturity or were they more seasoned with the people that their words were accepted as truth rather than Joshua’s and Caleb? Scriptures bears out the minority of two were the correct ones in their description of events in Canaan. Today we read the story with the advantage of hindsight seeing the obvious blunder by the congregation, but what if we were subject to that scenario today? Would we be any different? Sadly not, many today chose untruths over truthful versions of events more often than not.
Imagine the family members, relatives and good friends of that congregation that were forever separated due to the choice of the people believing the majority version rather than the truth of Joshua and Caleb.
Sure the people acted in fear but their decision was based in an evil report (untruth) concerning what happened in Canaan. They doubted their God, Joshua and Caleb’s declaration and version that the giants were able to be overcome.
Amazing how those task with leading a people can resort to past patterns of safety rather than risk it all on God and His ability to fulfill His promises. They are called to lead yet remain non-involved, visionless and passive. By their actions (fruit) they declare it is better to be safe and not risk. They did not enter His rest (Canaan) due to unbelief and disobedience. Lack of faith; the very thing that displeases God. The ten chose to point the finger at Joshua and Caleb for their sudden newfound dilemma confronting them. In so doing encumbering those they lead into a lifeless existence where things never change including they're clothing or food until they die off having never experienced the victory God had for them. Condemned to miss the bounty of Canaan.
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