Audio Download

Number 13:1-33  The Spies sent to Canaan and Their Report

[Study Aired July 24, 2023]

Num 13:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 13:2  Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
Num 13:3  And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. 
Num 13:4  And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. 
Num 13:5  Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. 
Num 13:6  Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 
Num 13:7  Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. 
Num 13:8  Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. 
Num 13:9  Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. 
Num 13:10  Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. 
Num 13:11  Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi. 
Num 13:12  Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. 
Num 13:13  Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. 
Num 13:14  Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. 
Num 13:15  Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 
Num 13:16  These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. 
Num 13:17  And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: 
Num 13:18  And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 
Num 13:19  And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 
Num 13:20  And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.
Num 13:21  So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. 
Num 13:22  And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 
Num 13:23  And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. 
Num 13:24  The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. 
Num 13:25  And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. 
Num 13:26  And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. 
Num 13:27  And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 
Num 13:28  Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 
Num 13:29  The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. 
Num 13:30  And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 
Num 13:31  But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 
Num 13:32  And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 
Num 13:33  And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Introduction

Chapter 13 deals with the Lord’s command for the people of Israel to know about the strength of the people living in the land of Canaan, the nature of the land and the fruits of the land He had promised them. This will help the people of Israel to know how to possess the land. In military operations, this is called reconnaissance operation (or simply recon) which seeks to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and core activities in an enemy’s area.

As we have indicated in the study of the Book of Numbers, the Book is principally about the raising of an army by the Lord to carry out His agenda here on earth. As commander of the Lord’s army, the Lord’s modus operandi as He enlists us in His army is to help us know the land (our bodies) which He wants us to possess. When the Lord called Abraham, his role was to just go through the land of Canaan and live there as a stranger, not a possessor of the land. During his stay on the land of Canaan, he was to know the goodness of the land and the challenges it posed, with the view of understanding what it takes to dispossess the people of the land promised to his descendants. This role was subsequently transferred to Isaac and Jacob.

In the lives of the patriarchs, they faced overwhelming challenges to bring them to the conclusion that only by faith could they overcome. In other words, it was only through the Lord that they could possess the land by faith since the people living in the land were a formidable force. As a deposit guarantee that the Lord would give the land to his descendants, Abraham, by faith, bought a portion of the land to serve as a burial ground for his family. In a similar vein, the Lord has given us the Holy Spirit as a deposit guarantee that we shall overcome the flesh!!

Gen 49:29  And he (Jacob) charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 
Gen 49:30  In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
Gen 49:31  There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. 
Gen 49:32  The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. 
Gen 49:33  And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people. 

Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.  

Heb 11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 
Heb 11:9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 
Heb 11:14  For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 
Heb 11:15  And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

The whole episode of Moses sending out the spies was for them to come to the same conclusion as the patriarchs, that it takes only faith to possess the land, which is our bodies. However, unlike the patriarchs, most of the spies were thinking of their own ability to overcome the giants of the land, but not what the Lord can do, hence giving a bad report of the land.  As we walk with the Lord, our focus should be on what the Lord can do and not what our situation dictates or what we can do. The walk of faith is based wholly on what the Lord can do!

Rom 4:18  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
Rom 4:19  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 
Rom 4:20  He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 
Rom 4:21  And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 
Rom 4:22  And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Num 13:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 13:2  Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, everyone a ruler among them.

It was the Lord’s initiative for the people of Israel to know the state of the land and the people living in it. As we are aware, the land represents our bodies which we must possess. Our bodies represent the flesh, and therefore this call by the Lord is to know the nature of our flesh. However, not all the people of the world, signified here by the people of Israel, are given to know the flesh. As verse 2 indicates, this call to search the land is only given to the rulers of the people. In applying the principle of calling those things which are not as though they were, we can see that it is the elect, future rulers of the earth, who are given this mandate to understand everything about the flesh of which we must possess or overcome in this life.

Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.  

Num 13:3  And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. 
Num 13:4  And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. 
Num 13:5  Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. 
Num 13:6  Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 
Num 13:7  Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. 
Num 13:8  Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. 
Num 13:9  Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. 
Num 13:10  Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. 
Num 13:11  Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi. 
Num 13:12  Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. 
Num 13:13  Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. 
Num 13:14  Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. 
Num 13:15  Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 
Num 13:16  These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. 

Moses sending the leaders from the twelve tribes of the people of Israel signifies the Lord Jesus Christ, requiring His elect from every tribe and every generation to understand the nature of the flesh as we go through life. Moses changing the name of Oshea to Jehoshua is to remind us that the Lord will deliver us (Oshea means deliverer) from our flesh as we go through life and in the final analysis, we shall be overcomers or saved by the Lord (Jehoshua means Jehovah saved). 

2Ti 4:18  And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Num 13:17  And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: 

It is significant that the spies started their journey of assessing the land from the south before going up into the mountain. Southward signifies that we are close to the sea of flesh. Thus, starting their journey southward means that we all start to know the flesh as unbelievers when we are dominated by the flesh as we produce the deeds of the flesh. 

Eze 48:28  And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 
Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

It is imperative, as the Lord’s elect, that we begin our journey from the south to know more about the flesh with which we will deal later in our lives. This is because in the Book of Revelation, it is when we are close to the sea that we see the beast rise up out of the sea. 

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

As Moses commanded, the spies started their survey from the south before moving to the mountains. Moving away from the south to the mountains means we have come to know Christ, but we are still carnal and therefore, the beast within us has become an insurmountable mountain to us. This is the experience of Paul and all the elect as we encounter the mountains:

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 
Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 
Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Num 13:18  And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 
Num 13:19  And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 
Num 13:20  And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.

During our walk here on earth, we start our lives by the sea of flesh before we are given to know Christ. However, although we have come to know Christ, we are still carnal. 

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. (Demonstrate our lives living close to the sea of flesh).

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

It is in our carnal state that we get to see what the land is and the strength of the beast living in our land. The fruit of the land refers to the fruit of the spirit that is produced from our bodies. In verse 20, we are made aware that the spies went to survey the land at the time of the first ripe grapes. This is to let us know that in this age the Lord wants us to know our flesh and the beast controlling it, as we are the first ripe grapes or the firstfruits. In other words, those who come to see in this age, the nature of the flesh, the powerful beast that controls it and the fact that it is only in Christ that we can possess the land, are the ones who become the firstfruits. 

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Num 13:21  So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. 
Num 13:22  And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 

Searching the land beginning from the wilderness of Zin and going through Rehob and Hamath, and finally ending up in Hebron is significant. Zin means ‘prick’. To prick means to pierce. We start our journey of coming to know the flesh in Egypt when we come to trust in the system of the world (Egypt) as we focus on the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. If we are called and chosen, then our trust in the flesh would rather hurt us (pierce us – meaning of Zin). We end up piercing ourselves with many sorrows as a result of our trust in worldly riches.

Isa 36:6  Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. 

1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

In Isaiah 36:6, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, refers to the flesh or the beast within, whom we have come to trust.

When we start our journey in Christ, we flee from Zin and come to Rehob which means ‘the broad place’. Our lives in Babylon depict a life of the broad place as we find ourselves in the midst of many who are called but not the chosen few.

Mat 7:13  “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 
Mat 7:14  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. 

In Babylon, we get to know more of the flesh as we are dominated by the flesh since we are carnal. Through the teachings we receive in Babylon, we come to accept our carnal state as godliness. Through these false teachings, we strengthen the idols of our hearts. In other words, we build walls to shut out the truth of the words of the Lord. This means we have moved from Rehob (a broad place) to Hamoth which means walled. After Hamoth, we come to Hebron which means seat of association. The seat of association here is the same as Babylon.  It is in Hebron that the spies encountered the giants of the land. This is how we spiritually encounter the giants in our land:

Rom 7:15  For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 
Rom 7:16  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 
Rom 7:17  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 
Rom 7:18  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
Rom 7:19  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 
Rom 7:20  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 
Rom 7:21  So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
Rom 7:23  but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Rom 7:24  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Going through the experience of not being able to do the good we know we should do means we have come to realize the giants – Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai – in our land. It is while we are in Babylon (Hebron) that we come to know the giants. It is instructive to note in verse 22 that Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. Zoan means ‘the place of departure’. What we are being told spiritually is that even before we leave the world, the Lord has prepared Hebron (Babylon) for us to go to for a complete period of our lives (seven years) immediately after our departure (Zoan) from the world (Egypt).

Jer 29:8  For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 
Jer 29:9  for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD. 
Jer 29:10  “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 
Jer 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Num 13:23  And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
Num 13:24  The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.

It is when we leave Babylon and come to the brook of Eshcol that we can have evidence of the fruitfulness of our bodies (land) as we produce the fruit of the spirit. A brook means a stream or river. Eschol means ‘cluster’ and cluster stands for a group of similar things or people positioned or occurring closely together. As we are aware, the brook signifies the truth of the word of the Lord. This means that it is only after we have left Babylon (Hebron) and come in the midst of the gathering of the elect (Eschol or cluster) or the church of the firstborn that we come to experience the truth of the word of the Lord. That is when we can produce the fruit of the spirit which is the evidence of the good land (our bodies) which we now possess. The fact that the fruit was borne between two people on a staff is very insightful. According to Strong, in this context, the staff represents a shaking, wavering or a bar of yoke. It is intuitive to note that the Bible sometimes uses shaking to mean judgment.

Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 
Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

As witnesses of Christ (the two carrying the bunch of fruit), it is only through judgment (the staff with fruit borne by the two spies) that we can produce evidence of the goodness of the land as we produce righteousness as the fruit of the spirit.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 

In another perspective, the good grapes of the land signify the elect as shown in the following verse:

Hos 9:10  Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.

Since the spies were going to show the fruit to the people of Israel to show the goodness of the land, we, His elect, are therefore the evidence to all of humanity (the people of Israel) that it is possible to produce the fruit of the spirit in this life or age. The fruit we bear, or our good works, will cause all humanity to come and praise the Lord in the next age.

Mat 5:16  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Num 13:25  And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. 
Num 13:26  And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. 

The spies returned to the people of Israel to give a report after searching the land for forty days. In the Bible, the number forty refers to the period of the trial of our lives by the Lord to show what is within each one of us. This means that the number forty shows us the period of our lives where we have come to assess our flesh to know that we can of ourselves do nothing to defeat the beast within us, except the Lord intervenes.

Psa 95:7  For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice, 
Psa 95:8  Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 
Psa 95:9  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
Psa 95:10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 
Psa 95:11  Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Num 13:27  And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 
Num 13:28  Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 
Num 13:29  The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.

In their assessment of the beast within, the spies admitted that possessing the land was good as they saw a land flowing with milk and honey. We must understand that at that time in our lives when the Lord caused us to know the flesh with which we are dealing, we were carnal, and therefore all we knew was the milk of the word of the Lord which to us tasted sweet in our mouth. Our failures as a result of being dominated by the flesh bring us to the conclusion that the flesh is a formidable force to deal with. In other words, it is impossible to possess our bodies, forgetting the fact that it is the Lord who will defeat the enemy on our behalf. This report of our flesh in Babylon is what the people of the world (represented by the people of Israel) also take as their assessment of the flesh. This is the assessment of our flesh during our time in Babylon and the people of the world:

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?

In other words, the world and the world believe that nobody can defeat the flesh. 

Num 13:30  And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

In this case Caleb represents the elect. When we leave Babylon and come to the church of the firstborn, our eyes are opened to realize that although the flesh is impossible to subdue, through Christ we can overcome its influence. 

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2Co 2:14  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

Caleb’s stance was that in Christ we can overcome the flesh. As we shall see in the next chapter, Joshua, who is also a symbol of the elect, also held that same view of victory through Christ. All we have to do is to believe that He who has started a good work in us will drag us to the finish line of overcoming the flesh! Caleb demonstrated to us that we need to walk in faith if we are to possess the land, which is our bodies, despite the formidable strength of the flesh.

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Heb 11:30  By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 
Heb 11:31  By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. 
Heb 11:32  And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Heb 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 
Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 
Heb 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 

Num 13:31  But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 
Num 13:32  And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 
Num 13:33  And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

In Babylon, where we are dominated by the flesh, we cannot see how we can overcome the flesh, especially when we see ourselves being defeated over and over again by the giants of our land – the flesh.

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

May the Lord give us the grace to walk by faith and not by sight. Amen!!