Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” -Deuteronomy 1:20-21

If you’ve heard the Israelites’ story, then you know that right when they were ready to possess and settle in the land God had promised them, they sent spies out ahead to scope things out (which ended up being disastrous). Here’s what Moses said in Deuteronomy 1:

Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.” The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe. -Deuteronomy 1:22-23

In case you don’t remember how this all went down, the spies ended up coming back after their scouting mission and filling the people with fear. They told them the land looked GREAT, but the people there looked SCARY. They’re giants, they said. This spurred some major grumbling from the crowd, and ultimately it caused God to say that the entire nation couldn’t enter in until that generation of Israelites had died off in the wilderness because of their failure to trust in Him.

But when I was reading this passage at a table in my favorite coffee shop, I noticed for the first time that sending the spies was actually the people’s idea, not God’s. Immediately, I flipped back in my Bible to where/when this was actually happening in Numbers 13. Here’s what Numbers’ account of the same event says: 

The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.” -Numbers 13:1-2

Hmmmm interesting! At first glance, this seems contradictory because it sounds like God is the one who had the idea of sending spies ahead to check out the land/people. After studying my Bible’s footnotes and a couple commentaries, here are a few insights I gained: 

• From David Guzik: Numbers 13:2 shows God was mainly adding the details of how many spies to send and how to choose them. It’s like He was saying: If you’re going to send spies, send 12, and have them represent the whole nation by sending one from each tribe. 
  • Maybe this was God making sure not all of the spies would bring back a report of unbelief!
• From Matthew Henry: Sometimes God permits us to have our own desires. His Word was not enough for them! They couldn’t find it in their hearts to rely on that. Human policy carried greater weight than divine wisdom. God, in permitting the people’s desires, gave them up to their counsels.

Whew! Thinking about this really threw me for a loop as I sat sipping my dark chocolate hot chocolate. So the people had basically decided, on their own, to send out the spies. Knowing they had already made this decision, God just added some details that at least helped them make the mistake in a less destructive way. He did not stop them. 

As Mr. Henry noted, sometimes God allows us to have our desires. Only He knows why! In the Israelites’ case, their desire to send spies out ended up costing them 40 years of wilderness wandering. When we are not 100% aligned with God’s will for our lives, the consequences can be devastatingly costly.

What drew me to Isaiah 55:3 in the context of this situation from Numbers 13 (and later recounted by Moses in Deuteronomy 1) was the fact that the people’s desire to send spies doesn’t necessarily seem like a terrible idea. Scripture says they wanted to scout out the land, figure out what towns they would target, and plan what route to take as they moved in to conquer it. That seems logical enough, don’t you think? It even sounds wise. But the problem came from the fact that God had told them to go in and possess the land. He had not told them to send ahead scouts to check things out. He had not mentioned investigating possible routes and towns. He had not directed the people to do any kind of spying. So when the people decided they needed to add that little step into the plan, they were deviating from God’s set course for them. 

Even when human wisdom is logical, helpful, thoughtful, preemptive, perceptive, strategic, smart and seemingly well-advised, only God’s wisdom is right. 

And so? We must incline our ears toward Him—constantly. If it helps, tilt your head so your ear is facing the heavens. Never ever start depending on your own wisdom. 

Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live. -Isaiah 55:3a