The fear of man led the ten Israelite chieftains to distort the truth about their ability to conquer the land. While they rightly acknowledged the strength of the Canaanites, their lack of faith in Jehovah’s power caused them to forget His promises. They let their fears overshadow the reality that with Jehovah on their side, victory was assured. In contrast, Joshua and Caleb remained faithful, emphasizing that trust in Jehovah would lead to success (Num. 14:6-9). This teaches us the importance of focusing on God’s strength rather than human challenges.
How did fear of man cause ten Israelite chieftains to distort the truth?If we were to fear humans more than we fear God, we could be led away from the truth. Consider the example of the 12 chieftains who spied out the land that Jehovah had promised to give to the Israelites. For ten of the spies, their fear of the Canaanites was stronger than their love for Jehovah. They told their fellow Israelites: “We are not able to go up against the people, because they are stronger than we are.” (Num. 13:27-31) From a human standpoint, the Canaanites were stronger than the Israelites—that part was true. But to say that the Israelites would not be able to conquer their enemies left Jehovah out of the picture. Those ten spies should have focused on what Jehovah wanted the Israelites to do. They should also have meditated on what he had done for them in the recent past. Then they would have realized that the strength of the Canaanites was nothing in comparison to Jehovah’s almighty power. Unlike those faithless spies, Joshua and Caleb wanted to have Jehovah’s approval. They told the people: “If Jehovah is pleased with us, he will certainly bring us into this land and give it to us.”—Num. 14:6-9
Make a comment, very short and understandable, use the JW bible
1 answer