“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. 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” (Numbers 13:30-31).

These first words were spoken by the son of Jephunneh, after he and eleven others went into Canaan to “spy out the land” (Num. 13:17). Even though the others were aware that the land “flowed with milk and honey,” they were not of a disposition to subdue the land God had given them. What is more, their fatalistic view pitifully infected the rest of the people with fear and they consequently wept and murmured against Moses and Aaron (Num. 14: 1-5). Instead of optimistically pursuing the course God had given them, they preferred to overthrow Moses and set over themselves a new captain who would lead them back into the bondage of Egyptian subjugation.

But Caleb and Joshua had another spirit and were not inclined to cower in fear; they were not inclined to let the “giants of the land,” or the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, or the Canaanites dissuade them from obtaining the victory God had promised them. Caleb and Joshua implored the people of God “rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not” (Numbers 14:8,9). Even so, if the Lord had not intervened, Caleb and Joshua would have likely been stoned by this disobedient and gainsaying people (Num. 14:10).

Today, the Lord has commanded His people to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15,16). There are all kinds of “isms” that inhabit the land: liberalism, legalism, modernism, materialism, humanism, socialism, Communism, Catholicism, Protestantism, denominationalism, atheism, evolutionism, theological pluralism, environmentalism and modern paganism, to list but a few. There would appear to be “giants” in the land defending these distortions of reality, Dawkins, Hawking, Dennet, Ehrman, Shelly and others. What should we do? We should simply “go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” The Lord has promised.

As we preach the gospel of Christ we will inevitably have to speak out against these “isms.” We must drive them from the land. What we speak must be the Lord’s will (I Pet. 4:11). We must preach and teach the certified gospel that is not of men neither by man (Gal. 1:1-12). God’s word must guide all of our life or there is no real guidance at all (Col.3:1-17). Our very world view must be framed by the word of God. If we have the love of God in our hearts, if we have a zeal for the Truth of God, we will stand against these “isms” with all our human might. Only “rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not” (Numbers 14:8,9).

As we do so, there will be many who will oppose this effort, even from within our own ranks. There will be those who say, “you draw more flies with sugar than vinegar.” “Don’t be so negative!” “Don’t you realize that you are offending these people?” (cf. Matt. 15:12-14; John 6:60,61). “Preach the man and not the plan.” “You are driving people away.” Many will adopt the ways of the world in an effort to appease the world. But such efforts, while they may be well-intentioned, appealing and even temporarily successful, are ultimately doomed to eternal failure. It is never easy following the Lord’s footsteps, but that is the only way to salvation (Acts 4:12; I Pet. 2:21).

The question for our day is, in which camp do we stand? Do we stand with Joshua and Caleb who had confidence in God’s will or do we follow Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, and Geuel and cower in fear and defeat? Whose names are remembered in the annals of history? Which of these lives does God praise and sacred scripture honor? In which camp do we stand?

“The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Exodus 15:2).

Eric L. Padgett