Numbers 14:9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.”
When the twelve spies were sent out by Moses into the land of Canaan, ten came back with a bad report. Joshua and Caleb, however, returned with a good report, saying in essence, “If God is for us — then who can be against us?” The two courageous spies expressed their confidence in a way that was quite cool: “Do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us.” [Numbers 14:9]
Now recall the “literal” connection in Hebrew between BREAD, FIGHT, and WAR. Joshua and Caleb were using the Hebrew language to utterly assure the Israelites of YHVH’s power to give them victory in battle. In modern language, one could say, “Don’t worry guys, we’re going to eat them up in this fight, we’ll make mincemeat out of them!”
Whether they grasped this linguistic encouragement and the spirit behind it or not, the Israelites allowed fear to paralyze them — and ended up sacrificing an entire generation 40 years in the wilderness. Let’s not make the same mistake, but rather, listen to the clues of the faithful. There is almost a lightheartedness in the language and attitude of those who really trust their God. Fear is alien to them. “We’ll eat them for breakfast!” is their battle cry. “Our enemies are our ‘bread’ and the “war” has already been won!”
The nations rage, the rulers take counsel together against YHVH and against His Messiah. YHVH sits in the Heavens and laughs, before He derides, vexes, and finally dashes them to pieces.[Psalm 2] If we’re walking closely with Him there is an authority in our faith because “the righteous are bold as a lion.” [Proverbs 28:1] God has truly provided in every way — our substance, our victory, and our protection. So, do not fear them.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]In 1917, the Ottoman Empire controlled the city of Aqaba which seemed impregnable to any attack. Behind the city in every direction was a vast desert, and overlooking the city’s harbor were huge naval guns protecting it against any enemy attack from the sea.
Solomon wrote, “a merry heart has a continual feast!” But why does it seem like so many of us are not feasting? How do we maintain a merry heart?
A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of two hundred, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands immediately started going up.
The revivalist D.L. Moody was on vacation in England from his ministry in Chicago. At one point during his sabbatical there, a local pastor prevailed upon Moody to speak at his parish church. So D.L. went to preach the next Sunday morning. That afternoon he recorded in his journal that it was the deadest crowd he had ever seen and the only thing worse than preaching to those people was that he had promised to speak again the same night.
Yesterday, my family and I had the privilege of being among the nearly 300,000 individuals at the March for Israel event in Washington, D.C. As many in the crowd stood in solidarity with Israel, I reflected on our role as believers. In these last days, we are simply called to be watchmen on the walls.
During the Battle of Britain, the German Luftwaffe rained down about thirty-five thousand bombs upon London during nightly air raids, causing terrifying fear and tremendous destruction and mayhem in large parts of London.
Over the years I’ve often gotten emails asking “Do you think revival will ever come to the United States?, When do you think it will come?” While re-reading Charles Finney’s lectures on revival recently, I was reminded that a key aspect of world revival is revival within ourselves.