The spies didn’t lie. The land was formidable. The inhabitants were huge and powerful. The fruits were extraordinarily large. They even brought back samples to prove it. So, why were they punished?
The answer lies not in the report, but in their conclusion. The facts as the spies presented them were entirely accurate. The sin was their conclusion: “We will not be able to go up to that people, for it is too strong for us.” Moses had sent them on a fact-finding mission. Their job was to bring back information, not their personal opinions.
A high-school teacher decided to demonstrate to his class the dangers of alcohol abuse by conducting an experiment. He took one glass of water and one glass of whiskey. He then dropped a worm into the glass of water. The worm had a nice swim, and when the teacher removed it, it was unharmed. He then dropped the worm into the glass of whiskey. In no time at all, the worm was dead. He then asked the class what the experiment proved. Whereupon one wise guy at the back piped up and said, “It proves conclusively that if you drink enough whiskey, you will never suffer from worms!”
The facts are there for all of us to see. The question is how to interpret them. If we have a preconceived position and then manipulate the data to draw conclusions that suit us, we may come off clever at first, but in the end we may well go the way of the spies. Without faith, even the most accurate information can lead to the wrong conclusion.
