Generation Of Grasshoppers: A National Letdown (Num.13:33).

"...and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (Num.13:33).

Introduction:

God had instructed His servant Moses, to "send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel." (Num. 13: 2). The intention of God was clear right from the tone of the instruction. His target was simple- to give them the promised land. Nothing more. To get His intention effected, He specifically told Moses that all the men he was sending should be from each tribe: a man representing a tribe. And beyond the tribal selection, there was emphasis on "every one a leader among them." (Num.13:2b). At this point in time in the history of Israel, God knew the stamina and qualities, a leader possessed. He knew their worth hence, so much responsibility and trust were reposed in them. Leaders in the old Israel, by their position and status, were believed to be mature enough to handle and resolve knotty issues and challenges. However, the leaders in this context, had a strange and odd disposition to things of God, even with the level of assurance God gave them. So disappointing!

Scope & Expectation:

Without much ado, God was giving His children the land of Canaan regardless of what anyone would say. It was just a mere privilege for the elders, by virtue of their headship, to have a first hand assessment of the land, before ultimately piloting the nation for the final possession. No special efforts on their part to move God to doing whatever He had purposed in His mind. Call the proposed "land assessment" a mere leadership "first look", and you are right. Nothing would stop Him from achieving His aim, anyway. He was able, all by Himself, to take care of all the challenges and impediments on the way. However, it became a concern when the chosen, selected, trusted, and sent elders were constituting themselves, the very obstacles to the mind of God. Job said, " I know that You can do everything and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You." (Job.42:2).

The entire assignment and terms of reference were as simple as seeing what the land was like: whether the people who dwelt in it were strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwelt in, was good or bad; whether the cities they inhabited were like camps or strongholds, whether the land was rich or poor; and whether there were forests there or not. This was the mind of God, and He expected the so-called elders to work with this as the guiding framework. Everything in the 'terms' God gave them suggested He was all out to NOT only give them the land, He even went as far as encouraging them. He said, "be of good courage." (Num.13: 20). We serve a God who knows our frailty, "for He knows our frame." (Ps.103:14), hence, He does not hesitate to pull His weight behind the 'sent.'

They were so encouraged because God was not unaware of the possibility of them coming in contact with some strange beings in the process, that might frighten them, which may cause them to forget that a more "Powerful God" sent them on a national errand. Beloved, even as He has commissioned us into our different areas in ministry, it is not unlikely at one time or the other that we develop cold feet at the sight of seemingly intimidating and strange beings and forces. There are times we might want to doubt, if truly He was on the task with us. This happens when we allow the imageries of the unknown challenges along the way becloud our sense of reasoning. This ought not to be. We need to see beyond the immediate imageries of impossibility ahead of us and see the larger picture of the involvement of God in it. And the eventual victory at hand.

To say the above statement in our text was made by elders and leaders commissioned by God to lead His people to their promised land is absurd, would be an understatement. It is disgusting, disappointing and an aberration to the person of God and what He can do! It is actually a risk- a spiritual risk to belong to the camp of leaders that belittle God in the face of any intimidation! It is a higher spiritual risk to be under a spiritual leader that has no track record of overcoming challenges, oppositions, and intimidations.

Grasshoppers???

What a way to self-downgrade! And this is the very heart of this discourse. Has the scripture not said it? "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Pr.23:7). In life, whatever position or capacity we find ourseves, the mind set plays a paramount role. What we are driving at, here, is that it does not matter how much God equips or assures us victory, the position of our mind in bringing this to fruition cannot be downplayed. These elders obviously set out without allowing the confidence God imbued in them to materialize. For example, no matter how much a parent fund the education or vocation of their wards, except the wards are intentional in making a success out of the sponsorship, such investments are a waste. These elders just made a waste of God's investment of trust, and encouragement in them, in a manner similar to the Parable of The Talent in Mt. 25:14-30. In that particular parable, the third servant simply did not only betray the master's trust and resources, he equally wasted his time and efforts, digging the ground to hide the talent.

Our elders in our text wasted their time going on this mission in the first place before concluding they were no better than grasshoppers. Using the figure of speech 'Simile', comparing themselves with grasshoppers, was the apogee of all self in-built defeat. It is utterly debasing and brazenly embarrassing to God! They just did not fail God, but had equally failed their nations and even their unborn generations. The failure we refuse to address to overcome now, reduces us and our oncoming generations to the status of 'grasshoppers.' It becomes the basis of what legacy we hand over to our generations- failed generations. With the 'grasshopper' mindset, they already compromised their headship, broke the morale in the Israelite camp, and put the entire nation at risk of destruction. If leaders stooped to a level of 'grasshopper' in thoughts and imaginations, and went as far as verbalizing it, then, obviously, the followership is consumed in unavoidable defeat and destruction .

In contrast, Nehemiah exemplified how commissioned leaders and followers act in the face of antagonism and how to overcome "seemingly" insurmountable obstacles and oppositions. He said, "...for the people had a mind to work" (Neh.4: 6b). This phrase speaks volume of what it takes to have a mind of success, regardless of how fierce and intimidating the oppositions are. The Nehemiah account was even in the face of obvious visible and physical-contact- threat, yet they made up their minds to overcome. And they did overcome. How much more elders, who were commissioned on the orders of God, and with full assurance by the same God, yet developed cold feet in view of self-made imaginary opposition on their way of victory? In the case of our 'elders' in this text, it is then apt to say that "the true test of a reliable leader or elder is measured by how he handles challenges and obstacles in the face of seemingly physical and spiritual threat to his calling." Those days of challenges and intimidations are apparently unavoidable for all leaders. If it has not come, it's going to come. Yes, it definitely will. Even right in his domain, king Hezekiah had his day with Nebuchadnezzar. He sought the face of God and overcame. How do we handle such when it stares us in the face?

The Eagle As A Model:

For our representatives in this text, their best bet would have been to model their minds after the eagle. A typical eagle is fearless, and tenacious. The eagle glides and soars high than any bird. It adapts to changes. Eagles are bold, courageous and confront challenges headlong. They are resilient and endure harsh conditions. The eagle's bravery and enduring stamina are not without mention in the scriptures, "...they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Is.40:31). The foregoing suggests that as grasshoppers as they saw themselves, and side by side with the qualities of the eagle, victory was far from the elders, even if they lived the Metuselah years! Suffice to say the main issue with these selected elders, was nothing but a thing of the mind. Nevertheless, they failed when it mattered most on such memorable and monumental assignment.

The Remnant Few:

As it were, in cases like this, there are always the few bold ones. The courageous, the selfless, the fearless who see success where the majority sees failure. They are the ones that press on in the face of intimidation. They dare oppositions, stick out their neck, risk their lives, and brace all odds. They are the encouraging strength in a failing team, and as such deliver, come what may. They are goal-getters. In the real sense of it, they are the minority, number-wise. The duo of Joshua and Caleb belonged to this category, in this team. Their presence in the team diffused the tension created by the ten-majority vociferous failures. While the failed elders were even clamoring for return to slavery in Egypt, the duo saw the way forward, to the promised land. Joshua and Caleb pointedly subdued the tensed atmosphere with a word of encouragement and assurance of victory, "only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them." (Num.14: 9).

The above statement was the decider, and the much needed impetus the team longed for, to press on. The question at this point is, what role do we play in a team? Are we encouragers or discouragers? Do we have a mindset of grasshoppers in "our own sight" and in "the sight of our contenders?" Truth is, grasshopper cannot help fellow grasshopper. Do we betray the confidence and the trust God reposed in us, as fathers, mothers, leaders, pastors, administrators, captains of industries, given any little challenge? How much courage, do our voices lend to our contemporaries and leaders, when they are at crossroads? Are we Joshua and Caleb in our spheres of influence, or the nameless and faceless "defeated ten" that slid into a cursed generation?

Truth be told, any leader in the class of the leaders in our text above achieve nothing but attract the wrath of God upon them and their generation. They were obviously leaders, who were not worth their salt. In the alternative to their true calling, such "failed" elders open up their citizenry to unwarranted invasion and oppression from the enemies. Cashing in on their levity, the invading enemies raid their victim's nation forcing the people to seek refuge in caves and dens, after the pattern of the Israelites of Judges chapter 6. Failure to take the battle from the offensive perspective, to the enemies' doorposts, does nothing, but shrinks their morale to a defeatist grasshopper level, and put them on the defensive side. That was just the summation of the leaders in Numbers 13. They are a failed leaders, no doubt!

Sidebar:

• It becomes a concern when the chosen, selected, trusted and sent leaders constitute themselves the very obstacles to the mind of God.

  
  

• We need to look beyond the immediate imageries of impossibility ahead of us and see the larger picture of the involvement of God in it...and the eventual victory at hand.

  
  

• It is actually a risk- a spiritual risk to belong to the camp of leaders that belittle God in the face of any intimidation.

  
  

• The true test of a reliable leader is measured by how he handles challenges and obstacles in the face of seemingly physical and spiritual threats to his calling.

  
  

Conclusion:

All leaders: anointed, appointed, elected, interim, or charismatic, have one thing in common: to fulfill the mandate of God in their various capacities. They are so assigned, to right the rot in their domains. And in each case, they are usually equipped with tools and directives to lead, and lead right too, with the liberty to defer to, and seek recourse to God in the face of challenges. However, for several reasons, some so-called leaders use their discretions to change the pattern of play, along the line. It ranges from, to willingly chicken out, like our Numbers 13 leaders, to oppressing their subjects or to intentionally violate some laws with impunity.

In our contemporary world, the quest for inordinate ambition, coupled with the greed for excessive material acquisition, by our leaders, has been used as a trade-off that has grounded us as helpless and hapless "grasshoppers." Just as the failed leaders of Numbers 13 came up with the option of going back to slavery in Egypt, our world leaders see the mass accumulation of wealth as a buffer to fall on, when the chips are down, while the followership is left hopping from one place to another, barely surviving, and at the risk of their lives. But for Joshua and Caleb, the rest ten of these leaders in the story of the spies, let us down and let God down!

Prayer Of Salvation:

Peradventure you want to accept the LORD as your Savior, please, pray thus: LORD JESUS, I repent, confess, and forsake all my sins and surrender my life to You. From this day, I accept You as my LORD and Savior. Wash me clean and accept me as Your child. Amen.

PRAYERS:

• LORD, In all the assignments You have committed into my hands, help me to NOT let You and Your people down.

• LORD, help me to NOT be an obstacle to the progress of Your work.

• LORD, empower me to overcome all intimidating forces on my divine and secular assignments.

• LORD, help me to NOT waste any of Your invested trust, boldness and encouragement in me.

• I refuse to be a grasshopper.

• LORD, help me to NOT be a discourager among the brethren. Amen!

© June 2025 (My Landmark Year)

Being the 45th Edition Of Monthly Bulletin

From The Desk Of

Olusegun A Emosu (The Blessed, The Chosen & The Favored)

B. A (Hons), M.A (Ilorin), MBA (Arizona)

The Redeemed Christian Church Of God,

Rehoboth Parish,

2244, Panola Rd, Suite 2, (3 D Complex),

Lithonia GA 30058

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www.rccgrehobothatl.org

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