The Israelites saw the awesome and powerful hand of God when He brought them out of Egypt. Can you imagine crossing through the Red sea on dry land with walls of water on both sides. He had given them every reason to trust in Him, but their on going cry was to return to Egypt. God would go with them, but it would require faith on their part to trust in Him and His deliverance.
They had an eleven- day journey to the Promised Land. But before they would make that final leg they decided to send spies to the land of Canaan. The initial report of the 12 spies was good. It was a land flowing with milk and honey, but there is one problem – the people who dwell there are strong. The cities are fortified and very large. And there are giants, ‘men of great stature.’ Only Caleb and Joshua did not fear and encouraged the people saying, “Do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land… their protection has departed from them , and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” Num 14:9 Due to their faithful response their fellow Israelites wanted to stone them.
Well because of their disobedience the eleven– day journey turned into a forty year trek through the wilderness. The unfaithful generation would all die during that period of time. Only Caleb and Joshua would enter into the Promised Land as a result of their obedience and faith in the Lord. God would bring the next generation into the land that He had promised to Abraham’s descendants as an everlasting possession.
To me the irony of the whole event was that the giants were still there when they crossed the Jordan River on their way to Jericho. They hadn’t left. Their cities were still great and fortified. The same obstacle that faced them almost forty years earlier still remained. And now it was up to the children of the unfaithful generation to do the job of the parents. Deut 9:1,2
God does not remove obstacles that we refuse to face by faith. He often times lets them there until we decide to deal with the giants. The difficulties He allows are not to frustrate us. He allows them to strengthen us in Him. The Apostle Paul stated his situation similarly, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecution, in distress, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” II Cor 12:10