“And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.”
My Notes
What Does Numbers 13:27 Mean?
"And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it." The twelve spies REPORT: the land is EXACTLY what God promised — flowing with milk and honey. The fruit they carry PROVES it (the famous cluster of grapes so large it required two men to carry it, verse 23). The report CONFIRMS the promise. The evidence is VISIBLE. The land IS what God said it IS. The first part of the report is ENTIRELY POSITIVE. The 'but' comes in verse 28.
The phrase "surely it floweth with milk and honey" (gam zavat chalav udevash hi — also flowing with milk and honey it is) CONFIRMS God's description EXACTLY: when God promised the land to Moses (Exodus 3:8), He described it as 'flowing with milk and honey.' The spies return and say: it IS. The description is ACCURATE. The promise is VERIFIED. The land that God said would flow with milk and honey DOES flow with milk and honey. The first-person observation confirms the divine promise.
The "this is the fruit of it" (vezeh piriah — and this is its fruit) provides PHYSICAL EVIDENCE: the spies don't just REPORT. They SHOW. They carry the FRUIT — grapes, pomegranates, figs (verse 23). The evidence is TANGIBLE, VISIBLE, HOLDABLE. The report is backed by the PRODUCE. The telling is accompanied by the showing. The word is confirmed by the thing. The promise is validated by the fruit.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What promise has been confirmed by evidence you can hold — but that fear is undermining?
- 2.What does the spies' report matching God's description EXACTLY teach about divine promises being accurate?
- 3.How does physical evidence (the fruit) failing to overcome emotional fear describe the spy-story's tragedy?
- 4.What 'milk and honey' has God shown you that the 'but' of fear is trying to negate?
Devotional
We went. It flows with milk and honey — JUST LIKE GOD SAID. And HERE'S the proof. The spies confirm the promise with physical evidence: the fruit they carry PROVES the land is everything God described. The report validates the description. The seeing confirms the promising. The fruit backs the word.
The 'surely it floweth with milk and honey' is the CONFIRMATION of the divine promise: God said it would (Exodus 3:8). The spies say: it DOES. The firsthand observation matches the divine description EXACTLY. The promise wasn't exaggerated. The description wasn't inflated. The land IS what God SAID it is. The divine word is confirmed by the human witness.
The 'this is the fruit of it' provides TANGIBLE EVIDENCE: the report isn't just verbal. It's accompanied by PHYSICAL PROOF — a cluster of grapes so massive two men carry it on a pole (verse 23). The fruit is the EVIDENCE that makes the report undeniable. You can HOLD the proof. You can TASTE the confirmation. The word and the fruit agree: the land is EVERYTHING God promised.
The TRAGEDY of the spy-story is that THIS report — entirely positive, fully confirmed, physically evidenced — is followed by 'BUT' (verse 28 — 'nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land'). The same spies who CONFIRMED the promise will DENY the possibility. The fruit they carried will be FORGOTTEN in the fear they spread. The evidence they held in their HANDS couldn't overcome the terror they felt in their HEARTS.
What promise of God has been CONFIRMED in your experience — with fruit you can hold — but that fear is causing you to deny?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And there we saw the giants,.... Not throughout the land, and yet it is so expressed, and in such connection with what…
It is a wonder how the people of Israel had patience to stay forty days for the return of their spies, when they were…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture