Like checking the price tag after you’ve already won the lottery.
Well, according to Bamidbar Rabbah 16, part of the larger collection of Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) literature called Bamidbar Rabbah (a running commentary on the Book of Numbers), it wasn't God's idea at all. God had already sung the praises of the Land of Israel. (Deuteronomy 8:7) tells us, “For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land.” And (Deuteronomy 11:10-11) describes it as a land that "drinks water from the rain." Even back in Egypt, in (Exodus 3:8), God declared, "I have descended to deliver them… and to bring them up from that land to a good and expansive land, to a land flowing with milk and honey."
So why the reconnaissance mission?
Bamidbar Rabbah suggests it was the Israelites themselves who requested it. When they arrived at the borders, God said, "See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up and conquer" (Deuteronomy 1:21). But instead of trusting, the people approached Moses, as described in (Deuteronomy 1:22), saying "Let us send men before us, and they will spy the land for us."
Ezra, in (Nehemiah 9:16-17), laments this very thing: "They did not heed your commandments. They refused to heed and did not remember Your wonders." Even with the Ark of the Covenant leading the way, scouting a resting place for them (Numbers 10:33), they still doubted. (Psalm 78:22) says it plainly: "Because they did not believe in God." And further, "They refused to follow His Torah" (Psalm 78:10). It was a crisis of faith, a failure to trust in God's promise.
Rabbi Yehoshua offers a powerful analogy. Imagine a king who arranges a marriage for his son to a beautiful, well-born, and wealthy woman. The king assures his son of her qualities, but the son, lacking trust, insists on seeing her for himself. The king is understandably hurt. If he refuses, the son might assume she's undesirable. So, the king relents, allowing him to see her, but vows that the son will never have her. Instead, she will be given to his grandson.
This, according to the Midrash, is what happened with God and the Israelites. God declared the land was good, but the people didn't believe. So, God allowed them to send spies, but swore that that generation would not enter the Promised Land. As (Numbers 14:23) states, "They will not see the land regarding which I took an oath to their fathers, and all those who scorned Me will not see it," but it would be given to their children.
It's a sobering thought, isn't it? How often do we, despite promises and assurances, choose doubt over faith? How often do we demand proof, even when it’s already been offered? And what are the consequences of that lack of trust? The story of the spies serves as a powerful reminder: sometimes, the greatest obstacle to our blessings is our own lack of belief.
Another matter, “Send you men”; although the Holy One blessed be He said: “Send you,” it was not from the Holy One blessed be He that they should go. Why? It is because the Holy One blessed be He had already said the praise of the Land of Israel to them: “For the Lord your God is bringing you to [a good] land” (Deuteronomy 8:7).3Therefore there was no need to send anybody to check the quality of the land. Likewise it says: “For the land that you are coming there to take possession of it…[it drinks water from the rain]” (Deuteronomy 11:10–11). And while they were still in Egypt, He said: “I have descended to deliver them from the hand of the Egypt and to bring them up from that land [to a good and expansive land, to a land flowing with milk and honey]” (Exodus 3:8). The verse says: “The Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud” (Exodus 13:21).4Therefore there was no military need to check out the land. What is “send you men”? Rather, it was Israel that requested these matters, as when they arrived to take possession at the borders, the Holy One blessed be He said to them: “See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you, [go up and conquer]” (Deuteronomy 1:21); at that moment, Israel approached Moses, as it is stated: “All of you approached me” (Deuteronomy 1:22). That is what Ezra said: “…They did not heed your commandments. They refused to heed and did not remember Your wonders” (Nehemiah 9:16–17). Likewise, it says: “[and the Ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them…] to scout a resting place for them” (Numbers 10:33). Nevertheless, they said: “Let us send men before us, and they will spy [the land] for us”? (Deuteronomy 1:22). It is, rather, that they did not believe. Likewise, David says: “Because they did not believe in God” (Psalms 78:22); and it is written: “They refused to follow His Torah” (Psalms 78:10). Rabbi Yehoshua said: To what were they comparable? It is to a king who arranged for his son, a fine-looking, wellborn, and wealthy woman. The king said to him: 'I arranged for you a fine-looking, wellborn, and wealthy woman.' The son said to him: 'I will go and see her,’ because he did not believe his father. Immediately, the matter was difficult for and troubled his father. His father said: ‘What shall I do? If I say to him: I will not show her to you, now he will say: She was ugly; that is why he does not want to show her.’ Ultimately he said to him: 'See her and ascertain whether I lied to you. But because you did not believe in me, I vow that you will not see her in your home, but rather, I will give her to your son.’ Likewise, the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: “The Land is good,” but they did not believe, but rather, they said: “Let us send men before us, and they will spy [the land] for us.” The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘If I prevent them, they will say: It is because it is not good that He did not show it to us. Rather, let them see it; but by My oath, not one of them will enter into it, as it is stated: “They will not see the land regarding which I took an oath to their fathers, and all those who scorned Me will not see it” (Numbers 14:23); but I will give it to their children.
