Bible Battles - Part 1: “Avoid Bad Intel”
Numbers 13:27-28; 32-33

BIG IDEA: BAD COUNSEL=LOST SPIRITUAL BATTLES

Bible Battles: - Part 1: “Avoid Bad Intel” Numbers 13:27-28; 32-33
Part 1 overview: How to win the spiritual battle of walking where God wants me to walk.
In today’s passage, Israel has finally reached the edge of the land their hearts longed for. They were
so close to God’s promise, but they were not quite there.
This is a fragile place in life. It is often when you are closest to where God has called you to
be that the enemy will intimidate you the most. THE WARNING: BE VERY CAREFUL
ABOUT WHAT AND WHO YOU LISTEN TO FOR GODLY WISDOM.
BIG IDEA: BAD COUNSEL=LOST SPIRITUAL BATTLES
Important Places:
I. Valley of Eshcol
a. The Valley of Eshcol was where Israelite spies harvested an extraordinarily large
cluster of grapes, along with pomegranates and figs, which they carried on a pole
between two men. (Num 13:23–27)
b. According to Num. 13:22 the valley was located near Hebron; the name is probably
to be associated with Eshcol, one of Abram’s allies (Gen. 14:13). 1
c. “Eshcol” means “cluster.”
d. Moses had instructed the spies to bring back fruit because it was the season of the
first grape harvest, and fresh produce from the land would demonstrate that God’s
promise was being fulfilled. 2
MAJOR POINT: This Valley was supposed to be evidence of God’s faithfulness
and promises, but the Valley of Eshcol became a turning point in Israel’s wilderness
journey.
e. This Valley marks a spiritual defeat in Israel’s history.
i. Israel had chosen to ignore God’s plan because of fear, and listening to the
wrong people.
ii. THIS IS VITAL FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN TO NOTE.
1. BE CAREFUL WHAT AND WHO YOU CHOOSE TO LISTEN
TOO.
2. WHO IS PLANTING THOUGHTS IN YOUR MIND AND DO
THEY ALIGN WITH GOD’S WORD?
iii. In the case of Israel, the spies did not.

II. The Nephilim
a. The first mention of them in Scripture is in Genesis 6.
i. Who were they?
ii. They were rebellious and wicked beings that were a direct part of the evil that
corrupted the land in Noah’s day.

1 Allen C. Myers, “ESHCOL,” in The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987), 350.
2 Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
(Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 210.

iii. Fear of the enemies of God, now standing in opposition to God’s
path for Israel.

b. The enemies of God will stand in the way of God’s path for His children, but
that doesn’t mean you turn around or quit.

Application:
I. You will never solve the future.
a. There will always be scary things in between you and God’s calling for your life.
b. The mistake is to try to figure out how to win battles that you seem ill-prepared to
fight.
i. You cannot fight tomorrow’s battles with today’s strength.
ii. However, you can set your eyes on the Lord so that tomorrow’s battles
do not rob you of today’s hope and joy.
1. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” 3
Colossians 3:2

II. When you choose to listen to ungodly counsel, you will lose a godly perspective.
a. “Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2  And all the people of
Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we
had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!” 4 — Numbers
14:1-2
b. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor
sits in the seat of scoffers; 2  but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates
day and night.” 5 — Psalm 1:1-2
III. The Rebellious Missed the Blessing
a. 20  Then the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21  But truly, as I live, and as all
the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, 22  none of the men who have seen my glory and
my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times
and have not obeyed my voice, 23  shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of
those who despised me shall see it. 6 — Numbers 14:20-23
b. They listened to the wrong voice.
c. It cost them what they longed to have.
d. Illustration: The Historical Illustration: Captain Herndon and the Warning
Ship –
i. In September 1857, the side-wheel steamer SS Central America was carrying
over 500 passengers and 14 tons of California gold off the coast of the
Carolinas when it sailed directly into a Category 2 hurricane.As water flooded
the engine room, extinguishing the boilers, the ship began to sink. Hours into
the desperate struggle, a small brig named the Marine spotted the distressed
vessel and pulled nearby. The captain of the Marine signaled that his ship was
small, but he would stay adjacent all night and take on every passenger his
vessel could hold.However, several prominent passengers and advisors
aboard the Central America looked at the size of the Marine tossing in the
waves and began spreading panic among the crowd. They argued that the

3 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Col 3:2.
4 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Nu 14:1–2.
5 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ps 1:1–2.
6 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Nu 14:20–23.

small, battered brig could never survive the storm—that it was safer to stay
aboard the massive, iron-hulled Central America, which was "too large to
sink."
ii. They listened to counsel based on appearance rather than reality:
iii. They looked at the size of the problem (the storm) and the humble
appearance of the rescue ship (Marine), deciding it wasn't enough.
iv. Influenced by fear and bad counsel, dozens of passengers refused to
board the lifeboats heading for the Marine.
v. That night, the massive Central America snapped in two and sank to the
bottom of the Atlantic, taking over 400 people with it—including many who
had refused to get on the rescue boats. The small, humble Marine, which they
claimed could never survive, rode out the hurricane intact and carried every
single person who trusted it safely to shore.