And ye came near... and said, We will send. — A new aspect is here given to the sending of the twelve spies. In Numbers 13:1 the incident is introduced thus: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men.” We learn here that the proposal in the first instance came from the people. Moses would naturally refer it to Jehovah; and, when approved, the scheme was carried out.
They shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come. — We read in Deuteronomy 1:33 that the Lord “went in the way before them to search out a place” for them to encamp in. But here the spies and Israel proposed to take the guidance of their march into their own hands. It is noticeable that in the campaigns of Joshua, not one step was taken without Divine direction. Thus the sending of the twelve spies, in the light in which the people intended it, was an act of unbelief. “In this thing (Deuteronomy 1:32) ye did not believe the Lord your God.” (See also Note on Joshua 2:1.)