Common Sense Still Required

But Moses said, “Please do not leave us
You know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes.
If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the Lord gives us.”
(Numbers 10:31-32)

Moses had a brother-in-law named Hobab who appeared to have had special knowledge of the Wilderness, because Moses asked him to join the Israelites to be “their eyes.”

On the face of it, it seems a strange request for Moses to make. After all, the nation was being led by God Himself. He gave them a pillar of cloud to guide them by day and a pillar of fire by night. And He also spoke personally to Moses.

Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people (Exodus 13:22 ESV)

The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend (Exodus 33:11 NIV).

So why would Moses want Hobab to join them? Was Moses demonstrating a lack of faith? Far from it. Moses wasn’t looking for a backup in case God failed – he was looking for someone who could be a practical help in their day-to-day walk. Hobab’s knowledge would help in a myriad of ways as the people crossed an inhospitable terrain, in which they were destined to spend thirty eight years. The Wilderness had to have been a frightening place for the former slaves. It lacked water, had very little vegetation, and scorpions and snakes called it home. It was a vast, blistering hot, parched, inhospitable land. Someone who knew it well would have been a huge help to the Israelites. Moses was simply applying common sense.

This shows us that while God expects us to have faith in Him and follow His instructions, He also expects us to use the common sense and intellect He has gifted us with. God tells us “not to lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV), but to also use the intelligence He has endowed us with.

So, let’s not fall into the trap of being “so heavenly minded we are no earthly good.”