For we walk by faith, not by sight.
God had called out the Israelite’s from Egypt, with a promise of having land of their own, no longer in bondage. After traveling for 40 years, the came to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord was about to give them.
In Deuteronomy 2:21, we read: See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you: go up, take possession, as the Lord the God of your fathers has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed. But instead of trusting in the Lord God, and taking possession, the decided to send spies to search out the land. They needed to rely on sight instead of faith. This need to rely on sight instead faith, showed their lack of confidence in God’s word. After spending 40 years in the desert relying on God to lead them, they were now afraid to put all their trust in Him.
They sent in 12 spies to search out the land, but only 2 returned in faith, while the other 9 were in fear. God knew that human knowledge about the enemy before they went into the Promised Land would feed the fear that dwells in human flesh. That is exactly what happened. Instead of putting their faith and trust in God, the plan backfired.
The returning 9 spoke of the people in the Promised Land, were bigger then they were, and the cities were very large, while the remaining 2 brought back a report of a good land, with plenty of fruit.
God has promised us, that if we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will have eternal life with Him.
Maybe this is why God tells us to walk by faith, and not by sight.