But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the LORD’s command? This will not succeed! Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.” — Numbers 14:41–42

The Torah portion for this week is Shelach, which means “send,” from Numbers 13:1–15:41, and the Haftorah is from Joshua 2:1–24.

One of my favorite quotes is from Abraham Lincoln: “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”

In this week’s reading, we learn about the spies who made a fateful error by delivering a bad report about the Promised Land. As a result, the people rebelled against God and lost faith in Him. God punished the Israelites by declaring that since they were not eager to follow Him into the land that He had sworn to their fathers, they would not go at all. This generation had forfeited their chance and their privilege; it would now pass on to their children.

In a great twist of irony, after Moses informed the people of God’s decision, they then declared that they were ready and willing to go to Canaan after all, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the LORD promised” (14:40). It was too late, Moses told them, and he cautioned them: “This will not succeed! Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.” However, some people defied Moses and decided to take matters into their own hands. They tried to take the land on their own, and as predicted, were sorely defeated.

The lesson: If God doesn’t approve of our plans, they are not going to come to fruition. It’s as simple as that. No matter how hard we try, or how skilled we might be, in the contest between God and us, God will win every time. It’s like David wrote in Psalm 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” If God is not on our side, we will not succeed.

The good news is that the opposite is true as well. Had the Israelites gone on to take Canaan when God had first commanded them, they would have undoubtedly been successful at the very same battle that they had lost. Those on God’s side always win.

I love how Elisha the prophet said it when an entire Aramean army came for him. They had the city surrounded and Elisha stood alone with just his servant – and with God. He calmed his quivering servant with these words: “Don’t be afraid . . . Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16). God blinded the army, and Elisha was victorious.

Today and everyday remember: It’s not what we do but who we do it with – or without – that determines our success.