You have not brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Even if you gouge out the eyes of those men, we will not go up.
Numbers 16:14
When the spies reported back to the people after scouting out the Land of Israel, the first thing they said was that it was “flowing with milk and honey.” While this was true, their intent was to imply that it was impossible to conquer the land. Showing the people the abnormally large fruit that they had brought back with them, they said, “Just like the fruit of the land is huge, so are its inhabitants huge and mighty, and we can never overcome them.”
Allegorically, the spies were implying that because there is so much material abundance and luxury readily available in the Land
of Israel, it is impossible to maintain a spiritual perspective on life, let alone spread Divine consciousness in this environment.
In our own lives, too, the drive toward material success and the draw of material luxury can be formidable obstacles to a spiritual
life. We must therefore realize that G-d gives us lives “flowing with milk and honey” in order to utilize these gifts for holy purposes, transforming the “land” into His true home. With this in mind, we indeed conquer materiality, maintaining and disseminating Divine consciousness.
— Daily Wisdom 3