same facts, opposite conclusions

Sometimes the same facts can lead to opposite conclusions.  Why did Moshe daven for Yehoshua more than any of the other meraglim?  R' Yosef Sorotzkin quotes his father, R' Eliezer Sorotzkin, as explaining that in last week's parsha we saw Yehoshua's sharp reaction to the news that Eldad and Meidad were saying nevuah.  Yehoshua did not need Moshe to tell him וּמִ֨י יִתֵּ֜ן כׇּל־עַ֤ם ה׳ נְבִיאִ֔ים -- this he understood -- but what he objected to was the content of that prophecy, that he would lead Bn"Y into Eretz Yisrael instead of Moshe.  (According to some this is why Yehoshua said to lock up Eldad and Meidad, as he assumed they were false prophets given what they were saying.)  Yehoshua could not bear to hear that his beloved rebbe would no longer be there.  Notice how the pasuk last week's describes Yehoshua: מְשָׁרֵ֥ת מֹשֶׁ֛ה מִבְּחֻרָ֖יו -- meaning, from the time Yehoshua was a young man, he had always been at Moshe's side.  His entire existance was wrapped up in his relationship to Moshe. Therefore, Moshe thought that serving as one of the meraglim would be especially challenging for Yehoshua, as the temptation to give a bad report and stay in the midbar, prolonging Moshe's life, prolonging the time he would have with his rebbe, would be too great a burden.  Moshe thought Yehoshua more than anyone else needed his prayers in order to have a chance at success.

Now for the opposite side of the coin.  וְעַבְדִּ֣י כָלֵ֗ב עֵ֣קֶב הָֽיְתָ֞ה ר֤וּחַ אַחֶ֙רֶת֙ עִמּ֔וֹ וַיְמַלֵּ֖א אַחֲרָ֑י וַהֲבִֽיאֹתִ֗יו אֶל־הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֣א שָׁ֔מָּה וְזַרְע֖וֹ יוֹרִשֶֽׁנָּה (14:24) The Ohr haChaim asks why Kaleiv alone and not Yehoshua is called avdi and gets special reward (see Ibn Ezra, Ramban).  (See Meshech Chochma in last week's parsha 11:28 re: the term avidi.)  O.C. answers that the challenge Yehoshua faced in not going along with the meraglim was less than that of Kaleiv because Moshe had davened on his behalf.  L'fum tzaara agra, so Yehoshua did not earn the same reward.  This also explains why Kaleiv alone went to daven in Chevron at the kivrei Avos and Yehoshua did not feel the same need to -- Yehoshua knew he had an ace up his sleeve, he had the tefilah of Moshe protecting him.  Abarbanel makes a similar argument, but adds an additional point: ובהיותו משרת משה ותלמידו ונשאר במקומו בידוע שלא יהיה נוטה לרשעת המרגלי׳ ולא היה צריך לשבחו על זה.  Since Yehoshua was the משרת משה, the expectation is that he would not go along with the meraglim.  As a talmid of Moshe, he would be more inclined to do the right thing.  The very same factor of Yehoshua being the meshareis Moshe which R' Sorotzkin used to explain why Yehoshua faced a greater challenge than anyone else is used here by Abarbanel to explain why Yehoshua faced less of a challenge than anyone else.