"We walked all over the land and found it a rich land. There is grass
for all our flocks, and fields where we can raise grain, and trees
bearing fruits, and streams running down the sides of the hills. But we
found that the people who live there are very strong and are men of war.
They have cities with walls that reach almost up to the sky; and some of
the men are giants, so tall that we felt that we were like grasshoppers
beside them."
One of the spies, who was Caleb, said, "All that is true, yet we need
not be afraid to go up and take the land. It is a good land, well worth
fighting for; God is on our side, and he will help us to overcome those
people."
But all the other spies, except Joshua, said, "No, there is no use in
trying to make war upon such strong people. We can never take those
walled cities, and we dare not fight those tall giants."
And the people, who had journeyed all the way through the wilderness to
find this very land, were so frightened by the words of the ten spies
that now, on the very border of Canaan, they dared not enter it. They
forgot that God had led them out of Egypt, that he had kept them in the
dangers of the desert, that he had given them water out of the rock, and
bread from the sky, and his law from the mountain.
All that night, after the spies had brought back their report, the
people were so frightened that they could not sleep. They cried out
against Moses, and blamed him for bringing them out of the land of
Egypt. They forgot all their troubles in Egypt, their toil and their
slavery, and resolved to go back to that land. They said:
"Let us choose a ruler in place of Moses, who has brought us into all
these evils, and let us turn back to the land of Egypt!"
But Caleb and Joshua, two of the spies, said, "Why should we fear? The
land of Canaan is a good land; it is rich with milk and honey. If God is
our friend and is with us, we can easily conquer the people who live
there. Above all things, let us not rebel against the Lord, or disobey
him, and make him our enemy."
But the people were so angry with Caleb and Joshua that they were ready
to stone them and kill them. Then suddenly the people saw a strange
sight. The glory of the Lord, which stayed in the Holy of Holies, the
inner room of the Tabernacle, now flashed out, and shone from the door
of the Tabernacle.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account