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Spying, Crying, and Dying
By Sophia Prinsloo with Barbara Wilmerton Haas

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Text Version | Afrikaans


www.childrenschapel.org/biblestories/text/mosesspies.txt

"I don't want to go!" Jenny sobbed.

"Oh, my dear child, I would never force you to do
something that would be bad for you! This is for
your own good," Mom replied.

"But the dentist is going to hurt me!" Jenny
protested.

Mom tried to comfort her by saying, "That aching
tooth must get fixed. Otherwise, it can poison
your whole body. Come on! Be brave! Let me tell
you a story that may help you conquer your fears."

* * *

When the travel-weary Israelites arrived at Kadesh
in the wilderness of Paran, they finally reached
the border of the Promised Land. The Lord told
Moses to let the people set up camp while sending
out 12 spies, one man from each tribe, to go,
scout out the territory. He wanted the spies to
see with their own eyes the abundance and goodness
of the land and bring a good report for the people
to hear with their own ears. It was meant to
greatly encourage them.

Moses was eager to obey the Lord and send out
these spies, because he wanted to know everything
about the Promised Land as well. And besides, it
is always good to know as much as you can about
the prospects and challenges that lie ahead in
your life and to know that they will be worth your
while. The Israelites would need to know how the
land looked - rivers, mountains, valleys; how
fertile it was - the abundance of crops, trees and
livestock; its current inhabitants - strong or
weak, many or few, great or small, rich or poor;
the cities - fortified with walls or not. It would
be a great help to know what they were up against
so that they could prepare sufficiently, with the
Lord's help and guidance, to conquer the land as
their prized possession, their everlasting
inheritance.

So Moses appointed Joshua, the son of Nun, from
the tribe of Ephraim — his trusted servant and
General of Israel's army — to lead 11 other mighty
leaders on a 40-day trip to spy out the land. The
names of the spies were Shammua, Shaphat, Caleb,
Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi
and Geuel. They looked quite presentable, because
the Lord did not let their clothes and shoes wear
out one little bit after months traveling through
a rocky, dusty wilderness. These undercover spies
could easily pose as rich merchants, traveling
through the land, without any of its inhabitants
getting suspicious.

Full of excitement, the spies began their journey.
As they traveled, their eyes beheld beautiful,
serene scenes of lush crops and fertile pastures
in the valleys displaying God's greatness! Dense
forests and olive trees on the mountains rustled
God's praises, and hills sang for joy as farm
animals grazed peacefully. Wildlife abounded in
the countryside, birds chirped and chattered in
the trees, and rivers teemed with fish. Walking
over a green hill, they suddenly came across a
herd of cattle grazing in the lush, green
pastures.

"Look at those cows!" Shammua exclaimed.

"Never mind the cows. Look at the size of their
udders!" Shaffat gasped. "They are enormous!"

The spies watched as a young girl carrying a
bucket came up to a cow, gave her a scratch on the
back, bound her hind legs and began milking her.
With skillful hands, she squirted the warm milk
into the bucket until the froth on top of the
rich, creamy milk, almost poured over the brim.
Twelve thirsty spies smacked their lips and Igal
quickly suggested, "Let's buy some milk from her
to taste how good it is!"

They went up to her and asked if she would sell
them some milk. She agreed and they paid her with
a shimmering, golden bracelet. Joshua poured each
man a cupful of the rich and creamy milk and they
drank eagerly. "Delicious!" Palti said smiling, a
huge white milky moustache covering his upper lip.
The others agreed heartily.

With their tummies full of milk, they walked on,
but it wasn't long before they came across a bees'
nest in a cleft of a rock. "Anybody care for some
honey?" Gaddiel asked, while he was preparing a
fire. He lit up a smoking torch and drove away the
bees so that he could get to the honey. Gaddi and
Ammiel helped him and soon each man was munching
on sweet, golden honey from a piece of honeycomb.

"This truly is a land overflowing with milk and
honey just like the Lord promised. I would fight
with all my strength to possess it and I am sure
the Lord would help us conquer it," Caleb said,
determined in faith. The others agreed.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the bounty of the
countryside, the spies moved on and visited the
cities of the Amalekites in the south, also the
Hittites, the Jebusites and Amorites in the hill
country, plus the Canaanites along the coast of
the Mediterranean Sea and in the Jordan River
valley. It was then that 10 of the spies grew very
quiet. Why? They got scared, because some of the
cities were fortified with strong, thick walls up
to 20 feet thick and 25 feet high. In these
cities, guards were stationed on top of the walls,
patrolling the city day and night, having a
commanding view from high above. "How would we
ever be able to get through those walls?" the 10
spies wondered in silence.

Besides the impenetrable walls, the spies also
noticed that most of the inhabitants of the cities
were strong, healthy and quite able to fight. Even
worse, in Hebron, 10 scared spies were in for
another big shock when they saw the Anakim! These
people were gigantic, between 6 and 9 feet tall,
making 10 of the spies feel like grasshoppers next
to them. It was only Joshua and Caleb who did not
care about the strong, high walls or the mighty
giants, because they knew that, with the Lord on
their side, they could leap over any wall and slay
any giant. Could there be anything too difficult
for the Lord?

On their way back after 40 days, the spies picked
some fruit along the way as a sample for the
Israelites back in the camp to see. In a valley,
they picked the largest cluster of bulging grapes
they had ever seen. The cluster was so massive,
two spies had to carry it between them on a wooden
pole. They were so impressed with the cluster of
grapes that they called the valley "Eschol," which
means "Cluster." Further along the road, they
picked and stuffed their bags with soft, sweet,
juicy figs and large, round red pomegranates with
shiny, clear red seeds full of healthy vitamins
and antioxidants inside.

The exploration mission of the spies was a
resounding success, but how would the people react
to their report? As they neared the camp, they
were met by a buzz of dancing kids and the excited
chatter of grown-ups. Everyone gathered around as
the spies reported back to Moses, showing off the
fruit they had brought with them.

Standing next to Moses, Joshua waved the crowd to
silence. "The land you sent us to explore is
indeed a magnificent country of abundance, flowing
with milk and honey as the Lord promised. Just
look at the fruit that we have brought with us — a
true reflection of how abundantly God wants to
bless us. About the people...."

"Yes, the people," Sethur interrupted fearfully.
"The Amalekites live in the south, while the
Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hills
with the Canaanites along the coast and Jordan
River valley. These nations are so POWERFUL! They
are all muscular, skilled warriors!"

Nahbi could not contain his anxiety and blurted
out nervously, "And their cities are fortified
with thick, high walls with guards keeping watch
day and night! We would not be able to come even
close to the cities to try and conquer them, let
alone trying to make even a dent in those walls."

"Even worse," Geuel exclaimed, visually upset, "We
saw the Anakim giants there! They would crush us
like grasshoppers under the soles of their feet!"

"NO! That is NOT true!" Caleb shouted, visibly
angry about the cowardice of their words. "We are
well able to conquer all these nations, giants or
not! Let us go up and possess the land at once!
The Lord will help us because He promised to!"

But the ten fearful spies voiced their faithless
opinions, exclaiming, "No way! They will slaughter
us and make slaves of our women and children!"

When the people of Israel heard the fear in the
voices of the 10 craven spies — their talk of
defeat, death and slavery — they began to weep.
They wailed and cried, lamenting in unbelief and
fear the whole night long as if they were mourning
the fallen already. "If only we had died in Egypt
or in this wilderness, rather than be taken into
this country! The Lord HATES us and wants to see
us killed in this land. We'll die and our women
and children will become slaves again. That is
just too hard to bear!"

Another foolish idea took the camp by storm that
night and the people shouted, "Let's elect a new
leader and return to Egypt!"

When Moses and Aaron heard that, they fell flat on
their faces before the people. The only two brave
spies who trusted the Lord fully, Joshua and
Caleb, tore their clothes in anguish over the
people's unbelief and tried to reassure them by
saying, "Can't you understand? The Promised Land
is a beautiful, fertile country that the Lord
wants to give you because He LOVES you and wants
to BLESS you. You are his chosen people. Please do
not rebel against the Lord and, by all means, do
not fear the inhabitants because the Lord is with
us, not with them. He has taken away their
protection and they can't harm us because they
trust in themselves and in their lifeless idols."

Sadly, the crying people kept their focus on the
negatives only. They were so upset that they began
picking up rocks to stone Joshua and Caleb but the
Lord intervened, displaying his glory in the sky.
Suddenly, He spoke to Moses and said, "What is
wrong with these people? Why do they despise Me so
much. Will they never believe Me, even after all
the miracles I did for them? Let Me rather kill
them all with a plague and make you a great
nation, much mightier than they!"

"No! Please, Lord! What will the Egyptians say if
they hear that You delivered the Israelites out of
Egypt just to kill them short of reaching the goal
You have set before us? They will say You were not
mighty enough to keep your promise and bring us
safely to the Promised Land. And what about the
warnings the Egyptians sent to the inhabitants of
Canaan that You are a mighty God and speak to us
face to face? What about the pillars of cloud and
fire they see guiding us? Please, Lord, show your
power, your patience, your mercy and steadfast
love, and forgive us our sins as You have done so
many times before!"

The Lord replied, "Okay, Moses. I'll do as you say
and pardon them. But understand this: These people
saw my miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness;
yet they refused to obey and trust Me ten times in
a row. So now, listen up! Not one of them, older
than 20 years old, will even see the land that I
promised to their ancestors because of their
disobedience, unbelief and lack of love for Me.
They will all die in this wilderness but their
children, whom they thought would become slaves,
will be the ones who inherit the Promised Land. Of
the people older than 20 years, only Joshua and
Caleb, who are of a different spirit, will enter
the land, because they trust and obey, and love Me
with all their heart and soul, and mind and
strength. So, turn around. Go back to the
wilderness. For each day the spies were in the
Promised Land, the people will spend a year in the
wilderness until they have all died. Yes, they
will wander around aimlessly in the desert for 40
years."

As the Lord concluded his sentence, the 10 fearful
spies, who caused the people to fear and rebel
against God, were suddenly struck dead before the
Lord. Only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.

When Moses told the people what the Lord had said,
they were so sorry and a feeling of deep distress
spread throughout the camp. Unanswered questions
remained. Were they sorry because they disobeyed
the Lord or were they sorry because they would not
inherit the Promised Land, but had to remain in
the wilderness instead?

Early the next morning, the Israelites got up and
got ready to enter into Promised Land. It was as
if they were constantly opposing everything the
Lord told them to do. For a moment they stopped at
Moses' tent and yelled, "Moses, here we are! We
have sinned, but now we are ready to enter and
inherit the Promised Land."

"NO!" Moses warned. "You are too late! Can't you
see you are disobeying the Lord's orders again.
The Lord is not with you and if you go ahead, your
enemies will defeat you!"

Sadly the hardheaded people would not listen. They
had not learned their lesson. Full of bravado they
went into the hill country without Moses or the
Ark of the Covenant, as if they could possess the
Promised Land in their own strength. But soon
enough they would learn that disobeying the Lord
always leads to disaster. The Amalekites and
Canaanites, who lived in the hills, spotted them,
came down from the hills and chased the whole
disobedient lot of them all the way to Hormah.
Defeated, they returned to the camp and Moses led
them back into the wilderness.

* * *

REMEMBER!
Know as much as you can about each challenge you
face, but never underestimate the power of God to
carry you through because He really loves you.

THINK!
1. How many spies did Moses send into the Promised
Land?
2. Who gave a good, faith-filled report?
3. Why did the other spies give a bad report? 
4. For how many days did the spies explore the
Promised Land? 
5. To which spies did the Israelites listen and
how did they react?
6. How many years would the Israelites wander in
the wilderness?
7. Why do you think the Israelites were sorry? For
disobeying God or for getting punished?
8. What can we do, not to be as unbelieving as the
Israelites?

VERSE TO LEARN:
"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the
living God" (Hebrews 3:12).

ALTERNATE VERSES TO LEARN:
"For with God nothing shall be impossible" 
(Luke 1:37).

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; 
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" 
(2 Timothy 1:7).

PRACTICAL APPLICATION
What scares you the most? Maybe it's spiders,
snakes or make believe monsters. What about
heights or water, or narrow places or the dark, 
or going to the dentist or doctor? Maybe you get
scared when you see your parents or other people
react with fear when they receive bad news. What
struck fear in the hearts of the Israelites in
this story?

[After discussion:] Apart from being afraid to
enter the Promised Land with news of all its huge
giants, trained soldiers and massive walls, the
Israelites feared doing God's will. "How come?"
you ask. Because they had lost their trust in God
when they failed to love Him wholeheartedly. They
didn't realize how very much God loved and cared
for them, and how He longed to give them the best
in life.

Have you ever let other people discourage you and
talk you out of leaning on Jesus for whatever your
need was? Have others caused you to lose faith
when down inside you knew God was able to work
everything out for your good? Being afraid of
doing God's will isn't a sin in itself. What's
sinful is when you stop believing God's power to
help you. Even Jesus anguished greatly before He
was crucified, but He still chose to do God's will
in spite of the way He felt. Why did He choose to
do God's will? Because He trusted and loved his
Father in heaven with all that was within Him and,
on top of that, He loved you as well. He went to
the Cross for you. His great love conquered all
fear of carrying out God's plan.

Maybe God is laying it on your heart to tell
someone about Jesus or to go, ask someone to
forgive you for something you've done wrong. Or is
perhaps fear stopping you from using your talents
for his glory? Maybe you've been leery to step out
in faith and trust God. Or maybe you've been
listening to other voices, causing you to fear and
distrust God.

Remember, God is not against you but FOR you, and
you can trust his plan for your life to be
perfectly good. He wants you to follow his plan so
you can receive all the good things his Word
promises. Be determined to do God's will like
Joshua and Caleb. Aim to be a beacon of hope and
faith in this fear-filled world. Take a moment in
prayer to ask God to remove all fear and doubt,
and teach you to fully trust Him to work out his
plan for your life so you can enjoy his promises.

LET'S PRAY:
****************************************************
Heavenly Father, thank You for all the promises in
your Word. Help us not be fearful about our
circumstances or challenges and, instead, help us
to believe You to carry us through and inherit
your promises. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.
****************************************************

CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Numbers 13:1-14:45

DID YOU KNOW?
You can view this Bible story in full color with
pictures and resources to go along with the story
at www.bit.ly/mosesspies-en


BIBLE STORY ARCHIVE
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Copyright (c) 2021 by Barbara Wilmerton Haas.

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