The Twelve Spies
God told Moses to send men to spy out the land of Canaan. He told him
to send a man from each tribe. Twelve men were sent. They were to find
out about the land and the people in the land. Moses said to find out
if the people were strong or weak. Did they live in cities or in camps?
He wanted to know what the fruit of the land was like, and if they had
forests or not. He asked them to bring back some of the fruit that was
ripe.
The men went into the land and found that it really was a good land.
The grapes were so big that it took two men to carry a cluster of them
on a pole between them. But the people there were very big and tall,
and the spies were afraid of them. They were gone for 40 days.
When they returned to their own camp, they showed Moses the good fruit
they had found in the land. Ten of the men began to tell about the
giants and how fearful they were. They told of large cities with high
walls around them. "We cannot go into this land," they said. "We were
just like grasshoppers in our own sight, and also in the sight of the
people there."
Two men; Caleb and Joshua said, "Let us go up at once and take
possession, for we are able to overcome it."
The Israelites didn't want to go and take Canaan as God had wanted. God
punished them by making them wander in the desert for 40 years. They
had to wander around one year for every day the spies had been gone.
Of the twelve men, only Joshua and Caleb got to go into Canaan.