Now begins one of the most tragic events of Israel's history. They should have been about to enter the Promised Land. Instead it ended in failure of the people to trust God.
It started when they sent spies into the land. Now note that it was God who told Moses to send spies. Sending the spies in was not the problem. For us, assessing a situation, counting the cost, is not wrong, it is not a lack of faith, but our response to what we find might be.
One leader from each tribe was chosen to go in. Moses gave the spies clear instructions, which included assessing the value of the land, and the nature of the opposition they might face. They were also to bring back some of the produce of the land.
The spies went into the land as instructed, and cut down a cluster of grapes, along with other fruit. They spent forty days exploring the land, and then returned.
The people were eagerly awaiting their return, and the spies reported to Moses and Aaron. Ten of the spies gave a bad report, saying that while the fruit was magnificent, they could not possibly overcome the inhabitants of the land.
Caleb contradicted this, saying they were well able to win victory. The other ten spies remained unconvinced.
Now this attitude of lack of faith was not something new, but a result of their failure to demonstrate and learn faith in the time since they left Egypt. We need to learn from every experience in life, especially the small ones, then we will be ready to face the big situations.
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