The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land. They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”
But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. Only don’t rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”
While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.
The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people despise me? How long will they not trust in me despite all the signs I have performed among them? I will strike them with a plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and mightier nation than they are.”
But Moses replied to the LORD, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your strength you brought up this people from them. They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, LORD, are among these people, how you, LORD, are seen face to face, how your cloud stands over them, and how you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. If you kill this people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will declare, ‘Since the LORD wasn’t able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them, he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
“So now, may my LORD’s power be magnified just as you have spoken: The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in faithful love, forgiving iniquity and rebellion. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generation. Please pardon the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of your faithful love, just as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”
The LORD responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested. Yet as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the LORD’s glory, none of the men who have seen my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested me these ten times and did not obey me, will ever see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have despised me will see it. But since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it. Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”
Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron: “How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about me? I have heard the Israelites’ complaints that they make against me. Tell them: As I live—this is the LORD’s declaration—I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. Your corpses will fall in this wilderness—all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you twenty years old or more—because you have complained about me. I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it. But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness. You will bear the consequences of your iniquities forty years based on the number of the forty days that you scouted the land, a year for each day. You will know my displeasure. I, the LORD, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against me. They will come to an end in the wilderness, and there they will die.”
So the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and who returned and incited the entire community to complain about him by spreading a negative report about the land— those men who spread the negative report about the land were struck down by the LORD. Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive of those men who went to scout out the land.
When Moses reported these words to all the Israelites, the people were overcome with grief. They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Let’s go to the place the LORD promised, for we were wrong.”
But Moses responded, “Why are you going against the LORD’s command? It won’t succeed. Don’t go, because the LORD is not among you and you will be defeated by your enemies. The Amalekites and Canaanites are right in front of you, and you will fall by the sword. The LORD won’t be with you, since you have turned from following him.”
But they dared to go up the ridge of the hill country, even though the ark of the LORD’s covenant and Moses did not leave the camp. Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah.
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What aspects of God’s character do you see at work in this passage? How do you see God present and working with his people in this text?
Read this devotional made available from the Story of Scripture team at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Numbers 13–14 | Refusal to Enter the Land (40 Years of Wandering)
Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, ‘Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!’
- Numbers 13:30
Today’s passage tells the powerful story of God’s people, Israel, standing at the edge of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants. They could see it clearly, but fear displaced faith and timidity weakened trust. As a result, they failed to enter the Promised Land—where they were meant to flourish—because they did not trust their covenant-keeping God.
So, what happens to Israel after they refuse to enter the Promised Land? They do not advance in their mission—namely, to flourish in Canaan and to be a blessing to other peoples—for nearly forty years.
Forty years? Yep.
What should’ve taken just weeks turns into a two-generation downsizing experience, in which the Lord allows the Exodus generation to die off in the wilderness—except for Joshua and Caleb—and an entirely new generation will eventually enter the Promised Land.
The wilderness becomes a place of delay as God waits for a new generation who will confidently believe his promises and step into a sacred geographic place—the Promised Land—where they can flourish as a people and be a blessing to others.
Now, it’s easy to look in the rear-view mirror here and ask, “Israel, what were you thinking? Being stuck in the wilderness for forty years is not the place where you are meant to thrive and flourish.”
But don’t we all have a little bit of the “Exodus generation” in us when we come up against overwhelming odds, challenges that seem insurmountable—and, well…giants?
It could be a medical diagnosis, a family strain, a financial crisis, or a career hiccup. Those moments are like prickly bramble bushes with scorpions hiding underneath them—in short, not fun. And when we’re in those places, it’s easy to stroll down Amnesia Lane and start believing things were better back there.
The Christian life can be brutal. How’s that for encouragement? Walking with God is often a lonely and tough walk, especially if you feel you’re alone. But that’s just it…you are not alone!
Having to go through the “wilderness” is part of life. Notice I said go through and not live in the wilderness? God promises to be with us during those hard times, and he wants to remind us that fear keeps us wandering but trust will bring us home.
What stood out to you from today’s devotional? What was familiar to you already and what struck you as new?
Ask God to help you meditate on his character through reading his word.
Spend some time in prayer meditating on what you learned today. Praise God for one aspect of his character that you see in the passage today (e.g. God’s justice, God’s mercy, God’s forgiveness). Ask God to help you meditate on his character as you consider that he is slow to anger and merciful to his disobedient people.
If you are also following the BibleProject’s One Story That Leads to Jesus reading plan, complete today’s reading.