Episode 59: Twelve spies and a revolt against Moses

(Numbers 13-14)

13 ¹ God said to Moses,

² Send men to search the land of Canaan, one man from each tribe of Israel.

³ So Moses sent twelve men, one from each tribe, to spy on the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ with these instructions:

See the land. Find out who dwells there, and if they are strong or weak, few or many.

²¹ So the twelve spies went to search the land.

A land of giants!

²⁵ The twelve spies returned from searching the land after forty days. ²³ While there, they found a single cluster of grapes that was so heavy it took two men to carry it.

²⁶ They reported to Moses, saying,

The land flows with milk and honey.

²⁷ But the people are strong, and the cities are walled.

²⁸ And we saw the children of Anak there.

³⁰ But Caleb, who was one of the spies, said,

Let’s go possess the land. We can do it.

³¹ The other spies said,

³² We won't be able to fight against them; they are giants and stronger than us.

³³ We are like grasshoppers to them.

14 ¹ After hearing the spies report, the people wept all night, and said,

² We wish to God that we had died in Egypt or in the wilderness!

³ Why did God bring us into this land, where we’ll die by the sword and our children will be preyed upon?

4 Let's choose a captain and return to Egypt.

⁵ Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, ⁶ while Joshua and Caleb rent their clothes and said,

⁷ The land is exceedingly good. ⁹ Don't rebel against God. God is with us. Don't fear the people of the land.

¹⁰ The people wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb. But then the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

God threatens to kill everyone

¹¹ God said to Moses,

How long will these people provoke me?

¹² I’ll kill them all with a pestilence, and make from you new people, stronger than them.

Moses talks him out of it (again)

¹³ Moses said to God,

¹⁵ If you kill them, the Egyptians will hear about it. Then they'll tell everyone, and everyone will say,

¹⁶ He wasn't able to bring his people into the promised land, so he killed them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ You are longsuffering, merciful, and forgiving, punishing children for what their fathers did three and four generations before they existed.

¹⁹ Pardon the people according to your mercy.

God decides to kill them later

²⁰ God said to Moses,

Okay, I've pardoned them, as you've asked.

²² But they have all seen my glory, and my miracles, and yet have tempted me ten times and haven't obeyed me. So they won’t see the promised land.

²⁴ Except for Caleb. I’ll let him see it and his seed will possess it.

²⁷ How long will I put up with this evil congregation? I’ve heard their murmurings against me.

²⁸ Say to them,

I’ve heard with my own ears what you said.

²⁹ All of you who are twenty years old and older will die in the wilderness for murmuring against me. ³⁰ Not one of you will survive, except for Caleb and Joshua.

³¹ I'll let your children into the land which you have despised. ³² But your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness. ³³ Your children will wander in the wilderness forty years. They’ll bear your whoredoms, while your bodies decay in the wilderness.

³⁴ As the spies searched the land for forty days, so your children will wander in the wilderness for forty years -- a year for each day, they shall bear your iniquities. That will teach you -- and them.

³⁵ I’ll do all this to this evil congregation.

God kills the ten honest spies

³⁶God sent a plague to kill the ten honest scouts. ³⁸ But he didn't kill Joshua and Caleb.

³⁹ The Israelites mourned the deaths of the scouts that God killed.

^41-42 Moses said to the people,

You’ll be killed by your enemies because you disobeyed God's commandment.

⁴³ The Amalekites and Canaanites will kill you with the sword, because you turned away from God, so God will not be with you.

⁴⁴ The people went up to the hilltop, without Moses or the ark of the covenant.

⁴⁵ And the Amalekites and Canaanites smote them there.