The Spies

Mrs. Moses Diary

“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.” Numbers 13:2 (NIV)

by Bonnie Beardsley

Dear Diary,

So we are off to the land of milk and honey with one of God’s angels leading the way and fighting for us.

When we reached the border, Moses picked one man from each tribe plus Caleb and Joshua to go and check out the land. They were gone for forty days—the same number of days Moses was on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments and the number of days it rained while Noah was in the ark.

When they returned, two men carried a bunch of grapes on a pole between them. They also brought back figs and pomegranates.

They described the people living there as giants, who made the spies feel like grasshoppers. Only Caleb and Joshua said they would conquer the land and should do as God said.

The people of Israel listened to the other spies and were afraid to go. They forgot God had promised to send an angel before them to fight the battle for them.

That night Moses and Aaron encouraged the Israelites to do what God said, but the people feared the report of giants and refused to move forward. Moses and Aaron fell face first while Caleb and Joshua tore their clothes and said, “The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid.”

The people still refused to follow God’s directions.

Because of their disobedience God decided that everyone twenty-years-old and older will not enter the promise land, except Joshua and Caleb. For the next forty years they will wander in the wilderness.

About Bonnie Beardsley

Bonnie Beardsley is a wife and mother of two boys. Her boys are grown and live on their own, but their dogs are still with her. Before the boys were born she wrote puppet skits for her church’s kids’ church. She is in the middle of writing her first book. Visit her at bonniesuewrites.weebly.com.