Scouting The Land

Scouting the Land

Q: Which fruit did the scouts bring back from Jericho?

• a. oranges
• b. grapes
• c. apples

Have you ever looked at the “fresh produce” at the grocery store while shopping with a parent? Sometimes the grapes or apples don’t look very fresh at all. This was not the case with the fruit the scouts brought back from the Promised Land.

The Israelites had reached Kadesh-barnea, bordering the Promised Land. It was decided that one man from each tribe would go into the land on a scouting mission. The scouts were to find out if the land was good or bad, if the people were strong or weak, and if they lived in camps or walled towns. Moses wanted to know what his people were facing.

The scouts explored for 40 days. When they returned, they had a cluster of grapes so large two men had to carry it on a pole between them! Canaan was a land of plenty, and it was the land God wanted the Israelites to have. Unfortunately, as you’ll read about in the next two devotionals, 10 of the 12 spies said there were too many people and the Canaanites were too strong to defeat.

The 10 scouts focused on their fears, not God’s strength. They convinced the Israelites there was no way they could defeat the enemies and take the land for themselves. They viewed the situation without faith and refused to take what God wanted to give them.

For You

The 10 scouts’ fear and lack of faith spread to the other people. They gave up without even talking to God. Hadn’t he already miraculously parted the Red Sea and drowned all the Egyptian enemies? If there’s something you feel you should do but you are letting your own fears stop you, look to God for his strength. You don’t have to act alone. You can do whatever it is by claiming his power.

Answer: b

When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs.   Numbers 13:23

(The Whole Story: Numbers 13:1-24)