The Promised Land

The Promised Land

Q: The scouts described the Promised Land as a land

• a. filled with righteous people.
• b. flowing with milk and honey.
• c. that was cold and barren.

The Israelites were camped on the doorstep of the land God had promised them. It was a plentiful land full of food. In fact, the scouts agreed it was a land flowing with milk and honey. What does that mean? Some believe it was an old expression for fertile land, so the scouts may have meant that an abundance of fruit and fruit trees grew there. Or milk may have referred to the milk given by goats, and that goats were plentiful. Honey may have referred to the syrup from grapes and dates.

Either way, the land had a lot of fruit and was a good place to grow things. The scouts proved that when they brought back the grapes. But only Joshua and Caleb were willing to take the land. The other scouts were too afraid of fighting the giants they also discovered there.

Joshua and Caleb were the only scouts with faith in God. They told the people, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” (Numbers 14:7-9).

God had great things planned for his people, but only Joshua and Caleb trusted God enough to be willing to follow the Lord and accept the land he wanted to give them.

For You

God has an amazing plan for you. Don’t let your fears of facing a new situation keep you from it. Trust God.

Answer: b

This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.”   Numbers 13:27

(The Whole Story: Numbers 13:25-33)