It was time to enter the Promised Land as God had promised. “Behold, I have set the land before you: go in a possess the land which the Lord sware to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them,” Moses said in Deuteronomy 1:8.

“Send thou men,” the Lord said, “that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.” The Lord gave the command, but the idea to send men to spy out the land seems to have come from the people. In Deuteronomy 1:22 Moses said, “And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up and into what cities we shall come.”

Doubt is evident as the prospect of God fulfilling His promise drew near. Going into the Promised Land seemed more than they could achieve, so men must tell them what lay ahead. They would wait on men, not the Lord, to tell them what route they must take and what cities they would be able to overthrow.

Heeding the request of the people, and obeying the Lord’s command, Moses sent the men to “see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many.”

After 40 days the men returned and ten of the twelve spies reported that it was not possible for them to occupy the land. The discouraging word spread quickly throughout the camp, “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.” They complained against Moses and Aaron, and mourned that they should have died in the wilderness.

Doubt quickly turns into unbelief. Did the Jews really believe the Lord who delivered them from Egypt and fed them in the wilderness would not give them the Promised Land?

They came so close to realizing His promise, yet they failed to believe and they lost His wonderful blessing. This sometimes happens to people today as they come so close to salvation, yet they fail to accept Christ Jesus as their Savior. “I am not good enough,” they say. “Who is,” we ask. After all, salvation is a matter of the Lord’s grace and mercy. Those who fail do so because they will not believe.

Perhaps there were some Jews who believed they would walk into the Promised Land without having to go to war. Their enemies would have to be overcome, and with the Lord’s help that would happen, but not without effort on the part of Jews. We, too, must put forth effort every day of our lives.

We must not be discouraged, though. Look at the accounts we have of the lives of good people in God’s Word. Surely, they suffered, but they were rewarded for their belief. Let us persevere.

May we be able to say with the apostle, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (1 Timothy 4:7).

The Sunday School Lesson is written by Ed Wilcox, pastor of Centerville Baptist Church. [email protected].

Ed Wilcox

Sunday School Lesson