INTERMEDIATE
AGE: 12 - 13
YEARS
STANDARD/GRADE:
VII & VIII
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LESSON – 8
ISRAEL’S DISBELIEF AND 40 YEARS OF WILDERNESS
The
Israelites were travelling from Egypt to the promised land, Canaan. Moses,
their leader was leading them through a desert. One year had passed since the
Israelites left Egypt and they were camping at a place called Kadesh in the
Paran Desert. They were almost near the promised land when God told Moses to
send 12 men from each of the Israelite tribes to explore the promised land,
Canaan. The twelve tribes of Israel were formed through the descendants of
Jacob. Ten sons of Jacob namely Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Benjamin,
Zebulun, Dan, Asher, Naphthali and Gad; and two sons of Joseph named Ephraim
and Manasseh formed the twelve tribes of Israel.
Twelve
men were selected from the twelve tribes, one for each tribe as Moses had commanded
to explore the promised land. Caleb, son of Jephunneh was chosen as the leader
for the tribe of Judah and Hoshea, son of Nun was
selected as a leader from the tribe of Ephraim. Hoshea was later called as
Joshua by Moses. Moses told the men, the twelve leaders of the tribes to go up
to the mountains and find out whether the people who lived there were strong or
weak and also whether they lived in cities or in camps. He also wanted to know
about the soil, whether there were lots of trees etc. He also told them to
bring back some of the produce of the land. It was the season of the first ripe
grapes.
Twelve Men Explore the Land
The twelve
men went and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin and then they came to
Hebron. They found that Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of a giant
named Anak lived there. Then they travelled and reached the valley of Eshcol. They
cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two men
to carry it on a pole between them. They also brought back some of the
pomegranates and figs. That place was called the valley
of Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes that was cut there.
The
twelve men explored the land for forty days and they returned to Moses . They
reported to the people what they had seen in the land and also showed them the
fruit they had brought from the land. They started by giving a positive report
and said that it is a bountiful country and a land flowing with milk and honey.
But ten of the twelve leaders who had visited the land were doubtful whether
they could possess the land. They said that the towns were large and fortified
and that many powerful nations lived there. They said that the land would
devour anyone who went to live there. They also added
that they had seen giants living there and next to them they felt like they
were grasshoppers. Ten of the twelve leaders except Joshua and Caleb brought
a very bad and dreadful report about the land and spread it among the
Israelites.
The Israelites were disheartened hearing this and they started to weep aloud. They wept the whole night. They felt that they should have either died in Egypt or at least in the desert rather than going for a battle and dying at the hands of those giants. They couldn’t bear the thought of their wives and children being taken away as captives. They decided it would be better to go back to Egypt. They planned to select a new leader and go back to Egypt. Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the Israelites.
Joshua and Caleb Assure the People
Joshua
and Caleb, two of the leaders who had explored the land along with the other
ten leaders were confident that they could easily possess the land. They tried
to assure the Israelites by saying that it is a wonderful land flowing with
milk and honey. They also said that the Lord would give it to them if he was
pleased with them. They pleaded with the people not to rebel against God. They
encouraged the people not to be afraid of the inhabitants of Canaan. They said
that those people would become their prey, because they have no protection, but
as for the Israelites God is with them. But the Israelites were so discouraged
about the situation that they began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb.
God’s Punishment - Forty Years of Wilderness Journey
Then
the glorious presence of the Lord appeared at the Tabernacle. God told Moses
that he wanted to destroy the Israelites because they refused to believe Him
and they were constantly rebelling against Him. God wanted to make Moses into a
great nation. But Moses pleaded with God and asked Him to show mercy towards
the Israelites. Because of Moses’ intercession they were not destroyed. But God
decreed that none of the Israelites who had rebelled against him would enter
Canaan and all of them would die in the desert. Only their children would enter
the promised land, Canaan. God also said that based on the number of days the
men explored the land i.e. forty days, the Israelites have to wander in the
desert for forty years bearing the consequences of their sins. The
ten men who went to explore the land and spread the bad report and thereby
inciting rebellion against the Lord died of
a plague, only Caleb and Joshua remained alive. When
Moses told the people about what God had told them, they were filled with
grief. The Israelites got up early the next morning, they went to the top of
the hill and once again rebelled against God and tried to enter the promised
land. The Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills, came and
attacked the Israelites and chased them away. Hence the Israelites returned
back to their camp and started their forty years of wilderness journey.
Bible Reference: Numbers 13 & 14
Memory
Verse: But My servant Caleb, because he has a
different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land
where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. (Numbers 14:24 NKJV)
ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES
Fill in the
blanks:
1. …………………, son of Nun was selected
as a leader from the tribe of Ephraim.
2.
That
place was called the valley of …………………, because of the cluster of grapes that
was cut there.
3.
The ten men said that they had
seen giants living there and next to them they felt like they were ……………………
4.
God said that the
Israelites have to wander in the desert for ……………… years.
Give short answers:
1. What did Moses ask the 12 men to find out from the land?
2. What
did the twelve men bring from Eshcol?
3. Who
were the giants who lived in Canaan?
4. Why did God send the Israelites on a forty-year wilderness
journey?
Answer in brief:
1. Why
were the Israelites disheartened? How did Joshua and Calen try to assure the
Israelites?
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