“Then,
just as the Lord
our God had ordered us,1
we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible
wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the
Amorites, until we reached Kadesh-barnea. I said to you, ‘You have
reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord
our God is giving us. See, the Lord
your God has given the land to you; go up, take possession, as the
Lord,
the God of your ancestors, has promised you; do not fear or be
dismayed.’”2
“All of you came to me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of us to explore the land for us and bring back a report to us regarding the route by which we should go up and the cities we will come to.’3 The plan seemed good to me, and I selected twelve of you, one from each tribe.4 They set out and went up into the hill country, and when they reached the Valley of Eshcol they spied it out and gathered some of the land’s produce, which they brought down to us. They brought back a report to us, and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’”5
“But you were unwilling to go up. You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God;6 you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘It is because the Lord hates us that he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us. Where are we heading? Our kindred have made our hearts fail by reporting, “The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large and fortified up to heaven! We actually saw there the offspring of the Anakim!” ’ “7
“I said to you, ‘Have no dread or fear of them.8 The Lord your God, who goes before you, is the one who will fight for you,9 just as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes, and in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as one carries a child, all the way that you travelled until you reached this place.'
But in spite of this, you have no trust in the Lord your God,10 who goes before you on the way to seek out a place for you to camp, in fire by night, and in the cloud by day, to show you the route you should take.’”11
“When the Lord heard your words, he was wrathful and swore: ‘Not one of these—not one of this evil generation—shall see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors,12 except Caleb son of Jephunneh.13 He shall see it, and to him and to his descendants I will give the land on which he set foot, because of his complete fidelity to the Lord.’”
“Even with me the Lord was angry on your account, saying, ‘You also shall not enter there.14 Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, shall enter there;15 encourage him, for he is the one who will secure Israel’s possession of it. And as for your little ones, who you thought would become booty, your children, who today do not yet know right from wrong, they shall enter there; to them I will give it, and they shall take possession of it. But as for you, journey back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea.’”
“You answered me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord! We are ready to go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ So all of you strapped on your battle gear, and thought it easy to go up into the hill country.”
“The Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, “Do not go up and do not fight, for I am not in the midst of you; otherwise you will be defeated by your enemies.” ’ “16
“Although I told you, you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country. The Amorites who lived in that hill country then came out against you and chased you as bees do. They beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah. When you returned and wept before the Lord, the Lord would neither heed your voice nor pay you any attention.”17
1 This time Moses himself reminds the people of their obedience as a group.
“All of you came to me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of us to explore the land for us and bring back a report to us regarding the route by which we should go up and the cities we will come to.’3 The plan seemed good to me, and I selected twelve of you, one from each tribe.4 They set out and went up into the hill country, and when they reached the Valley of Eshcol they spied it out and gathered some of the land’s produce, which they brought down to us. They brought back a report to us, and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’”5
“But you were unwilling to go up. You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God;6 you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘It is because the Lord hates us that he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us. Where are we heading? Our kindred have made our hearts fail by reporting, “The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large and fortified up to heaven! We actually saw there the offspring of the Anakim!” ’ “7
“I said to you, ‘Have no dread or fear of them.8 The Lord your God, who goes before you, is the one who will fight for you,9 just as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes, and in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as one carries a child, all the way that you travelled until you reached this place.'
But in spite of this, you have no trust in the Lord your God,10 who goes before you on the way to seek out a place for you to camp, in fire by night, and in the cloud by day, to show you the route you should take.’”11
“When the Lord heard your words, he was wrathful and swore: ‘Not one of these—not one of this evil generation—shall see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors,12 except Caleb son of Jephunneh.13 He shall see it, and to him and to his descendants I will give the land on which he set foot, because of his complete fidelity to the Lord.’”
“Even with me the Lord was angry on your account, saying, ‘You also shall not enter there.14 Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, shall enter there;15 encourage him, for he is the one who will secure Israel’s possession of it. And as for your little ones, who you thought would become booty, your children, who today do not yet know right from wrong, they shall enter there; to them I will give it, and they shall take possession of it. But as for you, journey back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea.’”
“You answered me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord! We are ready to go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ So all of you strapped on your battle gear, and thought it easy to go up into the hill country.”
“The Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, “Do not go up and do not fight, for I am not in the midst of you; otherwise you will be defeated by your enemies.” ’ “16
“Although I told you, you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country. The Amorites who lived in that hill country then came out against you and chased you as bees do. They beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah. When you returned and wept before the Lord, the Lord would neither heed your voice nor pay you any attention.”17
1 This time Moses himself reminds the people of their obedience as a group.
2
Moses reminds them that he, at least, had told them to do the right
thing.
3
Huh? I thought God came up with that idea and said that, not them?
4
Again ignores the previous report that it was God's command that he
do that.
5
Wow – that summary skips many of the most significant things the
spies said!
6
Moses emphasizes their disobedience.
7
Now he notes the other half of the spies' report.
8
Moses again notes his own obedience.
9The
Lord will fight for you! An explicit statement of one of the most
prominent themes of Hebrew scripture in general, and Deuteronomy in
particular.
10
The people's disobedience again pointed out.
11
The stupidity of the disobedience is emphasized.
12
God's response is not subtle.
13
What about Joshua? As occurred several times earlier, Joshua seems
not to have been original to the spy story.
14
Moses's failure to enter the Holy Land is attributed to the people's
sin, with the Waters of Meribeh not even getting a mention.
15
Joshua is brought in with a different context and a different reason
for being allowed to enter.
16
Moses's obedience is contrasted with their disobedience.
17
Their failure to win battle is attributed to their disobedience.
Take-home: God is always prepared to bless the Israelites, and it is he who will conquer the land for them, but when they enter into disobedience they lose that blessing and can do nothing.
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