Ten Were Bad

“Send thou men, 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.” Numbers 13:2

When I was a boy, I often thought about Moses sending the twelve spies into the land of Canaan. Each time I thought about the fact that ten of the spies brought back an evil report, and that the people of Israel listened to them more than they listened to Joshua and Caleb, I always thought that Moses made a mistake in sending them in. I blamed Moses for the people’s failure to go in to the Promised Land because I thought if Moses had not sent in the spies, the people would have just marched in to Canaan and started winning battles.  But one day I was reading this passage and I realized that Moses did not do anything wrong. God told Moses to send these spies into the land. Who was at fault then, and what did they do wrong? The ten spies who came back and gave their opinion about the conquest were the ones who were wrong. They were sent to search the land and bring back a report of what was there; they were not asked to give their opinion. These men had the opportunity to see the wonders of Canaan, but they failed to believe that God would give them the land. They had seen the miracles of Egypt and had eaten the manna in the wilderness, but they did not believe that God could help them conquer Canaan. They failed because they did not believe God. God wants you to be victorious. Have faith in Him!