The children of Is'ra-el had now arrived at the border of the Promised Land, and there seemed to be no reason why they should not enter it and take possession at once. God Himself had declared that it was a good land, He had promised to guide them to it, and this promise had now been fulfilled. He was present with them in the majestic pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, He had miraculously provided for all their needs thus far on the journey, He had assured them that He would drive out the heathen nations of Ca'naan and give the Is'ra-el-ites possession of the land, and His order when they arrived at Ka'desh-Bar'ne-a was, "Go up and possess the land."
But the hearts of the people were filled with fear and unbelief. They felt it necessary to take certain precautions which the Lord had not included in His plan for the immediate occupation of Ca'naan. Their answer to God's command that they "go up at once" was "Let us send men before us, that they may search out the land for us." Mo'ses was deceived as to the real purpose of this request; thinking that it was a wise precaution which would be followed by whole-hearted obedience to the command of God, he yielded to the advice of the people. Without suspecting the mixture of unbelief and cowardice which prompted this request, he conferred with God about it. Although such a course seems not to have been in the plan of God for Is'ra-el, He permitted it in order to teach the people a lesson. God will sometimes let man have his own way and lean upon his own understanding so that he will find out the utter folly of his fancied wisdom.
It would have been better for Is'ra-el if the sending of spies had never been suggested, if they had walked by faith instead of seeking to go by sight.
After securing permission from God to send men into Ca'naan to explore the land, Mo'ses proceeded to appoint and instruct those who were to go on this mission. He chose twelve men, one from each tribe of Is'ra-el; all of these men had proved their courage and wisdom by noble deeds in the past. They were sent out to make a careful study of the entire land of Ca'naan, paying attention to its fertility, the measures which were taken to protect its towns, and the number and strength of the people. The report which they were to bring back was to be proved by samples of the fruit which they had found in the land.
For forty days the spies traveled through the land of Ca'naan, from the southern border where they entered the country, over the fruitful hills of the interior, along the coast facing the Med'i-ter-ra'ne-an Sea, and into the most distant towns of the northern border.
They visited many villages and towns of the country, finding some of them walled and strongly fortified. Special attention was given by the spies to He'bron, a town which was older than Zo'an, the most ancient city of E'gypt. Three generations of Is'ra-el ancestors had been buried near He'bron-Ab'ra-ham and Sa'rah, I'saac and Re-bek'ah, and Ja'cob and Le'ah. Here lived at the time of this visit three tribes of people who were giants in stature, and who were fierce and warlike by nature.
As the twelve men surveyed the land of Ca'naan, they found that much of it was fertile, yielding the finest grains, fruits, and grass. Among the things they found were: grapes, olives, figs, pomegranates, apricots, dates, apples, quinces, various kinds of berries, almonds, walnuts, oranges, lemons, bananas, pears, and other fruits. Some of these were in great abundance.
The vast forests of the country were filled with wild animals, many of which could be used for food. the whole country was alive with bees, so quantities of the finest honey could be found everywhere. It was, indeed, a "land flowing with rich foods and honey."
