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The Beginning of the End
In their unbelief they repeated their earlier mistake of complain-
ing against Moses and Aaron. “This, then, is the end of all our high
hopes,” they said. They accused their leaders of deceiving the people
and bringing trouble on Israel.
[190]
A wail of agony arose, mingled with the confused murmur of
voices. One of the spies, Caleb, was brave enough to defend the
word of God, and he did all in his power to counteract the evil
influence of the unfaithful spies. He did not contradict what the
others had said—the walls were high and the Canaanites strong. But
God had promised the land to Israel. “Let us go up at once and take
possession,” urged Caleb, “for we are well able to overcome it.”
But the ten, interrupting him, listed the obstacles. “We are not
able to go up against the people,” they declared, “for they are stronger
then we. ... All the people whom we saw in it are men of a great
stature ... and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so
we were in their sight.”
Revolt and Open Mutiny
These men, having started on the wrong way, stubbornly set
themselves against Caleb and Joshua, against Moses, and against
God. They twisted the truth in order to keep their evil influence.
It is a land that “devours its inhabitants,” they said. This was not
only a bad report, it was a lying one. The spies had declared the
country to be fruitful and the people of giant stature, which would
be impossible if the climate were so unhealthful that the land could
be said to “devour its inhabitants.”
Revolt and open mutiny quickly followed. The people seemed
to lack all reason. They cursed Moses and Aaron, forgetting that
the Angel of God’s presence, surrounded in the cloudy pillar, was
witnessing their terrible outburst of anger. Then their feelings rose
against God: “‘Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by
the sword, that our wives and children should become victims?’ So
they said to one another, ‘Let us select a leader, and return to Egypt.’”
So they not only accused Moses but God Himself of deceiving them
in promising a land they were not able to have.
Caleb and Joshua tried to quiet the loud uproar. They rushed
in among the people, and their ringing voices sounded above the