What Did God Mean

The Story  ›  The Wilderness

They were handed a kingdom and chose to die in the desert.

Numbers 11 · Numbers 13–14 · Deuteronomy 1 · the 12 spies

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Numbers 13:1-2And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, "Send men out to search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers, a man; and let them all be such as are rulers among them."
  • God told Moses to “search the land” of Canaan.
  • God says he is giving this land to Israel, and a man from every tribe present must go “search the land.”
  • This would be like sending a representative from each tribe to “scout” the land ahead of time.
By the way…Moses tells this entire story again later, in Deuteronomy — and his version keeps changing. Every time you see “Now compare it to Moses’ retelling,” we’re setting his later account next to what actually happened here. Watch what he adds, drops, and quietly rewrites in his own favor.
Now compare it to Moses’ retelling
Deuteronomy 1:20-21And there I said unto you, "Ye are come unto the hills of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us. Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee. Go up and conquer it, as the LORD God of thy fathers sayeth unto thee: fear not, neither be discouraged."
What’s the difference? Moses is saying God told him to go now and take the land he promises them. Moses said God told him not to be afraid or discouraged.
In NumbersGo scout it out.
In DeuteronomyGo now and live there.

Keep this in mind as we move forward.

Numbers 13:3-18And Moses, at the commandment of the LORD, sent forth out of the wilderness of Paran such men as were all heads among the children of Israel, whose names are these: In the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. In the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. In the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. In the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. In the tribe of Ephraim, Hosea the son of Nun. In the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. In the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. In the tribe of Joseph, in the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi. In the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. In the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. In the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. In the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called the name of Hosea, the son of Nun, Joshua.
  • In Numbers, Moses sent spies to scout out Canaan at the “commandment of the LORD.” Then, Moses names a man from each tribe.
  • However, the Levites are conveniently left out due to bureaucratic technicalities. Moses, and his brother, Aaron, are of the Levites.
    • Aaron built a golden calf to worship previously, and then pretended as if it built itself. He was not punished for this, but thousands of other people were. They were slaughtered for worshipping this calf (at the command of Moses).
Now compare it to Moses’ retelling
Deuteronomy 1:22-23And then ye came unto me every one and said, 'Let us send men before us, to search us out the land and to bring us word again, both what way we shall go up by, and unto what cities we shall come.' And the saying pleased me well, and I took twelve men of you; of every tribe, one."
  • In this passage where Moses is recounting the situation, he explicitly states that people approached him and presented the “scouting” option to Moses. And Moses even says “the saying pleased me well” and so he approved it.
    • This could be read as Moses deliberately disobeying God. God said to go and not to be afraid. But Moses did not. Instead, he sent spies to scout out Canaan. He even said he was happy they did so.
Numbers paints the situation as God commanding it, but when Moses himself recounts the story, it’s Moses’ commandment (not God’s).
In NumbersGod commands the scouting.
In DeuteronomyThe people ask; Moses approves.

Now with both passages kept in mind, let’s continue.

Numbers 13:17-20And Moses sent them forth to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, "Get you southward and go up into the high country: and see the land, what manner thing it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, either few or many; and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what manner of cities they dwell in, whether they dwell in tents or walled towns; and what manner of land it is, whether it be fat or lean, and whether there be trees therein or not. And be of a good courage, and bring of the fruits of the land." And it was about the time that grapes are first ripe.
  • Moses sent spies to Canaan.
  • Moses told them what to do when they get there.
    • Specifically, Moses says to see whether the people are “strong or weak, either few or many” and also says “whether it be good or bad.”
This is Important: in both versions (Numbers and Deuteronomy), God frames Canaan as a gift. However, in Numbers, Moses says God told him not to be afraid or discouraged. In this part of the passage, however, Moses is both doubtful of whether or not the place is even good and fearful of what they might encounter there (insinuates he is distrustful of God).
Numbers 3:21-33And they went up and searched out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men go to Hamath, and they ascended unto the south and came unto Hebron: where Ahiman was, and Sheshai and Talmai; the sons of Anak. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. And they came unto the river of Eshcol and they cut down there a branch with one cluster of grapes and bare it upon a staff between twain, and also of the pomegranates and of the figs of the place. The river was called Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down there. And they turned back again from searching the land, at forty days' end. And they went and came to Moses and Aaron and unto all the multitude of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran: even unto Kadesh, and brought them word and also unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, saying, "We came unto the land whither thou sendedst us, and surely it is a land that floweth with milk and honey and here is of the fruit of it. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled and exceeding great, and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the south country, and the Hittites, Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along by the coast of Jordan." And Caleb stilled the murmur of the people against Moses, saying, "Let us go up and conquer it, for we be able to overcome it." But the men that went up with him said, "We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we." And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched, unto the children of Israel, saying, "The land which we have gone through, to search it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabiters thereof, and the people that we saw in it are men of stature. And there we saw also giants, the children of Anak which are of the giants. And we seemed in our sight as it were grasshoppers and so we did in their sight."
  • The 12 spies went through the land and came upon Eshcol.
  • At Eshcol, they found a branch with grapes so big it required two people to carry it back.
  • After 40 days, they came back. They told Moses, Aaron, and everyone else what they saw and showed them the grapes.
    • The land flows with milk, honey, and fruit.
    • But the people are strong, and the cities are walled up.
    • One spy, Caleb, said they can surely conquer the land and overcome the obstacles. The other spies disagreed, saying the people there are stronger. They even say they saw “giants” and said they looked like grasshoppers in comparison.
  • A few things to keep in mind:
    • At this point, only one spy is willing to go up against the “giants.” This should make you wonder: were they really giants or were the spies embellishing?
    • God said to go take it and he told Moses not to be afraid.
Now compare it to Moses’ retelling
Deuteronomy 1:24-26And they departed and went up into the high country and came unto the river Eshcol, and searched it out, and took of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down unto us and brought us word again, and said, "It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us."
Moses says the spies only ever admitted that it was a “good land.” Perhaps Moses was paraphrasing. Either way, he left out some important details.
In NumbersTen scouts cry giants and walled cities.
In DeuteronomyThe scouts only say it’s “a good land.”
Numbers 4:1-10And the multitude cried out, and the people wept throughout that night, and all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron. And the whole congregation said unto them, "Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt, either we would that we had died in this wilderness. Wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land to fall upon the sword, that both our wives, and also our children should be a prey? Is it not better that we return unto Egypt again?" And they said, one to another, "Let us make a captain and return unto Egypt again."
  • The people gossip and talk all night against what Moses and Aaron have reported — that they must go to Canaan.
  • They say things such as:
    • We wish we would have died in Egypt.
    • We wish we would die in this wilderness.
    • God is making us go to Canaan to die and our women and children to be preyed upon.
    • We should just go back to Egypt. Let’s vote on a leader and go back to Egypt.
  • Important things to keep in mind:
    • They were pulled out of slavery in Egypt by God.
    • They were fed fresh Manna every day.
    • They complained the entire time.
    • They talked about going back to Egypt multiple times (this isn’t the first time).
Now compare it to Moses’ retelling
Deuteronomy 1:27-28Notwithstanding, ye would not consent to go up, but were disobedient unto the mouth of the LORD your God, and murmured in your tents and said, "Because the LORD hateth us, therefore he hath brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites and to destroy us. How shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying the people is greater and taller than we, and the cities are great and walled even up to heaven, and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there."
Moses makes it seem like the people, not the spies, initiated the disobedience. He completely leaves out the negative report from the spies. But there’s another thing Moses says without saying. The people proclaim they were “discouraged” after hearing about the tall people and walled cities (up to the sky even). Who did they hear that from if not from the spies?
In NumbersThe scouts’ bad report breaks the people.
In DeuteronomyMoses blames the people; the report vanishes.
ComplaintsThey’d said versions of this long before the spies:
Exodus 14:11-12"Then said they unto Moses, 'Were there no graves for us in Egypt, but thou must bring us away for to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou served us thus, for to carry us out of Egypt? Did not we tell thee this in Egypt saying, "Let us be in rest and serve the Egyptians?" For it had been better for us to have served the Egyptians, than for to die in the wilderness.'"
Numbers 11:4-6"Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we should eat in Egypt for nought, and of the cucumbers and melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now our souls are dried away, for our eyes look on nothing else, save upon Manna."
Exodus 16:2-3"And the whole multitude of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron… and said unto them, 'Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and ate bread our bellies' full; for ye have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole multitude for hunger.'"
Numbers 4: 5-10And Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the congregation of the multitude of the children of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes and spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, "The land which we walked through to search it, is a very good land. If the LORD have lust to us, he will bring us into this land and give it us, which is a land that floweth with milk and honey. But in any wise, rebel not against the LORD. Moreover fear ye not the people of the land, for they are but bread for us. Their shield is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not therefore." And all the whole multitude bade stone them with stones.
  • Moses and Aaron submitted to the people.
  • Joshua and Caleb (two people who “searched the land”) said absolutely not (rent their clothes), and disagreed with the grumblings and fears of the crowd. They said the following:
    • The land is good.
    • God gave it to us, and it flows with milk and honey.
    • Don’t disobey God.
    • Don’t fear the people of Canaan.
    • We have God on our side.
  • The crowd responded by wanting to stone them to death.
Bade = order, urge, demandStone them with stones = put them to death by throwing stones
Now compare it to Moses’ retelling
Deuteronomy 1:29-31And I said unto you, "Dread not, nor be afraid of them: The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did unto you in Egypt before your eyes and in the wilderness: as thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee as a man should bear his son, throughout all the way which ye have gone, until ye came unto this place."
Moses now says that he is the one who told everyone not to be afraid. He leaves out Caleb and Joseph and puts the obedience back in his own court. He’s changing the story to make himself look better and leaves out the part where he doesn’t come to Caleb’s or Joseph’s defense as the crowd is literally demanding to stone them to death.
In NumbersCaleb and Joshua tell the crowd not to fear.
In DeuteronomyMoses says he told them not to fear.
Numbers 4:10-25But the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of witness, unto all the children of Israel. And the LORD said unto Moses, "How long shall this people rail upon me, and how long will it be, yer they believe me, for all my signs which I have showed among them I will smite them with the pestilence and destroy them, and will make of thee a greater nation and a mightier than they." And Moses said unto the LORD, "Then the Egyptians shall hear it, for thou broughtest this people with thy might from among them. And it will be told to the inhabiters of this land also, for they have heard likewise, that thou the LORD art among this people, and that thou art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them and that thou goest before them by day time in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. If thou shalt kill all this people as they were but one man then the nations which have heard the fame of thee, will speak, saying, 'Because the LORD was not able to bring in this people into the land which he swore unto them, therefore he slew them in the wilderness.' So now let the power of my LORD be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, 'The LORD is long yer he be angry, and full of mercy, and suffereth sin and trespass, and leaveth no man innocent, and visiteth the unrighteousness of the fathers upon the children, even upon the third and fourth generation.' Be merciful I beseech ye therefore, unto the sin of this people according unto thy great mercy, and according as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even unto this place." And the LORD said, "I have forgiven it, according to thy request. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with my glory. For of all those men which have seen my glory and my miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tempted me now this ten times and have not hearkened unto my voice, there shall not one see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that railed upon me, see it. But my servant Caleb, because there is another manner spirit with him, and because he hath followed me unto the utmost: him I will bring into the land which he hath walked in, and his seed shall conquer it, and also the Amalekites and Canaanites which dwell in the low countries. Tomorrow turn you and get you into the wilderness: even the way toward the reed sea."
  • God appeared and summoned Moses.
  • God wonders how much longer Israel will badmouth him and continue to not believe him (even despite all his signs, assistance, and love).
  • I should destroy them and make better people.
  • Moses interrupts and then proceeds to manipulate God:
    • Appeal to reputation: Egypt and the other nations are watching. If you kill all these people, the nations will just say you were too weak to bring them into the land, so you slaughtered them in the desert instead.
    • Quoting God's own words back at him: You call yourself slow to anger and full of mercy… so be that right now.
  • God agrees, but with one condition. Only Caleb is let into the land. The other men who denied God’s gift and spoke ill of him are not allowed to continue.

One important thing to keep in mind: God made no mention of Moses and Aaron scouting instead of going, and he made no mention of the two men not defending him. The question to ask yourself is why. Why would God give these men leadership positions and then continuously let them slide, manipulate him, and disobey him (Aaron built a calf earlier).

Numbers 4:26-35And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, "How long shall this evil multitude murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel which they murmur against me. Tell them that the LORD sayeth, 'As truly as I live, I will do unto you even as ye have spoken in mine ears. Your carcasses shall lie in this wilderness, neither shall any of these numbers which were numbered from twenty years and above of you which have murmured against me come in to the land over which I lifted mine hand to make you dwell therein — save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. And your children, which ye said should be a prey: them I will bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have refused, and your carcases shall lie in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in this wilderness forty years and suffer for your whoredom until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness, after the number of the days in which ye searched out the land forty days, and every day a year: so that they shall bear your unrighteousness forty years, and ye shall feel my vengeance. I, the LORD, have said that I will do it unto all this evil congregation that are gathered together against me: even in this wilderness ye shall be consumed, and here ye shall die.
  • After God agrees to not destroy Israel, he says once more: How long will these people badmouth me?
  • Then, God tells Moses to let the people know the following:
    • I am going to do what you say I am doing.
    • Everyone over the age of 20 will die out here in this wilderness, except for Caleb and Joshua.
    • And the children you said I was turning into prey on purpose, I will let them enter Canaan but only after 40 years. They will suffer in the wilderness with you because of your mistakes. You get a year for every day you “scouted” the land of Canaan. (Right here, it seems like God is saying this is part of the reason. They should have left right away, but they didn’t. The people did not believe God and Moses allowed them to “spy” on Canaan for 40 days.)
    • You will die in the wilderness.

A few things to keep in mind:

  • God is not killing them outright. He is saying they will eventually die in this wilderness.
  • God is making the children pay for the mistakes of the parents. This is reminiscent of generational trauma.
  • God gave them exactly what they claimed They complained about being saved; they said God should have left them there, and they said God wanted them to die in the wilderness.
  • This was not a brutal murder. This was God putting his foot down and refusing to let ungrateful people take his gifts.
  • God continued to feed them fresh bread for 40 years.
    Exodus 16:35"And the children of Israel ate Manna forty years until they came unto a land inhabited. And so they ate Manna, even until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan."
Numbers 4:36-45And the men which Moses sent to search the land, and which — when they came again — made all the people to murmur against it, in that they brought up a slander upon the land; died for their bringing up that evil slander upon it, and were plagued before the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still. And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel, and the people took great sorrow. And they rose up early in the morning and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, "Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place of which the LORD said, for we have sinned." And Moses said, "Wherefore will ye go on this manner beyond the word of the LORD? It will not come well to pass: go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not slain before your enemies. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye will fall upon the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, and therefore the LORD will not be with you." But they were blinded to go up into the hilltop: Neverthelater, the ark of the covenant of the LORD and Moses departed not out of the host. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, came down and smote them and hewed them: even unto Hormah.
  • The men that had lied (the 10 spies) were “plagued before God” and instantly died.
  • Joshua and Caleb are the only ones from the group of spies who lived.
  • The people were sad about this, but when they woke up in the morning, went to the top of the mountain, and said, “We realized we’ve made a mistake, so now we’ll go to the place where God has told us to go.”
  • Moses said: If you try to go now (after God has said you can’t), it will not end well for you. God is not with you now, and he will not protect you.
  • Some of them go anyway, and they end up getting killed by the other nations.

One thing to keep in mind before wrapping up. The generation that is saved and allowed to go into Canaan with God continues to complain about food, water, and God.

Here are just a few examples:

Numbers 20:2-5"Would God that we had perished when our brethren perished before the LORD. Why have ye brought the congregation of the LORD unto this wilderness, that both we and our cattle should die here? Wherefore brought ye us out of Egypt, to bring us into this ungracious place…"
Numbers 21:4-9"Wherefore hast thou brought us out of Egypt, for to die in the wilderness? For here is neither bread nor water, and our souls loatheth this light bread."
The bad mojoMost of the shady behavior in this story belongs to the people in charge — not God.
  • God said go — Moses sent scouts instead, and in his own retelling admits it was the people’s idea that he signed off on. Disobedience, dressed up as a command.
  • Levi gets left off the scout list on a “technicality” — the one tribe that never has to stick its neck out.
  • Aaron built the golden calf, lied that it made itself, and was never punished — while thousands were killed for following him.
  • When the mob screamed to stone Caleb and Joshua, Moses fell on his face and said nothing in their defense.
  • Moses talks God down not by defending the people, but by working God’s reputation and quoting God’s own words back at him.
  • Every time Moses retells it in Deuteronomy, the story bends his way: the scouts’ lie disappears, Caleb and Joshua disappear, and Moses becomes the brave one who told everyone not to fear.
  • Through all of it, the people at the top keep sliding. God names everyone’s sin but theirs.
What God didn’t doThings this story gets blamed for that the text doesn’t actually say.
  • “He slaughtered them.” No — he killed no one outright except the ten lying scouts (a plague). The rest of the generation simply died off, over forty years.
  • “He abandoned them.” No — he fed them fresh manna every single day for the whole forty years, and brought their children into the land.
  • “He snapped out of nowhere.” No — he gave them exactly what they said out loud. They wished to die in the wilderness; he granted it, word for word.
  • “He punished them for being scared of giants.” Not quite — the text says the disqualifier was reviling him and refusing to believe after everything he’d shown them. The sin was contempt, not fear.
  • “He forced Moses out here.” No — Moses isn’t sentenced in this story at all. His barring comes later, at the waters of Meribah, for his own failure.
  • “The spy mission was God’s plan that backfired.” The story argues with itself: in Numbers it’s God’s command; in Moses’ own retelling it’s the people’s idea. Read together, it looks human.