Wow, You aren’t joking when You say that you love Moses.
Where are the people going now, or what are they going to do?
Are they finally near the Promised Land.
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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, everyone a ruler among them.
And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all these men were heads of the children of Israel” (Num 13:1-3).
Moses sent the men to spy out the land of Canaan, to see what the land was like, how strong the people were, and to bring back some fruit from the land.
Forty days later the men returned with the fruit, and declared that it was just like God had said, flowing with mild and honey. Yet, the people were strong and the cities were walled.
“The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the 1 Jebusites, and the 2 Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the 3 Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan” (Num 13:29).
Caleb was excited and was ready to go and conquer, but the others were scared.
“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well 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, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Num 13:30-33).
Now all the people whined about not being able to get to the Promise Land, and they cursed at God for taking them out of Egypt. They then decided that they would choose a captain among them and return to Egypt.
“Moses, Aaron, Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh told them that they could take it because God was with them.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;).
And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD 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 a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he swear unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word:
But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.
Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; 4
Surely they shall not see the land which I swear unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it.
But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land where into he went; and his seed shall possess it.
(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea” (Num 14:11-25).
Since the people didn’t believe in Him, He allowed the Amalekites and Canaanites to kill many of them.
1 The Jebusites descended from Canaan. Their king, Adonizedek, was one of the five who conspired against Gibeon (who was blessed by God) and was killed by Joshua.
2 The Amorites were a prominent people in pre-Israelite days. It’s believed that at one time their kingdom occupied the larger part of Mesopotamia and Syria, with their capital in Haran. They had been driven out and to over Babylonia, one of the richest periods in her history.
3 Canaan was the son of Ham, who Noah cursed. The Canaanites were not with God.
4 The people wandered in the wilderness for 40 years until all the adults had died because of their lack of faith. The only two adults that were allowed to go to the Promised Land was Joshua and Caleb.
Kadesh Barnea
Sometimes referred to as Kadesh or Kedesh, the Biblical site of Kadesh Barnea is an important location in Israelite history.
Miriam, Moses’ sister, died there, and Moses, overcome by anger, disobediently struck the rock that brought forth – water at this location.
The 12 spies also returned there after their foray into the promised land.
Although the name Kadesh is probably related to the Hebrew word qadesh, meaning “holiness,” the origin of “Barnea” is unknown.
Since 1905 modem Ain el-Qudeirat in the Wadi el-Ain of the northern Sinai has been widely accepted to be the location of the Biblical Kadesh Barnea.
Several Iron Age fortresses have been excavated there. The oldest, a small, elliptical structure, dates to the 10th century B.C., but was evidently abandoned for some time after the first fort’s destruction.
A second fort constructed during the 8th century was destroyed during the 7th century B.C., most likely during Manasseh’s reign. This fort was somewhat larger and rectangular in shape, and a good amount of pottery associated with this structure has been found.
Most significantly, two ostraca (pottery fragments containing writing) engraved in Hebrew have been recovered there, suggesting that Israelites did indeed occupy this site.
in 586 B.C. the Babylonians may have destroyed a final fortress, which appears to have been built during Josiah’s rule.
Some ostraca containing inventories of goods have also been unearthed; their texts are in. Hebrew, but the numerals are hieratic (a cursive form of Egyptian hieroglyphics that became common during the late Judahite monarchy).
At Ain el-Qudeirat, not a single pottery sherd has been discovered dating to the Late Bronze or Iron I periods. This archaeological gap has troubled historians who have sought evidence for an Israelite presence there, as indicated in Numbers.
Skeptics have suggested that this interruption gives reason to question the veracity of the Biblical accounts of the exodus and the subsequent conquest of Canaan.
Others have interpreted this pause differently, challenging the identification of Ain el-Qudeirat with the Biblical Kadesh Barnea and suggesting alternative sites at Ain Qedeis and Ain Qeseimeh.
But problems exist with these sites, too. The Kadesh Barnea mentioned in Numbers was, probably a region rather than a specific site, and the Bible does not imply that a significant settlement existed there when the Israelites passed through.
Since the archaeological work at Ain el-Qudeirat has not been completed, the possibility remains that Late Bronze or Iron Age I evidence will in fact surface.
Future excavations there and elsewhere may help to answer lingering questions concerning this Biblical location.