6/11/2006

Exploring Canaan

Numbers 13:21-22 - So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak lived. (Hebron had been built 7 years before Zoan in Egypt.)

I wonder what the 12 spies did while exploring Canaan besides gathering information to take back to Moses and the Israelites. They were gone for 40 days. Did they take enough food with them for almost a month and a half? Did they take enough money to buy food and to stay at the nearest Canaan "Holiday Inn"? Did they look for temp jobs? Did they just look around all day or get involved with the locals?

The entire land was not filled with the giant-sized descendants of Anak. I wonder why no one said, "Well, we can probably take the far north and central Canaan, but it gets tougher as you go south towards Hebron where the Anakites live." Not that that would have been an acceptable report either, but it would have been a little more encouraging than the all-or-nothing rendition that 10 spies gave. I wonder what those 10 really thought their alternatives were. I'm sure they had several days to think about it as they headed back to camp. I wonder if Joshua and Caleb tried to sway them to their way of thinking on the way back.

I wonder why Moses considered it worthwhile stating that Zoan was older than Hebron.

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