When the Israelites arrive at the border of the promised land, God tells Moses to send 12 scouts to explore the territory. When the scouts return, 2 of them (Joshua and Caleb) are very confident that God will allow the Israelites enter into the land and take it. The other 10 scouts, however, are much less optimistic. In fact, they offer their fellow Israelites a misleading report about the land and try to convince them to retreat. Because of the false report of the 10 scouts, the Israelites become very frightened. They say, “It would have been better to die in Egypt or even here in the wilderness! Why is the Lord taking us into that land? We will be killed in battle, and our wives and children will be captured” (Numbers 14:4).

The Israelites then decide to choose a leader for themselves and go back to Egypt. When Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb try to convince them not to do this, the Israelites threaten to stone them. Before they do so, however, God intervenes. Today’s reading from the Book of Numbers is about the consequences of the nation's fear and inability to trust.

Read Numbers 14:5-9, 20-35