19 The Lord had commanded us to leave Mount Sinai1.19 Mount Sinai: See the note at 1.1-5. and go to the hill country that belonged to the Amorites, so we started out into the huge desert. You remember how frightening it was, but soon we were at Kadesh-Barnea, 20,21 and I told you, "We have reached the hill country. It belongs to the Amorites now, but the Lord our God is giving it to us. He is the same God our ancestors worshiped, and he has told us to go in and take this land, so don’t hesitate and be afraid."
22 Then all of you came to me and said, "Before we go into the land, let’s send some men to explore it. When they come back, they can tell us about the towns we will find and what roads we should take to get there."
23 It seemed like a good idea, so I chose twelve men, one from each tribe. 24 They explored the hill country as far as Bunch Valley1.24 Bunch Valley: Or "Eshcol Valley," famous for its large bunches of grapes.25 and even brought back some of the fruit. They said, "The Lord our God is giving us good land."
Israel Refused To Obey the Lord
Moses said to Israel:
26 Dt 9.23;He 3.16.You did not want to go into the land, and you refused to obey the Lord your God. 27 You stayed in your tents and grumbled, "The Lord must hate us—he brought us out of Egypt, just so he could hand us over to the Amorites and get rid of us. 28 We are afraid, because the men who explored the land told us that the cities are large, with walls that reach to the sky. The people who live there are taller and stronger than we are,1.28 The people … we are: Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts and one ancient translation "the people who live there are stronger than we are, and there are more of them than there are of us." and some of them are Anakim.1.28 Anakim: Perhaps a group of very tall people that lived in or near Palestine before the Israelites. See also 2.10,11, 20,21; Numbers 13.33. We have nowhere to go."
29 Then I said, "Don’t worry! 30 The Lord our God will lead the way. He will fight on our side, just as he did when we saw him do all those things to the Egyptians. 31 Ac 13.18.And you know that the Lord has taken care of us the whole time we’ve been in the desert, just as you might carry one of your children."
32 He 3.19.But you still would not trust the Lord, 33 even though he had always been with us in the desert. During the daytime, the Lord was in the cloud, leading us in the right direction and showing us where to camp. And at night, he was there in the fire.1.33 the cloud … the fire: See Exodus 40.34-38; Numbers 9.15-23.