Scouting North Canaan
Scouting North Canaan
Scouting report
Men scouting north Canaan in the Promised Land came back with a mixed report.
27Here’s the report they gave: “We went where you told us to go. This is certainly a land where milk and honey flow like rivers. We picked this fruit there. 28The people who live there have strong defenses and large cities protected behind walls. We saw some descendants of the giant Anak. 29Amalekite people live in the Negev. Further north, Jebusites and Amorites live in the central hill country. Along the seacoast is where some Canaanites live. Others live alongside the Jordan River"...
31Other scouts who had gone with him pushed back, “We can’t beat these people. They’re too strong for us.” 32These men gave a terrible report about what they saw. They told the Israelites, “The land we just explored is too big for us. If we tried to conquer all the people there, they would put us in the ground. These are huge people we’re talking about. 33That’s not all. We saw the giant Nephilim, ancestors of the giant Anak. Looking up at them, we felt like grasshoppers. And looking down at us, they felt we looked like grasshoppers, too." Numbers 13
Too frightened to obey God
Terrified, the people refused to go any further, God or no God.
So, God put them in timeout for a generation, 40 years. One year for every day the scouts had been gone.
The only adults from that generation who would get to step on the Promised Land where the only two scouts who advised going into the land and taking it from the people, Joshua and Caleb:
29"You’re going to die in the badlands. All the men in your armies—everyone age 20 and older who complained about me—dead. 30There’s no way I’m going to let you go into the land I promised you. The only exceptions are Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. 31I’ll bring your children there—the ones you said I’d let your enemies take for themselves. Your children will see the land you turned down. 32But you? You’re going to die in the desert badlands. "
Two-week walk in 40 years
It was 240 miles, 380 km, from Mount Sinai to Jerusalem, also known as Mount Zion. That's about a two-week walk through a lot of wasteland.
But it took Moses and the Israelite ancestors of today's Jewish people, 40 years.
They weren't that slow. They were that stubborn and stuck in their own heads. They had a habit of doing what they wanted instead of doing what God said.
To compare Bible versions, see Bible Gateway.
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon
Map of Lebanon mountains
Map of Lebanon mountains
Headhunting in northern Israel
Headhunting in northern Israel
David's army takes home a rebel's head
David's army was looking for the right man to behead. They had to travel about a week's march north of Jerusalem—about 100 miles/160 km—to the borderland of northern Israel, to the town of Abel.David's enemy was a rebel trying to pull the northern tribes of Israel away from the united kingdom. He was recruiting walled cities to join the cause. Walled cities are harder to attack without an overwhelming force.
The rebel was Sheba, from the tiny tribe of Benjamin, Judah's neighbor on the north.
David sent his new general and part of the army on the headhunt. The former general went along, Joab, whom David had demoted. Mistake on David's part. Joab had already killed one competing general, Abner, and David's own son, Absalom. He murdered this general, too, and took back his old job. He led the chase to Sheba.
David's army lays siege in northern Israel
From 2 Samuel 20
14Sheba went recruiting throughout the northern tribes of Israel. His extended family clan, the Bichri’s, followed him one day into the walled city of Abel Beth Maacah.15Joab’s army surrounded the city. Some men started building a siege ramp to the top of the wall. Others used a battering ram to try breaking through the walls. 16A wise woman inside the town called out to the attacking soldiers. “Hey listen! Listen! Tell Joab I want to talk with him.”
Negotiating a peace
17Joab came over and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He said, “Yes, I am.” She said, “Please listen to me.” He said, “Go ahead, I’m listening.” 18She said, “There’s an old saying in Israel, ‘Ask it in Abel.’ After that, people would work out their differences. 19I’m one of the peace-loving people in Israel. And I’m watching you destroy one of the mother cities of Israel. You’re tearing into the heritage of the LORD himself. Why would you do this?”20Joab said, “That’s the last thing on my mind. No way would I want to destroy this place. 21That’s not my plan. But there’s a man inside who has launched a rebellion against King David. The man comes from the hills of Ephraim. His name is Sheba, a son of Bichri. Give him to me and we will leave your town.” The woman said, “We’ll toss his head over the wall.”
Sheba loses his head
22The savvy woman pitched her survival plan to others in town. They cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it over to Joab. He ordered his trumpeter to blow the ram’s horn signal to stand down and withdraw. The soldiers went home. Joab went to see the king in Jerusalem.For other Bible versions see Bible Gateway.
