Powerpoint Pictures: Goal-line Technology; Mars; Flying Car; Time Travel; Money Tree

Do you think that the following things will happen one day? [Goal-line technology in football; People walk on Mars; We will drive flying cars; Be able to travel back in time; Grow a tree that has money instead of leaves].

As the Big Bible Adventure continues, the people of Israel have to decide whether they think something would happen.  That something, was God keeping His promise to give them the land of Canaan.

Moses had sent 12 spies to check out the land and they returned saying that the land would be a wonderful place to live.

But 10 of the spies said that the people that were living there were too big and strong and powerful, and there was no way they could defeat them.  They were saying that God could not keep His promise.

Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, said that with God on their side, victory was a guarantee.

Who would the people believe?

This is what they said: “Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?  Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:3)

They believed the 10 spies.

They didn’t think it would be possible to live in the promised land, in the same way we don’t think it would be possible to grow a money tree.

They had forgotten that God had rescued them from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and provided food from heaven, and because they didn’t believe that God would keep His promise, God said to these people that they would not enter the land.  They are going to wander around in the desert for 40 years until they had all died.

It would be their children who would enter the land.

So we leave the people of Israel wandering the desert for 40 years because they failed to trust God.