Contemplative Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 1:20-23 (New Living Translation)

20 I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the Lord our God is giving us. 21 Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’

22 “But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’

23 “This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.

God’s people reach the land He has promised. It is time to enter. But wait…(why does it seem that something bad is about to happen whenever we pause God’s time?), the people think it is best to send scouts ahead to explore God’s land. As if God would promise them a land that was a bit defective or something like a used car that had a fresh paint job.

Verse 23 is the clincher: the people’s idea seemed like a good one. Boy, if ever that was foreshadowing something bad. The result was 40 years of wasting time until everyone of age had died in the desert.

Why is it that we use the wonderful minds that God has given us to come up with our own bad ideas that seem like good ideas? Can we simply move forward when God puts a promise right in front of us?