Preparing to Read Mark · Unit 07 of 16
From unbelief to entering Canaan
Bible reading: Numbers 13–14, 20, 27; Joshua 1–6 (selected passages)
In the previous stage, we saw the Israelites make a covenant with God at Mount Sinai, receive the law, and establish the tabernacle, priesthood, and sacrificial system. Yet they have not arrived in the land God promised Abraham’s descendants. The journey ahead reveals an important question: Are people who have been rescued by God truly willing to trust him?
1. God Had Promised Abraham a Land
As far back as Abraham’s time, God promised to give Canaan to his descendants. By Moses’ time, Israel has become a people, and now they are heading toward this promised land.
“I will give this land to your descendants.”
— Genesis 12:7
Entering Canaan, then, is not a new plan that appears out of nowhere. It continues the earlier covenant with Abraham.
The descendants have become a people. Next, the promise of land will also begin to be fulfilled.
2. Twelve Scouts See the Same Land but Reach Different Conclusions
When the Israelites reach Canaan’s border, Moses sends twelve men to explore the land. All agree that the land is good, but ten fear its inhabitants and think Israel cannot overcome them.
“We cannot go up and attack those people, because they are stronger than we are.”
— Numbers 13:31
Joshua and Caleb see things differently. They do not say there are no enemies. Rather, they trust that the God who led Israel out of Egypt will continue to lead them.
“If the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us into that land and give it to us—a land flowing with milk and honey.”
— Numbers 14:8
3. The Core Problem Is Not Fear, but Unbelief
The people are terrified after hearing the ten scouts’ report. They even want to return to Egypt, forgetting that they have witnessed the ten plagues, the crossing of the sea, and God’s provision throughout their journey.
“Let us appoint a leader and go back to Egypt!”
— Numbers 14:4
The Bible understands this as unbelief toward God: even after seeing his actions, they still do not trust him to fulfill his promise.
As a result, the first adult generation to leave Egypt cannot immediately enter Canaan. They must wander in the wilderness until a new generation grows up.
The central reason for the forty wilderness years is Israel’s refusal to trust God at Canaan’s border.
4. Forty Years of Life in the Wilderness
The Israelites live in the wilderness for many years. This is not merely a journey that takes longer than expected. It is a time of repeatedly learning to trust God.
They often complain because of a lack of food or water, or anxiety about the future. God continues both to provide for them and to discipline them. Exodus has already described God giving them manna for food.
“The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they entered an inhabited land.”
— Exodus 16:35
In the later Bible, therefore, “the wilderness” often calls to mind a place where people learn whether they are willing to trust God when resources are limited and they cannot control everything themselves.
5. Moses Does Not Enter Canaan Either
Moses is the key figure who led Israel out of Egypt, but the Bible does not portray him as incapable of mistakes. On one occasion, when the people quarrel over a lack of water, Moses does not act as God commands or honor God as holy before the people.
“Because you did not trust me or honor me as holy before the Israelites, you will not lead this community into the land I am giving them.”
— Numbers 20:12
In the end, Moses can see the promised land only from a distance. He does not personally lead the people into it.
This again reminds readers that the Bible’s major figures are not perfect heroes. The truly constant central figure in the story is the God who keeps his covenant and moves his promises forward.
6. Joshua Succeeds Moses
Before Moses dies, God appoints Joshua to carry on his work. Joshua is not a newcomer: he has long followed Moses and was one of the two scouts, out of the twelve, who believed God’s promise.
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Joshua son of Nun is a man who has the Holy Spirit within him. Bring him here and lay your hand on his head.’”
— Numbers 27:18
After Moses’ death, God tells Joshua to lead the Israelites across the Jordan River.
“Now rise, cross this Jordan with all the people, and go into the land I am about to give to the Israelites.”
— Joshua 1:2
7. Entering the Promised Land
Joshua leads the Israelites across the Jordan and into Canaan. This is an important turning point in the biblical story: the promise of land, first given in Abraham’s time, now begins to take concrete shape.
“That day, the LORD made Joshua great in the sight of all Israel. Throughout his lifetime, the people respected him as they had respected Moses.”
— Joshua 4:14
Joshua then records Israel’s battles against the cities of Canaan, the acquisition of land, and the process of allotting territory to the tribes.
8. Jericho: A Story of More Than Military Strength
One of the best-known stories after entering Canaan is Jericho. Following God’s instructions, the Israelites march around the city, and eventually its walls fall.
“The people shouted, and the priests blew their horns. When the people heard the horns, they gave a great shout, and the city wall collapsed.”
— Joshua 6:20
The story directs readers’ attention not to Israel’s exceptional skill in siege warfare, but to the fact that they can enter the land because God fulfills his promise.
9. What Is the “Promised Land”?
The “promised land” primarily means Canaan: the land God promised to Abraham’s descendants and in which the Israelites later lived. When reading the Bible, we may also encounter expressions such as “Canaan” or simply “the land.”
Beginners should avoid a common misunderstanding: Canaan in the Old Testament is not simply the equivalent of “heaven.” It is first a real territory, part of the land promise in God’s covenant with Abraham.
The promised land first means Canaan. Do not automatically read it as “going to heaven after death.”
10. Entering the Land Does Not Solve Every Problem
Although Israel enters Canaan, Joshua does not suggest that every part of the land immediately comes under complete control. The tribes still have to face inhabitants in different regions and learn to remain faithful to their covenant with God while living there.
In his old age, Joshua again reminds the people that they must decide whom they will serve.
“As for me and my household, we will certainly serve the LORD.”
— Joshua 24:15
The real question, then, is never only “Have they received the land?” It is also: Will the people living in the promised land faithfully worship God?
11. Key Points from This Stage
- Canaan is the land God promised Abraham’s descendants as far back as Abraham’s own time.
- After twelve scouts explore Canaan, most are too afraid to enter. Joshua and Caleb choose to trust God.
- Because of unbelief, Israel wanders in the wilderness for forty years. Most of the first generation to leave Egypt do not enter Canaan.
- Moses also fails and does not enter the promised land. Joshua eventually succeeds him as leader.
- Joshua leads the Israelites across the Jordan, and they begin acquiring and allotting the land of Canaan.
- The “promised land” first refers to the real land of Canaan and should not be directly equated with heaven.
- Entering the land does not solve the problem of human unfaithfulness. Israel still has to choose whether to be faithful to God.
12. Where Does the Biblical Story Go Next?
After Joshua dies, the Israelites are living in Canaan, but they have no king or stable, lasting central government. In the next era, the people will repeatedly turn away from God, suffer oppression by enemies, and cry out to him in their distress.
Again and again, God will raise up leaders to rescue them. The Bible calls these people “judges.”
Now that Israel lives in the promised land, will it become a people faithful to God?