The people were desperate in their disappointment and despair. A wail of agony arose and mingled with the confused murmur of voices. Caleb comprehended the situation, and, bold to stand in defense of the word of God, he did all in his power to counteract the evil influence of his unfaithful associates. For an instant the people were stilled to listen to his words of hope and courage respecting the goodly land. He did not contradict what had already been said; the walls were high and the Canaanites strong. But God had promised the land to Israel. "Let us go up at once and possess it," urged Caleb; "for we are well able to overcome it." But the ten, interrupting him, pictured the obstacles in darker colors than at first. "We be not able to go up against the people," 389 they declared; "for they are stronger than we. . . . All the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."


Patriarker og profeter kapitel 34. 196.     Fra side 388 i den engelske udgave.tilbage

De tolv spejdere

Folket blev ude af sig selv af skuffelse og fortvivlelse. Der lød et smertefyldt råb midt i det forvirrede brus af vrede stemmer. Kaleb opfattede situationen. Han var straks parat til at forsvare Guds ord og gjorde alt, hvad der stød i hans magt, for at modvirke sine troløse medarbejderes dårlige indflydelse.Det lykkedes at få folket til at være stille et øjeblik, mens han søgte at give dem håb og mod ved at beskrive det dejlige land. Han modsagde ikke det, der allerede var blevet sagt. Det var rigtigt, at murene var høje, og at kanaanæerne var stærke, men Gud havde lovet at give Israel landet. "Lad os kun drage op og underlægge os det," sagde Kaleb, "thi vi kan sikkert tage det!" Men de ti afbrød ham og malede vanskelighederne i mørkere farver end første gang. "Vi kan ikke drage op imod dette folk," sagde de, "thi det er stærkere end vi! Alle de folk, vi så der, var kæmpestore. Vi så der kæmperne Anaks sønner, der er af kæmpeslægten og vi forekom både os selv og dem som græshopper!"

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