The book of Genesis closes with the story of Joseph, the fourth-generation patriarch of the Hebrew nation. Exodus, the second book of the Pentateuch (the books of Moses, the first five of the Bible), picks up with the people of Israel living in subjection and slavery to the nation of Egypt.

The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy tell the stories of the leadership of Moses during the Jewish people';s flight from Egyptian captivity (known as the Exodus), the giving of the law of God, and the Israelites'; journey toward the Promised Land.

This chapter covers a tragic event in the history of the Jewish people: their banishment to the wilderness for forty years due to their own unbelief and disobedience. This story, which is recorded in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Numbers, tells how the people of Israel listened to the negative reports of ten faithless Jewish leaders and ignored the reports of two who dared to believe God and His promises. Worse than that, it';s the story of a people who completely rebelled because they just couldn';t persevere in believing in a God who keeps His promises.

However, there is a bright side to this story, and it';s one we should pay careful attention to as well. It';s the story of those two faithful spies, Caleb and Joshua, and the reward they would receive because they dared to continue believing in God despite what they saw.