Once again God forgave the people. But they had to pray for being so stubborn. Too ofthen they had not believed God or trusted Him. Because of this God said they would never reach the promised land.
"these people must wander in the wilderness," He said. "They will all spend the rest of their lives in the desert, all of them except Caleb and Joshua, who believed Me. I could have brought them to the promised land within a year. Instead, the people will wander in the desert for forty years. They will die in the desert. Their children will be the ones to finally settle in the land of milk and honey. This is their punishment."
When the people heard this, they cried out loud. It was too late, though. God had made up His mind.
Despite God's punishment, the people decided since the land was so close, they should go and fight the tribes anyway. They had forgotten that God had just said they would not be the ones to drive the tribes away. Their childrren would do that.
The people went off to battle, but they lost. Many men died in a battle which God had not helped them win.
for the next forty years the people of Israel would wander from place to place. The Lord did not stop leading them, but He did not lead them straight to the promised land. Their punishment was real. They had to spend the rest of their lives walking in circles, so close to Canaan but never able to enter it.
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THE CHILDREN'S BIBLE - Old Testament, God Makes Everything
SpiritualPeople were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs...
