almost to the sky! Let us get back.'

"'But if God said we should inherit this land, shall He not help us?'
said Joshua and I.

"'We thought surely God promised us the land,' the ten replied. 'But we
did not expect to have to fight for it. We supposed God would just give
it to us without any fighting or trouble on our part.'

"'Oh, no, God never promised Canaan without a battle,' we replied. 'But
He will help us fight, then we shall properly appreciate both God and
Canaan and the fighting will make us stronger.'

"Well, we could not convince them, and our arguments fell upon very
impervious minds, hardened as they were by unbelief and doubting [Numbers
14].

"Then for forty years we wandered in the black wilderness.

"Five years ago we crossed the Jordan, blessed be God. Those were great
days in Canaan! God was very near us, and our foes trembled. Jericho
fell down, Ai was taken, kings of darkness and giants of iniquity melted
before the army of the Lord, until the land was in our possession.

"Then I went to Joshua and made known my request for Hebron, my home in
Canaan. There were several giants making Hebron their home, and I was
eager to dispossess them; for I liked the situation. Joshua gave me
permission, and I marched toward it fully confident that our God would
help me.