Forty years before, 12 spies, including Joshua, had gone into the land. This time, it would not be 12 spies, but two. And this time, the spies’ mission was not to scout the land to help determine the probability of victory; it was to scout the land, namely Jericho, to help determine the strategy for victory. The victory had been promised by God and this time the Israelites being led by the two faithful spies of the previous generation would enter the land in a posture of trust.

In this passage we are reminded that actions can be misleading. Both Moses’ generation and Joshua’s generation of Israelites began with the same action – from the outside they looked to be mirroring one another. However, the intent of their actions was very different. At best, the intent of Moses’ spies was to act for faith – to find evidence that would help them develop trust in God. The intent of Joshua’s spies, on the other hand, was to act from faith – to find what God had given them and perhaps how He had given it to them. Similar actions; different motivations. One scouting trip was done honoring God, the other rebelling against Him.

When have your actions seemed right from the outside, but you performed them with the wrong intentions or motivations? What happened?