Notes About The Poem

Numbers  chapters 13 and 14

Kadesh

Spies, scout out the Promised Land.
Let our eyes see what God has planned.
Never mind what He's already done,
Can we trust the powerful One?

When we saw the Anakites there,
The terror was too much to bear.
More numerous and taller,
Our confidence grew smaller.

Do not be terrified of them!
You are not being led by whim.
He says, "I'll go ahead of you.
Heaven's armies come with Me, too."

But we gave the bad report,
Advising the people to abort.
Their courage was drained away,
"The Lord has made us their prey!"

Joshua and Caleb stood firm,
Believing the Lord would confirm,
Urging us toward conquest,
Believing it was no contest.

But the people would not go up,
Angering the Lord with their dustup,
Saying, "The Lord must hate us."
Their actions were treasonous.

Why this betrayal of trust,
Leading to the Lord's disgust?
Trust lessons were never learned.
Stubborn hearts can only spurn.

Where do we look for defeat?
Surely not at the Lord's feet!
Look only in your own heart,
For the whole heart must take part.

The Lord is never thwarted,
Intimidated, or extorted.
Unbelief forfeits His blessing,
And keeps us from possessing.

Keep the Lord ahead of you,
Do not turn back from what is true,
Joshua and Caleb, the only two,
Whose conquering faith grew.

We tried to force a do-over,
Without God just a pushover.
He told us, “Do not attack.”
Our enemy hurled us back.

Wilderness wandering backslidden,
But He’ll bring back our children,
Back to Kadesh they must go,
With conquering faith in tow.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2023

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