What do two spies and a Sunday School song have in common, and what can we learn from them? Well, I will tell you.
Joshua and Caleb were two of the twelve spies sent to scout out the Promised Land of Canaan that God had promised them. After 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness – not lost but led by God – the Israelites stood at the edge of the Jordan River which was a border of the Promised Land that God was about to give them. What the spies saw these thousands of years ago made such an impact on history that their feat is still sung as a children’s Sunday School action song. It goes like this:
“Twelve men went to spy on Canaan; 
Ten were bad, and two were good.
What did they see when they spied on Canaan?
Ten were bad, and two were good.
Some saw giants big and strong,
Some saw grapes in clusters long,
Some saw God was in it all.
Ten were bad and two were good.”
Do you wonder what influence the parents of Joshua and Caleb had on them that they should barely notice the giants but took great delight seeing the lush fruit of the land. They were eager to enter the Promised Land because they trusted God to protect them. That is why they are called good.
The ten other spies saw the giants and barely noticed the grapes. They looked at their circumstances and forgot that God was faithful to lead them into the land that He had promised. They were fearful to face these giants who could squash them like little bugs. They did not trust God to protect them against the giants. That is why they are called bad.
Thousands of years later, Jesus calls us, ‘Come, follow Me.” We can follow Him wherever He leads. Why can we have such confidence? In the same way Joshua and Caleb trusted in and were loyal to God because He was faithful to them. For the same reason, we also can be loyal to Jesus and trust in his faithfulness to us.
If Joshua and Caleb and the other ten spies came to our country where they were about to live, what would they see? Some would see a nation that is beginning to crumble before its fall; some would see God’s Kingdom that is greater than all.
What report do you think they would bring back to their leader if they heard this pledge? “I pledge allegiance to the Lord and to the Kingdom for which He stands. One Savior sent by God, holy and righteous, with forgiveness and freedom for all.”
Ten were bad and two were good!