Why did the Israelites who left Egypt have to
wander in the wilderness until they died?

"After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even 40 days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even 40 years, & ye shall know my breach of promise. I, the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered
together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, & there they shall die".
Numbers 14 : 34-35

Through Moses, God led the Israelites right to the Promised Land, the land he had promised to Abraham. Ten spies reported that the people there were giants, too big to fight. But Joshua and Caleb knew God would help them. They said, "Let's go at once to take the land" (Numbers 13 : 30). Unfortunately, the people listened to the ten, refusing to obey God and march into the land. Those Israelites never saw the Promised Land because they didn't have faith to do what God wanted.
God wants His people to have faith. You can trust Him and follow Him even though others doubt. God can do amazing things through you.

ACTIVITY
Ask your mum if she has a little glass saltshaker (one with a flat bottom and sloping sides). Pour a small pile of salt on a table, and set the salt shaker on its bottom edge in the salt until it balances at an angle just right. Gently blow away some of the salt around the shaker until only a few grains are left holding it up. If you tell your friends this really works, they'll probably say: "No way!" God can do lots more than saltshaker tricks-great things that make people who don't know Him say: "No way!"

Betsy Elliot