Many are at least somewhat familiar with the biblical account, beginning in Exodus, of Moses leading the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt toward the Promised Land—Canaan, promised by God to Abraham, who would be made “a father of many nations” (see Genesis 17:1–8). All along the way God guided the children of Israel, protected them, fed them, and taught them about His nature and relation to them. He gave them the Ten Commandments, and heeding these commands was key to claiming the Promised Land and receiving God’s blessings.
Shortly after I became an earnest student of Christian Science, there came two years of overlapping trials (health, financial, and other difficulties). It seemed overwhelming, but the experience of the children of Israel encouraged me. During their forty years in the wilderness, God never left them, but was right there with them each step of the way, sustaining them through their hardships, abolishing their fears, correcting their missteps, teaching them the joy of obedience, and showing them His glory.
After Moses had freed the Israelites from Pharaoh and led them close enough to Canaan, he sent twelve spies (one from each of the tribes) ahead into Canaan on what turned out to be a forty-day reconnaissance mission to “see the land, what it is” (see Numbers, chaps. 13–14). Upon their return, all twelve agreed it was indeed a land flowing “with milk and honey.” But there the unity ended. Even though all twelve had looked at the same land, they didn’t all see it in the same way.
