The Bible Story Vol 2_w.pdf - Herbert W. Armstrong

dan River and the Dead Sea because t he pr omised land was then
from the J ord an River westward. (Numbers 33:51-53; 34:1-2, 12 and
Deu ter onomy 12:10.) T he people t hey met stare d suspicious ly at
the m, pr obably regar ding them either as wandering traders, ba ndits,
or vagra nts.
A few days later they arrived at anot her body of wate r known today
as the Sea of Galilee. It was known also as th e Sea of Chinnereth. This
lake , seven miles wide at the north end and thirteen miles long, was th e
one near which J esus Christ would spend much of His life. It is about 200
feet to the bottom at the deepest point . The hills back from its east
shores jutted up to 2,000 feet . It s surface was about 700 feet below that of
the Mediterrane an Sea.
The scouts trave led on nort hward far past the Sea of Galilee to a
town called Rehob, on the north ern border of the promised land , in the
land of Aram , known today as Syria. Having knowledge of where they
were, the Israelites recognized that they were very close to the northern
boundar ies of the promised lan d, and so they tu rned back sout hward.
(Numbe rs 13:21.)
Moving down through the fert ile regions between the J ord an River
and the Great Sea (the Medi terrane an ), the scouts saw even more people
th an they had seen near the river . Crops looked even better, trees bore
more fruit and th ere were more signs of prosperity.
The scouting Israel ites had been coming to more and more great
cit ies tee ming with people and bristling with fortific ations. The people
conti nued to st are at the twelve stra ngers as they trudged along the road .
The Israelites made no effort to visit with them. It was wiser to keep to
themselves tha n run the risk of getting mixed up with robbers or violent
men. The scouts were well-arme d for purposes of hunting, and their
rugged, bearded appeara nce undou btedly warded off more tha n one
group of bandits who might ot herwise have attacked them for whatever
was in the Isra elite s' packsacks.
The scouts decided to journey to the east shores of the Mediterranean
Sea. They had heard awesome tales of how warlike the people were
in th at region. These, the Philistines, were the ones th rough whose land
God had kept Israel from traveling when they had first left Egypt, even
though it would have mea nt a much shorte r trip.
The Scouts Meet the Philistines
There the scouts were especia lly cautious. They moved around the
towns and villages instead of going through them . Here and there they
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