At God's command, Moses sent out twelve spies into the Land of Canaan, a place promised to the Israelites as their homeland. This land, described as flowing with milk and honey, was a verdant and fertile region, far superior to the wilderness of Paran where they had been wandering. The spies returned with a glowing report about the land itself, confirming it was everything God had advertised—a land of abundant natural resources and prime agricultural potential, evidenced by the large clusters of grapes and other fruits they brought back from the late summer harvest. However, the spies also reported a significant challenge: the land was already occupied by numerous peoples, including the Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, and Canaanites, who covered the entire region. They argued there was no room for Israel among them and that taking the land would require fighting these mighty nations in succession, a task they deemed impossible for their group. They further exaggerated the difficulties, claiming the land would devour them, either through military disadvantage or by depleting their strength, leaving them vulnerable to other aggressors. They feared constant warfare due to the strategic importance of the land as a natural bridge between continents, a concern that history later confirmed with various empires vying for control over it. Despite these fears, Caleb countered with faith, insisting they could overcome the inhabitants with God's help. Yet, the majority of the Israelites succumbed to fear and rebellion, wailing against the idea of entering the land and even suggesting a return to Egypt. Their lack of trust in God's power led to a divine decree that they would wander for thirty-eight more years, during which all adults over twenty, except Joshua and Caleb, would die in the wilderness, denied entry into the Promised Land. Even after this judgment, their presumptuous attempt to enter the land anyway resulted in further loss against the Amalekites and Canaanites. The journey of the Israelites through the wilderness, often returning to Kadesh Barnea as a base, symbolized their nomadic state en route to a God-given homeland of blessing and rest. This destination represented freedom from slavery, a place where they could work their own land without taskmasters. Their temporary dwellings in booths during this journey underscored their unsettled life, always moving toward the goal of the Promised Land, a place they were ultimately called to inherit with strength and courage under leaders like Joshua, trained over decades to overcome fear and rebellion.

God provides search criteria to identify modern-day Israel through the promises made to the patriarch Abraham, as recorded in Genesis. These promises include multiplying Abraham's descendants, granting them control over strategic military and commercial positions in their enemies' territories, and ensuring that his seed would be a blessing to all nations. This seed, identified as Christ, facilitates a relationship with the Father for all peoples. God restates these promises to Isaac and Jacob, emphasizing land, a vast multitude of descendants spreading in all directions, and the blessing to all nations through their lineage. These criteria, rooted in the promises of land and geopolitical advantage, serve as identifiers to pinpoint the real people of Israel today. Questions remain about whether these promises describe Israel in the past, present, or future, and further time-specific search criteria are needed to locate modern-day Israel.