Why it took Moses 40 years to move on to the Promised Land.

Moses knew exactly what he was doing and what he had to do before he could proceed to the Promised Land.
It is a very big mystery why Moses took 40 years of living in the Sanai before he moved on to the land of Canaan. I have seen Moses being ridiculed for his apparent lack of insight of where he was supposed to go. Moses knew exactly what he was doing and what he had to do before he could proceed to the Promised Land.

I think this is what happened. Moses and his people had hardly crossed over to the Sanai side when he was attacked by the Amalekites. This must have made him realize that the land of Canaan would also need to be won over by force. So Moses sent his spies into the cities of Canaan to observe what it would take for his people to become masters of the land where he was going. They must have reported thriving cities with soldiers and garrisons, massive forts and above all people with their own gods and temples and priests. They must have observed organized societies with strong beliefs. Where their armies would defend their way of life and their ownership of their land, where obviously they were living for a long period of time. And where they had their own belief system of being the rightful owners of the land.

In order for his people to become the new masters he needed to get these other people off the land. It was very clear that the current dwellers would not just give the land to them and move on. They would fight and defend their land and their families. His spies must have reported to him that relative to these people's armies their own forces were non existent. There was no way Moses could persuade these people to move on and there was no way these people could be defeated by force. So marching in would be an invitation for complete self annihilation.

Moses realized that the only way to take the Promised Land was to build a superior force that would be able to not only defeat the current owners but be overwhelmingly stronger to completely wipe them out. So he went about building an army complete with weapons and training.

It would have taken him perhaps just a few years to create a credible force, so why did he wait 40 years? Moses was more than a military visionary where he created not only strong and well trained soldiers with weapons and armor and where he devised military tactics and war strategies. He was a self master. He could see that even though he had strong and brave men he must have realized that there was no fire in their belly to do the required necessary work of wars. His people had just come out of 100s of years of slavery. Most for generation after generation must have been laborers, artists and craftsmen. More at home psychologically with a paint brush and a chisel then with a sword. A credible fighting force has to be strong physically and mentally.
So he went about the task of changing his peoples mentality from being docile to a fighting machine with enough fire in the belly to defeat an entrenched enemy scattered in dozens and dozens of city states.

He must have also realized that it would not be a matter of just defeating the enemy it would also be a matter of constantly defending the gained lands. So his first priority was not to rush into the Promised Land but to be capable of taking it and defending it. And to do this he needed to change the mentality of his people. And not just the mentality of his army. He had to change the whole outlook of his entire people from that of a slave mentality to a mentality of a free people. And it is incredible that 400+ years of entrenched mentality he was able to change in a mere generation, a mere 40 years!

He must have realized that it not only takes a strong and willing fighting force it also takes a strong and able leader to win his objectives. So he must have gone about first looking for a youth with the right leadership potential. For the kind of training needed to create a military and political leader he had to start young. Then after finding Joshua it must have taken Moses years of training Joshua in military and political leadership. Thus Moses made the army ready physically, mentally and with enough amour, weapons and provisions necessary for any eventualities in wars. He also made sure Joshua's military leadership training as well as his over all leadership training was complete; and above all when his people had added a new generation who were brought up tasting full freedom as owners and leaders; with no unconscious memories of slavery, did Moses decide to move on to the Promised Land. After all it takes a certain human quality to be free and have leadership qualities.

For Moses defeat and failure was not an option. He could not just get his peoples freedom from the Egyptians only to have them annihilated by rushing in unprepared. He had to wait and prepare and do what ever it takes to be able to achieve his objectives.

So he was not wondering around 40 years in the Sanai desert. He was preparing his people for certain victory.
Moses had to make sure above all that his people were more than ready not just for many many battles but also ready as rulers and as a free people. Ready in body, in mind and with sufficient supplies to fight till victory was assured. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been in the desert to survive and on top of that he had put together a military with all the fighting machine and the other logistics of war. And equally important he had to make sure that the next leader was well trained not only in the art of war and also in the art of leadership. And most important he had to create a new generation that had only tasted life as a free people so that his people were ready to rule themselves and live as a free people, with slavery not even a faint memory. Only when he was confident that his people were well prepared and more then ready in all the above ways; and when he was certain that now victory was assured for his people that he decided to make a move toward the land of Canaan.

Please keep in mind this was no ordinary preparation. It was not just transforming a whole people used to living as docile slaves into an independent spirited entrepreneurs in all the required fields of statehood. He had to equip his people individually with the knowledge and experience in all the required specific fields so that the nation could be built up. He practically opened a huge university where he gave knowledge and practical training to create leaders, workers and citizens for the future nation. From judges to police officers to public officers and all kinds of professions in between. No wonder his people to this day are leaders in every conceivable field of life; thanks to the foundations that he laid in the Sanai desert! He made sure he pulled out all the stops to ensure a thriving state that would last for ever and not only out shine all other nations; he made sure that his people deserved the position of being the chosen! The foundations he created for the statehood of his people were so solid that his people became a nation ever since.
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