Philip Allan Turner

Spies of Promise: The Untold Story of Joshua's 40 Days in Canaan by Philip Allan Turner is a Christian spy thriller about the 12 Hebrew spies sent to reconnoiter the promised land of Canaan after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. The story is told by a CIA officer who learned the story from a source he debriefed in the Middle East. The source tells the story from the point of view of Joshua who, at 100 years old, relays the tale to his grandson who does not know the details outside of what was told in the Bible in the book of Numbers chapters 13-14. The story in the Bible is only is about 2 pages long. This novel describes what the 12 spies, sent by Moses, experienced during their 40 day intelligence operation in Canaan. Joshua and the 11 other spies encounter assassins, prostitutes, sorcerers, demons and angels along their route. Both Moses and Satan are key secondary characters in this story about faith, redemption and love.

There are some powerful metaphors in the story about faith. The themes of fall and redemption, as well as a love story, are present. According to the Bible, the Hebrews were ultimately disobedient, not believing the word of God and failed to reach the Promise Land. The Bible tells of their punishment after the mission in Canaan where they are forced to wander in the wilderness of the Sinai for 40 years (one year for each day that the 12 spies were on their mission). The story in the Bible does not discuss what happened during those 40 days, just the beginning and the end. The story has some important themes such as faith. At the end of Joshua's tale, the story returns to the present where the narrator provides ten spiritual points to take away, mainly not to have a wilderness state of mind like the Hebrews.

Although the Hebrews where freed, they still needed to free themselves from the psychological bondage of so many years of slavery. Many people are in their own personal wilderness of the past by reliving past hurt and traumas. There are powerful life lessons at the end of this book which help people navigate through their own personal wilderness. This thrilling work of historical fiction was written from a God-consciousness point of view. So many people lack purpose and meaning in their lives, perhaps this fictionalized account of Joshua's spy mission can lead people to gain more perspective about their lives and gain more faith in their hearts. This exciting novel provides a fictionalized account of Joshua's mission but contains spycraft and situations which could have come from news headlines in 2015.