Numbers 14

Numbers 14 recounts the Israelites' rebellion against God after hearing the discouraging report from ten of the twelve spies about the Promised Land. The people grumble against Moses and Aaron, desiring to return to Egypt. God responds to this rebellion with judgment, declaring that none of the adults who doubted Him would enter the Promised Land, except for Caleb and Joshua. Despite their remorse, the Israelites suffer the consequences of their lack of faith.

Numbers 14:1-3 (NKJV)
1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.
2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!
3 Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?"

The Israelites, overwhelmed by fear from the spies’ report, react with despair and doubt. They question God’s intentions and express a wish to return to Egypt, believing that facing death there or in the wilderness would be preferable to the dangers of the Promised Land. Their lack of faith blinds them to the power and faithfulness of God, and they blame Moses and Aaron for their situation, forgetting all that God had done to deliver them.

Numbers 14:4 (NKJV)
4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”

In their fear and rebellion, the Israelites propose selecting a new leader to take them back to Egypt, rejecting Moses’ leadership and the guidance of God. This action reflects their complete lack of trust in God’s promise, showing that they would rather return to slavery than continue trusting Him to bring them to the Promised Land.

Numbers 14:5-6 (NKJV)
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes.

Moses and Aaron, recognizing the gravity of the people's rebellion, fall on their faces in humility and intercession before God. Meanwhile, Joshua and Caleb, who were the only spies with faith in God’s promise, tear their clothes in a traditional expression of grief and outrage over the people's lack of faith and their open rebellion.

Numbers 14:7-9 (NKJV)
7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.
8 If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’
9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

Joshua and Caleb try to encourage the people by reminding them of the goodness of the land and God’s power to fulfill His promise. They plead with the Israelites not to rebel or be afraid, asserting that God’s favor would give them victory. The mention that the people of the land’s protection has departed shows their confidence in God’s superiority over their enemies.

Numbers 14:10 (NKJV)
10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.

Despite the pleas of Joshua and Caleb, the people are so consumed by fear and rebellion that they consider stoning these faithful leaders. At this moment, God intervenes dramatically, with His glory appearing at the tabernacle. This divine appearance halts the people’s violent intentions, and God prepares to address their rebellion.

Numbers 14:11-12 (NKJV)
11 Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?
12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

God expresses His frustration at the continual rejection by the Israelites, despite the numerous miracles He has performed. His intention to disinherit them and start over with Moses mirrors what He had considered doing after the golden calf incident. This shows the severity of the people’s rebellion and the consequences of their lack of faith.

Numbers 14:13-16 (NKJV)
13 And Moses said to the Lord: “Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them,
14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are among these people; that You, Lord, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
15 Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying,
16 ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.’”

Moses intercedes for the people by appealing to God’s reputation. He reminds God that the Egyptians and the nations who have heard of God’s might would interpret the destruction of Israel as a failure on God’s part, rather than seeing it as judgment. Moses argues that God’s glory and name should not be dishonored among the nations.

Numbers 14:17-19 (NKJV)
17 “And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying,
18 ‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’
19 Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

Moses appeals to God’s character of mercy and longsuffering, quoting the very words God spoke earlier in Exodus 34:6-7. He asks for forgiveness for the people, acknowledging their guilt but relying on God’s great mercy to pardon them as He had done many times before since they left Egypt.

Numbers 14:20-23 (NKJV)
20 Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word;
21 but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord—
22 because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice,
23 they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.”

God agrees to pardon the people in response to Moses' intercession, but He makes it clear that there are still consequences for their rebellion. The entire generation that witnessed God’s miracles in Egypt and the wilderness but continually rejected Him would not enter the Promised Land. God’s judgment is balanced with His mercy, but unbelief carries a cost.

Numbers 14:24 (NKJV)
24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.

God singles out Caleb as an exception to the judgment because of his faith and wholehearted trust in God. Caleb’s faith distinguishes him from the rest of the people, and as a reward, he and his descendants are promised entry into the land of Canaan.

Numbers 14:25 (NKJV)
25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”

God directs the Israelites to turn away from Canaan and head back into the wilderness, signaling a delay in entering the Promised Land. The Amalekites and Canaanites are positioned to confront them, and without God’s blessing, they are not equipped to face these enemies. This marks the beginning of their wilderness wandering as a consequence of their unbelief.

Numbers 14:26-29 (NKJV)
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me.
28 Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you:
29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.’”

God addresses the persistent complaints of the Israelites. He declares that those aged twenty and above who grumbled and rejected Him would die in the wilderness, fulfilling their own words of doom. Their unbelief and rebellion have sealed their fate, and they will not enter the Promised Land.

Numbers 14:30-31 (NKJV)
30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.
31 But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.

God spares only Caleb and Joshua from the older generation because of their faith. Ironically, the younger generation, whom the people feared would be vulnerable, will inherit the land. This emphasizes that it is faith, not human strength or wisdom, that secures God's blessings.

Numbers 14:32-33 (NKJV)
32 But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.
33 And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.

God reiterates the punishment: the current generation will perish in the wilderness. Their children will endure the hardships of wandering for forty years as a consequence of their parents’ lack of faith. The next generation must wait until the rebellious generation dies out before entering the Promised Land.

Numbers 14:34 (NKJV)
34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.

The forty days spent spying out the land becomes the basis for the forty years of wandering. This period represents God’s judgment on their disobedience, and the Israelites will experience the full consequence of being rejected by God, mirroring their own rejection of Him.

Numbers 14:35 (NKJV)
35 I the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’”

God solemnly declares His judgment as final. The rebellious generation will not escape His justice, and their deaths in the wilderness are inevitable. This confirms the irreversible nature of their disobedience and disbelief.

Numbers 14:36-38 (NKJV)
36 Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land,
37 those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord.
38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.

The ten spies who incited fear and rebellion among the people face immediate judgment, dying by a plague. This demonstrates the seriousness of leading others into sin and rebellion. In contrast, Joshua and Caleb are spared, highlighting God’s approval of their faithfulness.

Numbers 14:39-40 (NKJV)
39 Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.
40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!”

Upon hearing God’s judgment, the people mourn their fate. However, rather than accepting God’s plan, they attempt to enter the land on their own terms, thinking they can undo their disobedience. This rash decision reveals their misunderstanding of repentance and obedience.

Numbers 14:41-43 (NKJV)
41 And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed.
42 Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you.
43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

Moses warns the people that their decision to go up and fight without God’s blessing will result in failure. Without God's presence and support, they are destined for defeat. Moses emphasizes that their disobedience has separated them from God’s protection, making any attempt to take the land now futile.

Numbers 14:44-45 (NKJV)
44 But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp.
45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.

Despite Moses’ warning, the people presumptuously proceed without the ark of the covenant or Moses, both of which symbolize God’s presence and leadership. As a result, they are easily defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites, suffering the consequences of their continued disobedience. Their defeat shows the futility of acting apart from God’s will.