11 And the Lord said to Moses, How long will this people have no respect for me? how long will they be without faith, in the face of all the signs I have done among them?
They were disgusted with the good land; they had no belief in his word;
But though he had done such a number of signs before them, they still had no belief in him:
Because they had no faith in God, and no hope in his salvation.
And to whom did he make an oath that they might not come into his rest? was it not to those who went against his orders?
They will not see the land about which I made an oath to their fathers; not one of these by whom I have not been honoured will see it.
And the Lord said to Moses, How long will you go against my orders and my laws?
Who made him angry when his voice came to them? was it not all those who came out of Egypt with Moses?
Be not hard of heart, as when you made me angry, on the day of testing in the waste land,
Then Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you be lifted up in your pride before me? let my people go so that they may give me worship.
And he said to them in answer, O generation without faith, how long will I have to be with you? how long will I put up with you? let him come to me.
For this is what the Lord of armies has said: As it was my purpose to do evil to you when your fathers made me angry, says the Lord of armies, and my purpose was not changed:
I will have nothing to do with your young ox, O Samaria; my wrath is burning against them; how long will it be before the children of Israel make themselves clean?
How long, you simple ones, will foolish things be dear to you? and pride a delight to the haters of authority? how long will the foolish go on hating knowledge?
Let not your hearts be hard, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the waste land;
Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you made the Lord angry. And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and take the land which I have given you; you went against the orders of the Lord your God, and had no faith in him, and would not give ear to his voice.
Keep well in mind how you made the Lord your God angry in the waste land; from the day when you went out of Egypt till you came to this place, you have gone against the orders of the Lord. Again in Horeb you made the Lord angry, and in his wrath he would have put an end to you.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 14
Commentary on Numbers 14 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 14
This chapter gives us an account of that fatal quarrel between God and Israel upon which, for their murmuring and unbelief, he swore in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest. Here is,
Num 14:1-4
Here we see what mischief the evil spies made by their unfair representation. We may suppose that these twelve that were impanelled to enquire concerning Canaan had talked it over among themselves before they brought in their report in public; and Caleb and Joshua, it is likely, had done their utmost to bring the rest over to be of their mind, and if they would but have agreed that Caleb, according to his pose, should have spoken for them all, as their foreman, all had been well; but the evil spies, it should seem, wilfully designed to raise this mutiny, purely in opposition to Moses and Aaron, though they could not propose any advantage to themselves by it, unless they hoped to be captains and commanders of the retreat into Egypt they were now meditating. But what came of it? Here in these verses we find those whom they studied to humour put into a vexation, and, before the end of the chapter, brought to ruin. Observe,
Num 14:5-10
The friends of Israel here interpose to save them if possible from ruining themselves, but in vain. The physicians of their state would have healed them, but they would not be healed; their watchmen gave them warning, but they would not take warning, and so their blood is upon their own heads.
Num 14:11-19
Here is,
Num 14:20-35
We have here God's answer to the prayer of Moses, which sings both of mercy and judgment. It is given privately to Moses (v. 20-25), and then directed to be made public to the people, v. 26-35. The frequent repetitions of the same things in it speak these resolves to be unalterable. Let us see the particulars.
Num 14:36-45
Here is,