23 Surely they shall not H518 see H7200 the land H776 which I sware H7650 unto their fathers, H1 neither shall any of them that provoked H5006 me see H7200 it:
Surely H518 none of the men H582 that came up H5927 out of Egypt, H4714 from twenty H6242 years H8141 old H1121 and upward, H4605 shall see H7200 the land H127 which I sware H7650 unto Abraham, H85 unto Isaac, H3327 and unto Jacob; H3290 because they have not wholly H4390 followed H310 me:
Surely there shall not one H376 of these men H582 of this evil H7451 generation H1755 see H7200 that good H2896 land, H776 which I sware H7650 to give H5414 unto your fathers, H1 Save H2108 Caleb H3612 the son H1121 of Jephunneh; H3312 he shall see H7200 it, and to him will I give H5414 the land H776 that H834 he hath trodden upon, H1869 and to his children, H1121 because he hath wholly H4390 followed H310 the LORD. H3068 Also the LORD H3068 was angry H599 with me for your sakes, H1558 saying, H559 Thou also shalt not go H935 in thither. H8033 But Joshua H3091 the son H1121 of Nun, H5126 which standeth H5975 before H6440 thee, he shall go in H935 thither: encourage H2388 him: for he shall cause Israel H3478 to inherit H5157 it. Moreover your little ones, H2945 which ye said H559 should be a prey, H957 and your children, H1121 which in that day H3117 had no knowledge H3045 between good H2896 and evil, H7451 they shall go in H935 thither, and unto them will I give H5414 it, and they shall possess H3423 it. But as for you, turn H6437 you, and take your journey H5265 into the wilderness H4057 by the way H1870 of the Red H5488 sea. H3220 Then ye answered H6030 and said H559 unto me, We have sinned H2398 against the LORD, H3068 we will go up H5927 and fight, H3898 according to all that the LORD H3068 our God H430 commanded H6680 us. And when ye had girded H2296 on every man H376 his weapons H3627 of war, H4421 ye were ready H1951 to go up H5927 into the hill. H2022 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto me, Say H559 unto them, Go not up, H5927 neither fight; H3898 for I am not among H7130 you; lest ye be smitten H5062 before H6440 your enemies. H341 So I spake H1696 unto you; and ye would not hear, H8085 but rebelled H4784 against the commandment H6310 of the LORD, H3068 and went H5927 presumptuously H2102 up H5927 into the hill. H2022 And the Amorites, H567 which dwelt H3427 in that mountain, H2022 came out H3318 against H7125 you, and chased H7291 you, as bees H1682 do, H6213 and destroyed H3807 you in Seir, H8165 even unto Hormah. H2767 And ye returned H7725 and wept H1058 before H6440 the LORD; H3068 but the LORD H3068 would not hearken H8085 to your voice, H6963 nor give ear H238 unto you.
Therefore he lifted up H5375 his hand H3027 against them, to overthrow H5307 them in the wilderness: H4057
But G1161 with whom G5101 was he grieved G4360 forty G5062 years? G2094 was it not G3780 with them that had sinned, G264 whose G3739 carcases G2966 fell G4098 in G1722 the wilderness? G2048 And G1161 to whom G5101 sware he G3660 that they should G1525 not G3361 enter G1525 into G1519 his G846 rest, G2663 but G1508 to them that believed not? G544
For G1063 we which G3588 have believed G4100 do enter G1525 into G1519 rest, G2663 as G2531 he said, G2046 As G5613 I have sworn G3660 in G1722 my G3450 wrath, G3709 if G1487 they shall enter G1525 into G1519 my G3450 rest: G2663 although G2543 the works G2041 were finished G1096 from G575 the foundation G2602 of the world. G2889
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 14
Commentary on Numbers 14 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 14
Nu 14:1-45. The People Murmur at the Spies' Report.
1. all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried—Not literally all, for there were some exceptions.
2-4. Would God that we had died in Egypt—Such insolence to their generous leaders, and such base ingratitude to God, show the deep degradation of the Israelites, and the absolute necessity of the decree that debarred that generation from entering the promised land [Nu 14:29-35]. They were punished by their wishes being granted to die in that wilderness [Heb 3:17; Jude 5]. A leader to reconduct them to Egypt is spoken of (Ne 9:17) as actually nominated. The sinfulness and insane folly of their conduct are almost incredible. Their conduct, however, is paralleled by too many among us, who shrink from the smallest difficulties and rather remain slaves to sin than resolutely try to surmount the obstacles that lie in their way to the Canaan above.
5. Moses and Aaron fell on their faces—as humble and earnest suppliants—either to the people, entreating them to desist from so perverse a design; or rather, to God, as the usual and only refuge from the violence of that tumultuous and stiff-necked rabble—a hopeful means of softening and impressing their hearts.
6. Joshua … and Caleb, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes—The two honest spies testified their grief and horror, in the strongest manner, at the mutiny against Moses and the blasphemy against God; while at the same time they endeavored, by a truthful statement, to persuade the people of the ease with which they might obtain possession of so desirable a country, provided they did not, by their rebellion and ingratitude, provoke God to abandon them.
8. a land flowing with milk and honey—a general expression, descriptive of a rich and fertile country. The two articles specified were among the principal products of the Holy Land.
9. their defence is departed—Hebrew, "their shadow." The Sultan of Turkey and the Shah of Persia are called "the shadow of God," "the refuge of the world." So that the meaning of the clause, "their defence is departed from them," is, that the favor of God was now lost to those whose iniquities were full (Ge 15:16), and transferred to the Israelites.
10. the glory of the Lord appeared—It was seasonably manifested on this great emergency to rescue His ambassadors from their perilous situation.
12. the Lord said, … I will smite them with the pestilence—not a final decree, but a threatening, suspended, as appeared from the issue, on the intercession of Moses and the repentance of Israel.
17. let the power of my Lord be great—be magnified.
21. all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord—This promise, in its full acceptation, remains to be verified by the eventual and universal prevalence of Christianity in the world. But the terms were used restrictively in respect to the occasion, to the report which would spread over all the land of the "terrible things in righteousness" [Ps 65:5] which God would do in the infliction of the doom described, to which that rebellious race was now consigned.
22. ten times—very frequently.
24. my servant Caleb—Joshua was also excepted, but he is not named because he was no longer in the ranks of the people, being a constant attendant on Moses.
because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully—Under the influence of God's Spirit, Caleb was a man of bold, generous, heroic courage, above worldly anxieties and fears.
25. (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley)—that is, on the other side of the Idumean mountain, at whose base they were then encamped. Those nomad tribes had at that time occupied it with a determination to oppose the further progress of the Hebrew people. Hence God gave the command that they seek a safe and timely retreat into the desert, to escape the pursuit of those resolute enemies, to whom, with their wives and children, they would fall a helpless prey because they had forfeited the presence and protection of God. This verse forms an important part of the narrative and should be freed from the parenthetical form which our English translators have given it.
30. save Caleb … and Joshua—These are specially mentioned, as honorable exceptions to the rest of the scouts, and also as the future leaders of the people. But it appears that some of the old generation did not join in the mutinous murmuring, including in that number the whole order of the priests (Jos 14:1).
34. ye shall know my breach of promise—that is, in consequence of your violation of the covenant betwixt you and Me, by breaking the terms of it, it shall be null and void on My part, as I shall withhold the blessings I promised in that covenant to confer on you on condition of your obedience.
36-38. those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord—Ten of the spies struck dead on the spot—either by the pestilence or some other judgment. This great and appalling mortality clearly betokened the hand of the Lord.
40-45. they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain—Notwithstanding the tidings that Moses communicated and which diffused a general feeling of melancholy and grief throughout the camp, the impression was of very brief continuance. They rushed from one extreme of rashness and perversity to another, and the obstinacy of their rebellious spirit was evinced by their active preparations to ascend the hill, notwithstanding the divine warning they had received not to undertake that enterprise.
for we have sinned—that is, realizing our sin, we now repent of it, and are eager to do as Caleb and Joshua exhorted us—or, as some render it, though we have sinned, we trust God will yet give us the land of promise. The entreaties of their prudent and pious leader, who represented to them that their enemies, scaling the other side of the valley, would post themselves on the top of the hill before them, were disregarded. How strangely perverse the conduct of the Israelites, who, shortly before, were afraid that, though their Almighty King was with them, they could not get possession of the land; and yet now they act still more foolishly in supposing that, though God were not with them, they could expel the inhabitants by their unaided efforts. The consequences were such as might have been anticipated. The Amalekites and Canaanites, who had been lying in ambuscade expecting their movement, rushed down upon them from the heights and became the instruments of punishing their guilty rebellion.
45. even unto Hormah—The name was afterwards given to that place in memory of the immense slaughter of the Israelites on this occasion.