Numbers 14

At Kadesh-Barnea, on the border of Canaan, the people of Israel foolishly forfeited their opportunity to enter the Promised Land and claim their inheritance. This tragic failure has made the name “Kadesh” a synonym for defeat and lost opportunity.

At Kadesh: Rebelling against the Lord Israel’s downfall at Kadesh is a reminder to us today that it’s a dangerous thing to trifle with the will of God. You may end up spending the rest of your life wandering around, just waiting to die.

In spite of what some of our hymns declare, Canaan is not a picture of heaven. Certainly there won’t be any battles in heaven! Rather, Canaan is a picture of the inheritance God has planned for each of His children today, the work He wants us to do, and the places He wants us to occupy. Paul called it “good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2: nkjv). The Lord has a perfect plan for each of His children, but we can claim these blessings only by faith and obedience.

Like the people of Israel centuries ago, many believers today walk by sight and not by faith, and therefore they fail to enjoy the good things God has for them. They can’t say with David, “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance” (Ps. 16: nkjv). What did Israel do at Kadesh that brought about their shameful defeat? They committed at least five blatant sins, and God’s children today can commit those same sins and suffer the same kind of shameful defeat.

In the camp of Israel, unbelief and discouragement spread rapidly from heart to heart, and before long “all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night” (v. 1, and note vv. 2 and 10). The next day, the whole congregation criticized Moses and Aaron and lamented the fact that the nation hadn’t perished in Egypt or in the wilderness. When your eyes are on yourself and your circumstances, you lose your perspective and say and do ridiculous things.

However, the Jews had a long record of complaining against the Lord and their leaders, and being judged for it. Their murmuring began on the night of the exodus when they were sure Pharaoh’s army was going to kill them (Ex. 14:10–14). As Israel entered the wilderness of Shur, they complained because they didn’t have water to drink (15:22–27), and then they murmured because they missed the delicious meals that were provided in Egypt (Ex. 16). “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt!” was their favorite lament. At Rephidim, the people were ready to stone Moses because they had no water (17:1–7), and at Taberah some of the people complained and were killed by fire (Num. 11:1–3). Shortly after that, the mixed multitude incited the Jews to ask for meat to eat, and Moses became so discouraged he wanted to die (v. 4ff.).

In most churches, there are two or three chronic complainers who plague the spiritual leaders and sometime must be disciplined, but here was an entire nation weeping over a plight that they had caused by their own unbelief! They didn’t admit their own failings; instead, they blamed God and decided to choose a new leader and return to Egypt (14:3–4). This was rebellion against the will of God.

When the child of God is in the will of God, there is no place for complaining, even if the circumstances are difficult. The will of God will never lead us where the grace of God can’t provide for us or the power of God protect us. If our daily prayer is, “Thy will be done,” and if we walk in obedience to God’s will, then what is there to complain about? A complaining spirit is evidence of an ungrateful heart and an unsurrendered will. By our grumbling, we’re daring to say that we know more than God does about what’s best for His people! “Do everything without complaining or arguing” (Phil. 2: niv; and see 1 Cor. 10:10).

There were four men of faith in the camp—Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua—and they tried to change the situation. Moses and Aaron fell on their faces and interceded with God, something they would do often in the years ahead (see Num. 16:4, 22, 45; 20:6; 22:31), but Caleb and Joshua spoke to the people and assured them that the Jewish army could easily take the land because God was with them. These two men saw the nation’s sin for what it really was: rebellion against God.

The ten unbelieving spies argued that the land of Canaan would “eat up” the Jewish people (13:32), but Joshua and Caleb saw the Canaanites as “bread” for the Jewish army to “eat up” (14:9). The Jews didn’t appreciate what Joshua and Caleb were saying and decided to stone them along with Moses and Aaron (v. 10). When we walk by sight and not by faith, we don’t have sense enough to know who our real friends are, and we turn against those who can help us the most.

The will of God is the expression of the love of God for His people, for His plans come from His heart (Ps. 33:11). God’s will isn’t punishment, it’s nourishment (John 4:31–34), not painful chains that shackle us (Ps. 2:3), but loving cords that tie us to God’s heart so He can lead us in the right way (Hos. 11:4). Those who rebel against God’s will are denying His wisdom, questioning His love, and tempting the Lord to discipline them. Sometimes God has to put a “bit and bridle” on rebels in order to control them (Ps. 32:8–9), and that’s not enjoyable.

God wants us to know His will (Acts 22:14), understand His will (Eph. 5:17), delight in His will (Ps. 40:8), and obey His will from the heart (Eph. 6:6). As we yield to the Lord, trust Him, and obey Him, we “prove by experience” what the will of God is (Rom. 12:1–2). The Spirit of God opens up the Word of God to us and helps us discern what God wants us to do. But it’s important that we are willing to obey, or He won’t teach us what we need to know (John 7:17). The British Anglican minister F.W. Robertson (1816–1853) was right when he said that obedience was the organ of spiritual knowledge. If we aren’t willing to obey, God isn’t obligated to reveal His will to us.

More than once, Israel in her pride tempted God in the wilderness, and He responded with judgment (Deut. 6:16; Ps. 78:17–18, 41, 56; 95:8–11; 106). Like a stubborn child, the Jews never seemed to learn their lesson. Instead of pleasing the Lord who had done so much for them, they provoked Him to anger and dared Him to act.

Intercession (vv. 11–19). As he had done when Israel worshipped the golden calf (Ex. 32), Moses interceded for the people and turned away the wrath of God. For a second time, God offered to make a new nation out of Moses and completely destroy the Jewish people (Num. 14:11), but Moses refused. It’s the mark of great and godly leaders that they think only of the good of their people and not their own personal gain. In fact, Moses was willing to die for the nation rather than let God destroy it (Ex. 32:32; see Rom. 9:1–3).

Moses reasoned with God and argued first of all that His glory would be tarnished if Israel were destroyed. The nations had heard what God did in Egypt, but they would no longer fear Him if Israel were destroyed. The nations would say, “He brought Israel out of Egypt but wasn’t able to bring them into the land. This means that the gods of the land of Canaan are stronger than Jehovah!” The great concern of Moses was that God be glorified before the nations.

His second argument was the covenant God had made with the patriarchs years before (Num. 14:16). The Lord had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would give them the land, and He could not go back on His word (Gen. 13:17; 15:7–21; 28:13; 35:12).

For his third argument, Moses pointed to the character of God and quoted what God Himself had declared to him on Mount Sinai (Num. 14:17–18; Ex. 34:6–7). Because He is a holy God, the Lord must punish sin, but because He is a gracious and merciful God, He forgives sin. How does God solve this dilemma? By giving His own Son on the cross to pay for the sins of the world. Because of the cross, God is both just and the justifier of those who trust in Christ (Rom. 3:21–31). He upholds His holy law and is true to His own character, and at the same time makes forgiveness available to sinners who repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

God in His grace and mercy forgives sin, but in His divine government He allows that sin to have its sad effects in the lives of sinners. He doesn’t hold the children responsible for the sins of their parents, but children can suffer because of their parents’ sins. Since many Jewish homes were comprised of three or four generations, this meant that the entire household would suffer because of the sins of the fathers.

Moses’ final argument for Israel’s forgiveness was the fact that the Lord had forgiven His people many times before (Num. 14:19). “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities” (Ps. 103: nkjv; see Ezra 9:13). The fact that God forgives us isn’t an encouragement for us to go on sinning, because the Lord chastens those who rebel against Him. He forgives us so we’ll fear Him (Ps. 130:4) and have no more desire to sin (John 8:10–11).

Forgiveness (vv. 20–22). God assured Moses that He did indeed pardon their sin (v. 20), but that He would not prevent their sin from working out its terrible destructive consequences. The rebellious Israelites weren’t concerned about the glory of the Lord, even though His glory guided them day by day and hovered over the tabernacle each night. God wanted to use Israel to magnify His glory throughout the whole earth (v. 21; Ps. 72:19; Isa. 6:3; Hab. 2:14), but they had failed miserably.

Discipline (vv. 23–38). God’s judgment was threefold: (1) The nation would wander for thirty-eight years, thus making forty years in the wilderness, one for each day the spies had explored the land; (2) During that time, the older generation, twenty years and upward, would die and not enter the land, except for Caleb and Joshua; (3) The ten unbelieving spies died because of the evil report they delivered (vv. 36–38).

The Jews had lamented that they wanted to die in the wilderness (v. 2), and they had complained that their children would die in Canaan (v. 3), but God declared that their children would live in Canaan and the adults would die in the wilderness! Out of their own mouths, God passed judgment. Be careful what you say to God when you complain, because He may take you up on it! After all, God’s greatest judgment is to let people have their own way.

Moses led the world’s longest funeral march, and Caleb and Joshua watched their generation die. But Caleb and Joshua would be encouraged by God’s promise that both of them would enter the land and enjoy their inheritance. This assurance alone would sustain them during the trying days of the nation’s march, a discipline that wasn’t the fault of either Caleb or Joshua. So the blessed hope of Christ’s return encourages God’s people today in spite of the trials we experience on our pilgrim walk.

Disobeying God’s command (14:39–45; Deut 1:41–46) The day after their great failure, the Jews were supposed to start on their long march through the wilderness (Num. 14:25), but the nation refused to obey. Unbelief, a spirit of complaining, and a rebellious attitude are terrible masters that cause no end of trouble in the lives of those who cultivate them. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16: nkjv).

The Israelites may have “mourned greatly” (Num. 14:39) and said, “We have sinned” (v. 40), but this “mourning” was regret and not true repentance. The Jews regretted the consequences of their sins but not the sins themselves. Israel had rebelled against God and robbed Him of glory, yet they exhibited no brokenness of spirit or sorrow for sin. Unlike Moses and Aaron, they didn’t fall on their faces and seek the Lord’s help. Instead, they went from rebellion to presumption and tried to fight the enemy on their own.

Admitting sin isn’t the same as confessing sin and turning to the Lord to seek His mercy. The Jews thought that they could make a new beginning because God had granted them forgiveness, but they were wrong. God had forgiven their sins, but He had also instituted a new plan that would delay Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land for nearly forty years. An unbelieving people with an arrogant attitude could never defeat the heathen nations in Canaan. If Israel wasn’t right with God, they could never claim God’s help as they sought to conquer the land.

Neither Moses nor the ark left the camp (see 10:33–36), the cloud didn’t move from the tabernacle, and the silver trumpets didn’t blow. Yet the makeshift army went out to do battle! The word translated “presumed” in 14: comes from a Hebrew word that means “to be lifted up,” that is, “to be proud, arrogant, and swelled up with one’s own importance.” The soldiers’ boast, “We will go up and fight,” was answered by God’s warning, “I will not be with you” (Deut. 1:41–42 niv). Man’s efforts without God’s blessing do more harm than good, for Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

The Lord’s prediction came true and the Israelite army was defeated ignominiously. Not only did the Amalekites and Canaanites rout the Jewish forces as they attacked, but they chased the Jewish army over 100 miles north, as far as Hormah. It was a sad day for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The entire experience at Kadesh-Barnea teaches us that there is no substitute for faith in God’s promises and obedience to His commandments. Faith is simply obeying God in spite of how we feel, what we see, or what we think might happen. When God’s people trust and obey, the Lord delights in doing wonders for them, because they glorify His name.

The agnostic American newspaper editor Henry L. Mencken defined faith as “an illogical belief in the occurrence of the impossible.” Mark Twain wrote that faith was “believing what you know ain’t so.” Both were wrong.

Evangelist D. L. Moody said that “real true faith is man’s weakness leaning on God’s strength.” It’s taking God at His Word and proving it by obeying what He tells us to do.

That’s where Israel failed.

Let’s not follow their example!