Numbers 14:36-45 The Immediate Consequences of the Israelites’ Disobedience
Day 61 and still no word from our Premier on further openings in our province. No problem, we’re getting used to this. But, hey, that’s exactly what they want. More and more in the world are standing up for their rights. Politicians just need a little more time to “save face”. No problem. Meanwhile we’re finding gems in our study of Numbers.
The Passage
36 As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land,37 even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.
39 When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly.40 In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the [a]ridge of the hill country, saying, “Here we are; [b]we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised.” 41 But Moses said, “Why then are you transgressing the [c]commandment of the Lord, when it will not succeed? 42 Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following the Lord. And the Lord will not be with you.”44 But they went up heedlessly to the [d]ridge of the hill country; neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp.
45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as Hormah.
Footnotes
- Numbers 14:40 Or top of the mountain
- Numbers 14:40 Or and we will go up...for we have sinned
- Numbers 14:41 Lit mouth
- Numbers 14:44 Or top of the mountain
Thoughts on the Passage
The people grumbled, Moses intercedes, God forgives (again) but issues His justice (none of the grumblers will enter into the Promised Land), and the Israelites will spend forty more years in the wilderness. But are there are immediate consequences? Absolutely. This passage tells us that all those that caused the grumbling or stirred up the grumblers, plus all the spies that gave a negative report died by a plague God allowed. And of course, that caused all to mourn. But as Matthew Henry suggests, by these deaths God was communicating a message to the people – He could have wiped them all out just like that; just like the spies. Sometimes we have close calls due to our sinning or disobedience and we still fail to recognize the lesson God is trying to teach us.
The spies that had faith in God’s ability to deliver, Caleb and Joshua, were spared. These days, living in the 21stcentury, it is not always acceptable to answer the question of why did so and so live, while others die by saying “perhaps because God wanted to spare them due to their faith and obedience to Him”. That wouldn’t fly well today, but yet that is exactly the situation we have in this passage. And I believe it is still sometimes (not always) the situation as we try to address that question of “why”?
But by the morning, the people had come to their senses, albeit too late. They realized they had sinned and now wanted to go the land God had promised them. There was no more talk of returning to Egypt. Yes, they were sorry, no doubt like many of us are often sorry about the sins we commit. But as David Guzik says perhaps they were not sorry enough to turn their hearts into a genuine trust and reliance on the Lord going forward. Uttering the right words and even doing the right things without a change of heart does not cut it in these circumstances. Sometimes, folks, we take too long to come to our senses. Sometimes we run to make things right without really seeking to change in the way God wants us to change. As a consequence, we get to watch the train we missed leave the station.
Moses tries to knock some real sense into their heads knowing that God had said that had they gone to get the land now, it would be a disaster. He warned them not to go up and try to take the Promised Land because the Lord was not “among them” at this time. Doing so now would be further sin against the Lord. And it would also be outright insanely dangerous. Thank God for some people that God sends to warn us of potential disaster. But did the Israelites listen even then?
No? Instead, they went right up to the land to take it. We are told that the ark of the covenant and Moses (and we assume Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua, among others) remained behind in the camp.
And like clockwork, as God had said, and as Moses had warned them of, the Amalekites and the Canaanites came down and “struck them and beat them down” as far as Hormah. We cannot change what God has determined will happen. For the Israelites, Hormah represents the beginning of the judgment that was to last forty years – allowing the carcases of the “old men” to die in the wilderness.
Hormah, means “devotion – a place laid waste” and according to Robert Jamieson was named afterwards as such in memory of the immense slaughter of the Israelites on this occasion. We need to be cautious of our potential “Hormah” and avoid it all costs.
What is the-big picture lesson for us? For me, at least, it is this: God is not to be ignored for He has the right to do with us as He said He would, both with respect to our obedience and more critically for us, in respect to our disobedience. I often ask myself, even at my age, “Have I really learned that lesson yet?” And I often wonder how many more times God will say about me as He said about the Israelites to Moses, “How long shall I bear with this evil man who is sinning against Me?” May He, remembering the years of prayers my mother (and after her, my wife) uttered on my behalf, and also say, “I have pardoned him [again] according to their word.” May it be like that for you as well.
It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.
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