Numbers 14:23, commentary and pictures

Surely they shall not see the land is God's sentence after the twelve spies returned to Kadesh with the fruits of Canaan and gave an evil report, shutting the provoking generation out of the land sworn to their fathers. Those shut out were the men numbered from twenty years old and upward who had seen His glory and miracles in Egypt and the wilderness and been blessed with great light, yet tempted Him ten times, would not hearken to His voice, and murmured in unbelief and rebellion. Though He pardoned at Moses' plea for His long-suffering and great mercy lest the nations say He could not bring them in, the pardon did not cancel the judgment, for they had passed the boundary of forbearance and their carcasses would fall in the wilderness while their little ones whom they said would be a prey would be brought in to know and possess the despised land. Caleb and Joshua alone of those who left Egypt would enter because they had another spirit and wholly followed Him, while the ten unfaithful spies who led Israel to rebel were struck dead. Christ Himself was leading them in cloud and fire with manna and water and protection, but they resisted and failed to recognize Him, and the sentence means just as much now with greater light given, warning against unbelief, complaining, and refusal of faithful counsel lest disobedience release God from His covenant and shut men out of His rest.

Context and Divine Sentence

The sentence belongs to the return of the twelve spies from surveying the promised land, set at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran shortly after leaving Mount Horeb, when they came back carrying samples of its produce and gave an evil, false report. Those barred were the men who had seen God's glory and His miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness, who had been blessed with great light and precious opportunities, and yet tempted Him ten times, grieved Him repeatedly, and would not hearken to or obey His voice.

God pardoned the people when Moses pleaded His long-suffering and great mercy and that the nations would say He was not able to bring them into the sworn land, but the pardon did not cancel the judgment. The provoking generation had passed the boundary of forbearance and patience and was still shut out of the land sworn to their fathers, and Moses' intercession spared the people from destruction but their repeated disobedience released God from the covenant they had violated. None of those who provoked God through unbelief, rebellion, and rejection of His warning would see the land sworn to their fathers. All who were numbered from twenty years old and upward who murmured would have their carcasses fall and be buried in the wilderness, while their little ones whom they said would be a prey would be brought in to know the land they had despised and their children would possess it.

Israel stood very near Canaan when the sentence was given, and had they believed Caleb and Joshua and gone up at once God would have given them the land. Jericho could have been theirs much earlier, but their unbelief, defiance, delay, and murmuring forfeited His protection and allowed the Amalekites and Canaanites to hear of the spies and prepare for war, so their failure kept them from entering and delayed possession for forty years. After the judgment the favorable time had passed, so when they later tried to enter they were defeated because God was not with them. Their forty years in the wilderness were not an unnecessary delay and they wrongly blamed God and Moses for the continued journey, and God in pity and mercy directed them back into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.

Caleb is the exception proving the rule, together with Joshua as the only men among those who left Egypt to enter. Because they had another spirit and wholly followed God, God would bring them into the land they had searched and their seed would possess it. The ten unfaithful spies whose report led Israel to murmur and rebel were struck dead.

Mercy and Present Warning

Christ Himself was leading Israel from Egypt toward Canaan in cloud and fire, feeding them with manna and watering them miraculously, protecting them from harm, and giving them evidences of truth, light, power and miracles. Yet they resisted Him, failed to recognize Him, and were unmindful of what He did, so He could not fulfil His purpose through them and they fell in the wilderness and never entered the promised land. Their failure to enter was a repeated rejection of Him, because they never left childhood ways and failed to overcome wrong traits of character, carrying the defects of childhood into the full stature of manhood and womanhood.

The exclusion followed their rebellion and disobedience and their repeated refusal to trust and obey, which released God from the covenant they had violated. Their unbelief and refusal to trust after hearing the false report about the land brought the consequence of being denied the land sworn to their ancestors. It was not mismanagement by Moses and Aaron, as Korah's followers falsely claimed when they blamed the leaders for the people's troubles and said a different leader would have brought them directly to the land.

God swore in His wrath and anger that those who grieved Him in the desert should not enter into His rest and see the land sworn to their fathers. It was not His good pleasure for them to wander so long in the wilderness; He would have brought them immediately to the promised land if they had submitted and loved to be led by Him. He required His people to trust in Him alone and not receive help from those who did not serve Him, and only the two who wholly followed Him were spared from being shut out.

The history warns God's people against unbelief, arrogance, cowardly complaining, drawing back when action is needed, refusing faithful counsel, and rejecting God's faithful servants. Their unbelief and rejection of God's faithful servants and of His warning brought the judgment that they would die in the wilderness and never see the promised land. It calls for reviewing the past step by step with fear and not self-justification, with true repentance and conversion that abhors the course that brought the sure result.

The sentence means just as much now as for the children of Israel whether God's message of warning is obeyed or disobeyed. With much greater light given now more is expected, so all who obey God's law are highly favored and blessed while punishment must come to those who depart in disobedience until Satan takes control of their minds. The same rejection through never leaving childhood ways, failing to overcome wrong traits of character, dishonoring Christ, and refusing His will pierces Him daily today.