NOTES for Num 14:1-45

Faithless Israel murmurs again. Frightened by difficulties, the people do not want to follow Moses into the Promised Land. The situation described here contains a serious warning: by rebelling against God’s plan, we condemn ourselves to fruitless wandering in the wilderness, for its fulfillment requires us to trust God—and that means overcoming our fears through His Spirit and love. Because of its unbelief, Israel loses God’s help and must wait forty years, until the generation of Egyptian slaves dies out and a generation of God’s people grows up.