Numbers 14:1-10
Israel Refuses to Enter Canaan
1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey.’ 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.”
10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.
The people complained against God as they did so against Moses and Aaron who were His spokesmen leading them out of captivity towards the promised land through the dry lands of the desert wilderness where they should have been seeking (Psalm 63:1) the LORD instead of blaming Him for harsh conditions. Their conditions, oddly enough, were exponentially worse in the rigors of Egyptian whips and work laid on their backs, but they only saw that they had somewhat more variety in their food choices. They let the fragments of good in Egypt blind them to their plight there as overworked slaves without the provision of God’s bounty to feed them. They wanted to go back to Egypt when times got tough instead of praising Him and thanking Moses and Aaron for leading them to a far, far better place in the land of milk and honey promised to them. They even thought it would have been better to die in Egypt than live through the difficult journey to the promised country to come! How many of we who are now in Christ complain sometimes because we do not enjoy the temporary suffering (2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:17-18) on our own journeys towards that heavenly country (Hebrews 11:16) promised us in His presence at last? Those people grumbled and longed to return to the world of sin’s bondage as some who turn to Christ will go back into the world for a form of comfort as they suffer the consequences of sins all over again because they do not seek God in times of (Hebrews 4:16) troubles and tribulations. Remember Caleb who was a faithful witness to the good land of plenty set before them to inherit and who pleaded with the rebels not to turn from the goodness of God’s promises because He was with them and could be trusted to lead them through adversity to gain such great gain in that future land. When these who listened but refused to hear picked up stones to kill Caleb along with Moses and Aaron, God’s presence of glory overshadowed them all to stop the rebellion and set things straight (Romans 8:28) for His glory and their good. He still does this for His people. We then are to trust Him and count these temporary afflictions as necessary (2 Corinthians 4:18) to the journey of faith to that promised eternal land set before us and not rebel in faithlessness by seeking to stubbornly refuse this life of sanctification by returning to our old and empty lives in bondage to the world’s sin.
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