Deuteronomy 9:23

23 When the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, He said, 'Go up and possess the land I have given you'; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not believe or obey Him.^[a]

Deuteronomy 9:23 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 9:23

Likewise when the Lord sent you from Kadeshbarnea
From whence the spies were sent to search the land, though previous to it they had the following order to go up and possess it; see ( Numbers 32:8 ) ( Deuteronomy 1:19-21 )

saying, go up and possess the land which I have given you;
this they were bid to do, before they desired the spies might be sent to search it first; and after they had returned and made their report, they were encouraged to go up and take possession of it:

then ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God; refusing
to go up into it: and ye believed him not;
that he would cast out and destroy the inhabitants of it, and put them into the possession of it; which they distrusted by reason of the gigantic stature of some that dwelt in it, and their fortified cities:

nor hearkened to his voice;
whether commanding or encouraging.

Deuteronomy 9:23 In-Context

21 I took the sinful calf you had made, burned it up, and crushed it, thoroughly grinding it to powder as [fine as] dust. Then I threw it into the stream that came down from the mountain.

22 "You continued to provoke the Lord at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah.

23 When the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, He said, 'Go up and possess the land I have given you'; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not believe or obey Him.

24 You have been rebelling against the Lord ever since I have known you.

25 "I fell down in the presence of the Lord 40 days and 40 nights because the Lord had threatened to destroy you.

Footnotes

• [a]. Nm 13-14