Numbers 14:11

11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? How long will it be before they believe me, with all the signs which I have done among them?

Numbers 14:11 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 14:11

And the Lord said unto Moses
Out of the cloud upon the tabernacle:

how long will this people provoke me?
which suggests that they had often provoked him, and had done it long ago, and still continued to do so; and he had long bore their provocations; but it was not reasonable, nor could it be expected by Moses or any other, that he would bear them much longer,

and how long will it be ere they believe me;
unbelief was a sin they had often and long been guilty of, and which greatly prevailed among them, and was the root of all their murmurings, mutiny, and rebellion; and what was highly provoking to the Lord, since they ought to have believed him, and that he was able to make good, and would make good his promises to them:

for all the signs which I have showed among them;
the wonders and miracles he had wrought in Egypt, at the Red sea, and in the wilderness, and in their sight; on account of which they should have given credit to his word, and which were strong aggravations of their unbelief; and is the true reason why they entered not into the good land, ( Hebrews 3:18 Hebrews 3:19 ) .

Numbers 14:11 In-Context

9 Therefore, do not be rebels against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are our bread; their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.
10 Then all the multitude spoke of stoning them with stones. But the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the testimony before all the sons of Israel.
11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? How long will it be before they believe me, with all the signs which I have done among them?
12 I will smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
13 And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, for thou didst bring this people out of the midst of them with thy might;
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010