Numbers 14:6-16

6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, members of the scouting party, ripped their clothes

7 and addressed the assembled People of Israel: "The land we walked through and scouted out is a very good land - very good indeed.

8 If God is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land that flows, as they say, with milk and honey. And he'll give it to us.

9 Just don't rebel against God! And don't be afraid of those people. Why, we'll have them for lunch! They have no protection and God is on our side. Don't be afraid of them!"

10 But, up in arms now, the entire community was talking of hurling stones at them.

11 God said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me like dirt? How long refuse to trust me? And with all these signs I've done among them!

12 I've had enough - I'm going to hit them with a plague and kill them. But I'll make you into a nation bigger and stronger than they ever were."

13 But Moses said to God, "The Egyptians are going to hear about this! You delivered this people from Egypt with a great show of strength, and now this?

14 The Egyptians will tell everyone. They've already heard that you are God, that you are on the side of this people, that you are present among them, that they see you with their own eyes in your Cloud that hovers over them, in the Pillar of Cloud that leads them by day and the Pillar of Fire at night.

15 If you kill this entire people in one stroke, all the nations that have heard what has been going on will say,

16 'Since God couldn't get these people into the land which he had promised to give them, he slaughtered them out in the wilderness.'

Numbers 14:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 14

This chapter treats or the murmurings of the children of Israel upon the evil report of the spies, which greatly distressed Moses and Aaron, Nu 14:1-5; and of the endeavours of Joshua and Caleb to quiet the minds of the people with a good account of the land, and of the easy conquest of it, but to no purpose, Nu 14:6-10; and of the Lord's threatening to destroy the people with the pestilence, Nu 14:11,12; and of the intercession of Moses for them, which so far succeeded as to prevent their immediate destruction, Nu 14:13-20; nevertheless they are assured again and again, in the strongest terms, that none of them but Joshua and Caleb should enter into the land, but their carcasses should fall in the wilderness, even all the murmurers of twenty years old and upwards, Nu 14:21-35; and the ten men that brought the evil report of the good land died of a plague immediately, but the other two lived, Nu 14:36-38; and the body of the people that attempted to go up the mountain and enter the land were smitten and discomfited by their enemies, after they had with concern heard what the Lord threatened them with, Nu 14:39-45.