Numbers 14:3

_AND ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL MURMURED AGAINST MOSES AND AGAINST AARON: AND THE WHOLE CONGREGATION SAID UNTO THEM, WOULD GOD THAT WE HAD DIED IN THE LAND OF EGYPT! OR WOULD GOD WE HAD DIED IN THIS WILDERNESS!_ Would God that we had died. Such insolence to their generous leaders, and such base ingratitude to God show the deep degradation of the Israelites, and the absolute necessity of the decree that debarred that generation from entering the promised land. They were punished by them wishes being granted to die in that wilderness. A leader to re-conduct them to Egypt is spoken of (Nehemiah 9:17) as actually nominated. The sinfulness and insane folly of their conduct are almost incredible. Their conduct, however, is paralleled by too many among ourselves, who shrink from the smallest difficulties, and rather remain slaves to sin than resolutely try to surmount the obstac

3._And wherefore has the Lord brought us into this land? _The pride, and even the madness of their impiety here more fully betrays itself, when they accuse God of deception and cruelty, as if tie were betraying them to the Canaanitish nations, and leading them forth to slaughter; for they conclude that they ought not to obey His command, because He would destroy them, and not only so, but that He would at the same time give their wives and children to be a prey. We see how mad is unbelief, when it gives way to itself, since these wretched people do not hesitate to prefer charges against God, and to repay His kindnesses by calling Him their betrayer. But what was the cause of this blasphemous audacity, (54) except that they hear they would have to do with powerful enemies? as if they had not experienced the might of God to be such, that nothing which they might encounter was to be feared...

1-4 Those who do not trust God, continually vex themselves. The sorrow of the world worketh death. The Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, and in them reproached the Lord. They look back with causeless discontent. See the madness of unbridled passions, which makes men prodigal of what nature accounts most dear, life itself. They wish rather to die criminals under God's justice, than to live conquerors in his favour. At last they resolve, that, instead of going forward to Canaan, they would go back to Egypt. Those who walk not in God's counsels, seek their own ruin. Could they expect that God's cloud would lead them, or his manna attend them? Suppose the difficulties of conquering Canaan were as they imagined, those of returning to Egypt were much greater. We complain of our place and lot, and we would change; but is there any place or condition in this world, that has not somet...

EXPOSITION THE REBELLION AT KADESH (continued) (Numbers 13:1, Numbers 14:1). NUMBERS 14:1 AND THE PEOPLE WEPT THAT NIGHT. As the spies repeated their dismal tidings, each to the leading men of his own tribe, and as the report was spread swiftly through the tents (cf. Deuteronomy 1:27) with ever-increasing exaggerations, the lamentation became universal. NUMBERS 14:2 Murmured against Moses

WHEREFORE HATH THE LORD BROUGHT US UNTO THIS LAND,.... Unto the borders of it: their murmuring did not cease at Moses and Aaron, the instruments, but proceeded against God himself, who had done such wonderful things for them, not only in bringing them out of Egypt, but since they had been in the wilderness; and yet so ungrateful to complain of him and argue with him about favours bestowed on them, as if they were injuries done to them; and particularly as if God had no other intention in bringing them out of Egypt to the place where they were, but TO FALL BY THE SWORD: the sword of the Canaanites, as the Targum of Jonathan adds: THAT OUR WIVES AND OUR CHILDREN SHALL BE A PREY? to the same people; they supposed they should be killed, their wives abused, and their children made slaves of: WERE IT NOT BETTER FOR US TO RETURN INTO EGYPT? and so escape the hands of the inhabitants of Canaa...

CHAPTER 14 The Rebellion of the People, Moses' Intercession and the Divine Sentence _ 1. The rebellion (Numbers 14:1)_ 2. The intercession of Moses (Numbers 14:11) 3. The divine sentence (Numbers 14:26) 4. The presumption of the people and the defeat (Numbers 14:40) The words of unbelief of the ten spies yielded an awful harvest among the people. The camp was transformed into a camp of despair, weeping and crying during the night. Outspoken rebellion against Moses and Aaron was heard on all sides. Worse than that took place; they accused Jehovah of deception. Such is unbelief. They

NUMBERS 14:1 (P). THE PEOPLE'S DISCOURAGEMENT AT THE REPORT OF THE SPIES. This section is also a fusion of JE and P: its composite character is suggested by the repetitions in Numbers 14:1. In Numbers 14:6 the minority report proceeds from Joshua and Caleb (not from Caleb only, as in Numbers 13:30, JE), and so is derived from P. But the protest in Numbers 14:7 f., though appearing to be made by both jointly, is really Caleb's, for like Numbers 13:30 it is directed a

WHEREFORE. Figure of speech _Erotesis._ App-6. THE LORD. Hebrew. _Jehovah._ WERE IT NOT... ? Figure of speech _Erotesis._ App-6....

D. COMPLAINT AND REBELLION (NUMBERS 14:1-4) TEXT Numbers 14:1. And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 3. And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? 4. And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt. PARAPHRASE Numbers 14:1. Then all the assembly lifted up their voice and

DISCOURAGEMENT OF THE PEOPLE AND SENTENCE OF FORTY YEARS' WANDERING 9. Bread for us] cp. Numbers 13:32; Numbers 22:4; Numbers 24:8. 12. Cp. Exodus 32:10, where a similar promise is made and where Moses shows the same self-effacing spirit. 13. Cp. Joshua 7:9; 2 Samuel 1:2; Psalms 79:10....