February 22, 2026 | Dr. Doug McCart
Passage: Numbers 14:1-10
The repeated rebellions of Israel against the will of God reached their climax in this chapter with the Divine sentence that condemned that whole generation to die in the wilderness, allowing the possession of Canaan to their children, who, reared in the hardships of the wilderness, possessed the faith and ability to enable their success. First is recorded their night of weeping and the appointment of a new leader to take them back to Egypt! (Numbers 14:1-4). Moses and Aaron tried unsuccessfully to restrain the people (Numbers 14:5-10). Moses interceded for the people (Numbers 14:11-19). God indeed forgave them, but blasted them with a sentence of death in the wilderness, and ordered them to turn back southward toward the Red Sea (Numbers 14:20-25). Moses then announced God's sentence to the people, giving the additional provision that a whole forty years should elapse before any of them entered Canaan (Numbers 14:26-35). God brought upon the people a plague that resulted in the death of the ten unfaithful spies, Joshua and Caleb being spared (Numbers 14:36-38), but the rebellious people decided on their own to go up and take Canaan anyway, resulting in a disastrous defeat (Numbers 14:39-45).
https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bcc/numbers-14.html