Numbers 14:1–35

Is it any wonder? What else could you expect from a people who had nothing before their eyes but mighty giants, lofty walls, and great cities? What but tears and sighs could come from a congregation who saw themselves as grasshoppers, faced with difficulties too great to overcome? They had no sense of the divine power that could carry them right through it all. … They were occupied with themselves and their difficulties instead of with God and His resources.

But they were tears of unbelief, not of sorrow… They had no faith about the glory ahead of them, pictured by the land of Canaan. They had just as little faith about Egypt, which they had left, and about the wilderness they were walking through.

The discouraging words of the ten spies infected the whole congregation of Israel, as discouragement too often does among God's people. They wept that night, then began with bitter complaints — not just against Moses and Aaron, but directly against the Lord. Why had God not let them die in Egypt or in the wilderness, instead of exposing them to the danger of dying in battle against the Canaanites? How inconsistent their arguments are. If they really wanted to die, why be afraid of their enemies? They also never considered that they might survive and take the land, while their enemies died. But fear is a terrible disease that robs a believer of his proper senses.

What a contrast between this and the opening of Exodus 15! There their eyes were only on Jehovah, and so they could sing the song of victory. That song said the nations would hear and be afraid, and that sorrow would take hold of the people of Philistia. Instead, it was Israel that was afraid, and sorrow took hold of them. The sorrow, the trembling and the fear fall on Israel rather than on their enemies. And why? Because the One who filled their vision in Exodus 15 is completely shut out in Numbers 14. This makes all the difference. In the one case faith is on top; in the other, unbelief.

When they first set out and their sin showed itself, bad as it was, they did not blame God. They blamed Moses, the man who brought them up out of the land of Egypt. But the moment this unbelief takes hold of their hearts, the desert becomes painful beyond bearing… See what a wicked state of unbelief they had fallen into, blaming Jehovah Himself for their trials and difficulties. Even Christians can fall into this snare… If Canaan had been on the hearts of the children of Israel, they would have said, Thank God that we have come this far on our way to Canaan.

But what kept them back? Just that hateful thing which, day after day and hour after hour, robs us of the precious privilege of walking the highest stages of the divine life. And what is that? Unbelief! "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:19). This caused Israel to wander in the desert for 40 tedious years. Instead of looking at Jehovah's power to bring them into the land, they looked at the enemy's power to keep them out of it.

All their thoughts were — "God is not." His own people plainly gave in to what is so sadly true of the unbeliever. "They are stronger than we." And where then was God? ... "The congregation lifted up their voice again and cried, and the people wept that night." But they were tears of unbelief, not of sorrow... Their unbelief covered everything: the glory in front of them in the land of Canaan, the Egypt they had left, and the wilderness they were crossing.

When, in the first freshness of their setting out, their sin had shown itself (bad as it was), they did not lay the blame on God... But the moment this unbelief takes hold of their hearts, the desert becomes unbearably painful to them... See what a wretched, wicked state of unbelief they had fallen into. They blamed the Lord Himself for their trials and difficulties. Even Christians can fall into this snare. We know it is the Lord who brought us up out of bondage. So when trials come, our hearts are apt to say, this comes of my being a Christian — the Lord has brought me into these difficulties.

They wept that night. Then came bitter complaints — not just against Moses and Aaron, but directly against the Lord!... How inconsistent their arguments are. If they really wanted to die, why be afraid of their enemies? They also never considered that they might live and take the land, while their enemies died. But fear is a terrible disease that robs a believer of his proper senses.

Are not we, too, like Israel? We are prone to look at the difficulties around us, rather than at that blessed One. He has undertaken to carry us right through them all, and to bring us safely into His own everlasting kingdom. Why are we sometimes cast down? Why do we go mourning? Why do we sound discontented and impatient, instead of singing praise and thanksgiving? Simply because we let circumstances shut God out. We should have God instead as a perfect covering for our eyes and a perfect object for our hearts.

Suppose a friend had given me something as a great treasure, and I was sure it was mine. Yet I looked at it only seldom, and cared to think of it only seldom. This would prove one thing: not that I doubted it was mine, but that I despised it and put no real value on it. This is very often the way we treat the heavenly glory that belongs to us.

In Israel's case God was lost sight of. It was either a calf or a captain; either death in the wilderness, or return into Egypt. Caleb stands in bright contrast to all this. For him there was no death in the wilderness and no return to Egypt. There was an abundant entrance into the promised land, behind the Lord's impenetrable shield.

God's answer was this: you say you wish you had died in the wilderness — you shall die in the wilderness... God says, you will have to die, only it will take you forty years to do it.

When their sin first showed itself, at the fresh start of their journey, they did not lay the blame on God. They said, "This Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt." But the moment this unbelief takes hold of their hearts, the desert becomes unbearably painful to them... See what a miserable, wicked state of unbelief they had fallen into: they blamed Jehovah Himself for their trials and difficulties. Even Christians face this trap. We know it is the Lord who has brought us up out of slavery. So when trials come, our hearts are apt to say, This comes of my being a Christian — the Lord has brought me into these difficulties. If Canaan had been on the hearts of the children of Israel, they would have said, Thank God that we are this far on our way to Canaan.

Why did God not let them die in Egypt or in the wilderness, instead of exposing them to the danger of dying in battle against the Canaanites? How inconsistent their arguments are. If they really wanted to die, why be afraid of their enemies? They also never considered that they might survive and take the land, while their enemies died. But fear is a terrible disease that robs a believer of his proper senses.

This is the sure result. The heart that refuses to go on with God goes back to Egypt in its desires.

There are two sad forms of unbelief in Israel's history in the wilderness: one at Horeb, the other at Kadesh. At Horeb they made a calf... At Kadesh they proposed to make a captain to lead them back into Egypt. The first is the superstition of unbelief. The second is the wilful independence of unbelief. We need not wonder that those who thought a calf had brought them out of Egypt should look for a captain to lead them back... In Israel's case they lost sight of God. It was either a calf or a captain; either death in the wilderness, or return to Egypt.

This was terrible. As far as they were able, they were confirming Pharaoh's crafty prediction about these very little ones: "Look, you have some evil purpose in mind." Unbelief always justifies Satan and makes God a liar. Faith always justifies God and proves Satan a liar.

Unbelief had fastened on the little ones, as if it were pointless to expect that children like these could cross the desert safely and enter the land against the enemy. The very people who gave way to such unbelieving doubt of the Lord's care reaped the consequences themselves. The children, who they thought could never survive the horrors of the wilderness, were the only ones brought in, together with the two men who vindicated God and held fast to His word, Caleb and Joshua.

We now come to the decisive point in the history of the wilderness: the people refused to enter the land after coming to its very borders. By this they incur the penalty of forty years of wandering, and the death of the whole generation (except two people) in the wilderness. For them, the whole character of life changes. They are no longer pilgrims but wanderers. They are not aimless, but their only aim is to stay alive for these forty years.

There are two sad phases of unbelief shown in Israel's history in the wilderness; one at Horeb, the other at Kadesh. At Horeb they made a calf, and said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." At Kadesh they proposed to make a captain to lead them back into Egypt. The first of these is the superstition of unbelief; the second, the wilful independence of unbelief. No wonder that people who thought a calf had brought them out of Egypt would look for a captain to lead them back. The poor human mind is tossed like a ball from one to the other of these terrible evils. There is no resource except what faith finds in the living God. Israel had lost sight of God. It was either a calf or a captain; either death in the wilderness or a return to Egypt. Caleb stands in bright contrast with all this. For him it was neither death in the wilderness nor a return to Egypt, but a full entrance into the promised land, behind the unbreakable shield of the LORD.

In Exodus 32:4, we read of the making of the calf, which they imagined had brought them up out of Egypt. Now they wish to make a captain to take them back. Both these evils are brought together very strikingly in Nehemiah 9:17-18, but there the order of them is reversed. It looks as if the provocation in this later case was as great as in the former. To reject a servant whom God has appointed as captain is the same as rejecting God Himself, though rejecting Him by making a golden calf was a cruder act.

When you think about it, what a terrible revelation of the heart of man is in that scene at Mount Sinai. Then they said, "Make us gods;" and later they say, "Let us make a captain" (Num. 14:4). In all our hearts is the tendency to look for someone we can lean on, someone who can lead and guide us. That is, a person who will take us off the ground of simple faith in God.

Israel's discouragement from unbelief went so deep that they even urged the people to appoint another leader instead of Moses and go back to Egypt. Having left an ungodly world, can believers return to it and be welcome? By this time Egypt would have grown used to Israel being gone, and would not be likely to take them back. But unbelief cannot reason straight.

The result was judgment; and no wonder. For they say, "Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt." This is the sure outcome. The heart that refuses to go on with God goes back to Egypt in its desires.

Let us go back, they say. Oh, could you imagine it after all the grace shown to them? But, friends, we know what our own hearts are. Have we never wished to turn back?... God's answer was this: You say you wish you had died in the wilderness — you shall die in the wilderness... Says God, You will have to die, only it will take you forty years to do it.

In this long prayer of confession they reviewed the history of their nation. Twice they admitted one of the great root causes of their sin: their forefathers had "dealt proudly" (verses 16 and 29). Out of this spirit of pride... came the self-assertion and disobedience that marked their whole history. In their early days it came to a head when they "appointed a captain to return to their bondage" (verse 17).

In Exodus 32:4 we read that they made the calf, which they imagined had brought them up out of Egypt. Now they wish to make a captain to take them back. Nehemiah 9:17-18 brings both these evils together very strikingly, but there they come in reverse order. It looks as if this later provocation was as great as the earlier one. To reject a servant whom God has appointed as captain is to reject God Himself, though rejecting Him by making a golden calf was a cruder act.

No crisis since the days of the calf had been as serious as this one. It brought four men of faith into clear view. Aaron's faith was not as strong as the faith of Moses, but he still fell on his face with Moses before the congregation. He shared here in the meekness of Moses. When a man falls on his face before his opponents, he all but wipes himself out. In fact they could not have done a more serious thing. If they had stood up to their full height before the people, they would have claimed their authority and taken the challenge on themselves. But instead they put themselves out of the matter and left God to take up the challenge.

Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb stand alone among hundreds of thousands of grumbling, rebellious Israelites and the mixed crowd with them. They fell on their faces, no doubt in the attitude of prayer and worship, to tell the Lord... Beautiful is the scene of Moses' intercession. He stands out as a striking type of our great Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. God offered Moses a fresh start: He would destroy the rebels and make Moses into a nation even greater than Israel. Moses turned the offer down. He does not want glory for himself, but he is jealous for the Lord's name and glory.

A wonderful sight indeed! Four men confronted this host of rebels. Two of them were old and heartbroken, on their faces before the God whom the people had offended. Two of them were young, brave and faithful — men for the crisis. They risked their lives for the sake of the truth, and pleaded with their fellow Israelites with an energy that only love could produce... in Moses and Aaron we see complete dependence on God; in Joshua and Caleb we may see the self-forgetting devotion of love.

Better to side with God and four men, or even alone, than to have the company of 600,000 in a path of sin. If alone with God, you have His grace, even though you may face many kinds of trial. If crowds of unfaithful men surround you, you lack the one source of power — you do not have God.

Three times over in the Book of Numbers the glory of the Lord appeared in times of crisis... On the first occasion, the rebellion made Moses and Aaron fall on their faces before all the assembly. The people had said to one another, "Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt." God spoke of disinheriting Israel. Moses interceded and God spared them, but the Lord answered, "As I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord."

Since the days of the calf no crisis had been this serious. It brought four men of faith into clear view. Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the congregation, putting themselves out of the matter and leaving God to take up the challenge. Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes — the sign of distress and rejection — and boldly testified to the faithfulness and power of God. God was before their hearts and not the children of Anak. All the same, it came to nothing. The people were completely bankrupt when it came to faith.

Caleb says, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." He is like an evangelist who commends the gospel by the joy that fills his own heart. But the next thing is that ten men assert, "We are not able to go up." For one man who will commend Christ, I find ten men who will give you a reason for doubting. These men bring a bad report. If a man comes and tells you that you cannot take Christ for yourself, he is like one of the ten bad spies.

Joshua and Caleb were God's chosen instruments to stem this flood of unbelief and to testify against it. They were horrified at the sin of the people, so they tore their clothes. Raising their voices above the noise and confusion in the congregation, they courageously repeated their declaration that the land they had searched out was "an exceedingly good land." They boldly contradicted the bad report of their fellow spies. In doing so they separated themselves morally from their company and took their stand on the Lord's side.

TWO stands for distinctness, and so for adequate testimony, and for fellowship when the two agree. Two witnesses are needed. Deuteronomy 19:15; 2 Corinthians 13:1. Caleb and Joshua witnessed for the land. Numbers 14:6-9.

And for what were they to be stoned? Was it for telling lies? Was it for blasphemy or evil-doing? No; it was for their bold and earnest testimony to the truth. They had been sent to spy out the land and to bring back a true report about it. This they did; and for this "all the congregation said to stone them with stones." The people did not like the truth then any more than now. Truth is never popular. There is no place for it in this world, or in the human heart. People will accept lies, and error in every shape; but never truth. Joshua and Caleb met in their day what all true witnesses in every age have met, and what all must expect: the opposition and hatred of most of their fellows. Six hundred thousand voices rose against two men who simply told the truth and trusted God.

The people say, "Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt." The heart that refuses to go on with God goes back to Egypt in its desires. Let us not forget what Joshua and Caleb said. We owe it to our God to give a good report of the land which lies before us.

May we not learn a lesson in these days from the loyalty of these devoted men of God? Does not their simple yet mighty appeal rebuke the fears and faint-heartedness of many at the present time? "The land is an exceedingly good land" was faith's simple reply then to all Satan's hindrances — and is it any different today? The spirit of Numbers 14 is sadly at work at this moment.

Let us not forget this. We owe it to our God to give a good report of the land which lies before us.

They could not deny that the Lord's promise was true. They carried the evidences of it upon their shoulders while they carried unbelief in their hearts... The Hebrew for "bringing up an evil report" is translated in Proverbs 10:18 as "uttering a slander." Unbelief slanders God; it is an insult to the Lord.

Joshua and Caleb were God's chosen instruments to hold back this flood of unbelief and to testify against it. They tore their clothes to show their horror at the sin of the people. Raising their voices above the noise and confusion in the congregation, they bravely repeated their declaration that the land they had searched out was "an exceedingly good land." So they boldly contradicted the "evil report" of their fellows. In doing so, they separated themselves morally from their company and took their stand on the Lord's side.

Caleb and Joshua had not only been in the land, but they had been with God about the land. They had looked at it all from faith's point of view. They knew the land was theirs, in the purpose of God. They knew it was worth having, as the gift of God. And they knew they would yet have it by the power of God. They were men full of faith, full of courage, full of power.

They also stated plainly the conditions of possessing the land. First, "If the Lord delights in us," they said, "He will bring us into this land." In this they showed that they agreed with the Lord's mind. He did delight in His people, and they knew it. So everything depended on what He was, and on His power — not on what the people were, or could do.

One reason why Canaan cannot mean heaven is that Israel could be driven out of the land. This is not possible with heaven. Canaan is the type of the heavenly position and possession which the believer has in Christ Jesus. It matches what Ephesians calls "in heavenly places," or better translated, "in the heavenly." It is the heavenly sphere, the heavenly, spiritual blessings given to us in Christ Jesus.

Caleb is like an evangelist who commends the gospel by the joy that fills his own heart... For one man who will commend Christ, I find ten men who will give you a reason for doubting. These men bring an evil report. Ah, if a man comes and tells you that you cannot claim Christ for yourself, he is like one of the ten evil spies. They slander the land, while Joshua and Caleb say, "The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land."

And for what were they to be stoned? Was it for telling lies? Was it for blasphemy or doing evil? No; it was for their bold and earnest testimony to the truth... The people did not like the truth then any more than now. Truth is never popular... There were six hundred thousand voices raised against two men who simply told the truth, and trusted in God.

One of Satan's most plausible traps is to keep us occupied with the good we receive from the work of Christ. It keeps our eyes off Christ Himself, and off His delight and interest in us. We enter too little into the divine side of redemption. That is why joy and strength are so often missing. Of Israel, His earthly people, it was said, "If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land." Faith could see that all their blessing rested, not on what they were, but on the Lord delighting in them... We have the same thought in Proverbs 8:31: "delighting in the children of man." He rests in His love and so should we.

They stated plainly the conditions of possessing the land. First, "If the LORD delights in us," they said, "He will bring us into this land." In this they showed that they were in communion with the Lord's mind. He did delight in His people, and they knew it. So they knew that everything depended on what He was and on His power. It did not depend on what the people were, or could do. Secondly, they said, "Only do not rebel against the LORD ... and do not fear the people of the land." And, lastly, they declared that the Lord was with them, so fear of the enemy was needless.

This is full of instruction. By their unbelief they had shut God out. So it obviously became a question between Israel and the Canaanites. Faith would have made it a question between God and the Canaanites. This was exactly how Joshua and Caleb saw the matter.

Joshua and Caleb were "the two who had brought the good report." They said that the land they had passed through to search it was "an exceedingly good land." Let us not forget this. We owe it to our God to give a good report of the land that lies before us.

Salvation is not complete until the land of promise is their own... The land is a good land and a large one, flowing with milk and honey. It is not a land of narrowness, as Egypt is — and heaven is not limited by the needs and struggles of earth... There is all "fatness," which the word for milk literally means, and all sweetness, as the honey implies. Salvation for us must result in satisfaction, or it is not salvation.

Suppose a poor sinner now thinks what happiness it would be to have the heavenly Canaan. There is a deeper joy than his — the Lord's delight to have him there. (See Luke 15.) But we may say that the Lord was then robbed of His delight, except in the two men of faith. So the people are turned back into the desert to bear their sins.

God delights in His saints and He delights to bless them in Christ. But Israel despised the land. They were set aside, unable to get in. He tells them He would treat them as they had said He would. They would wander forty years in the desert, a year for each day they had spent searching the land, until they all died. But in spite of all this, the very next chapter begins, "When you come into the land." Despite all their sin, Scripture speaks of them as though they were already there.

What unbelief does is to compare ourselves and our own strength with circumstances. What faith does is to compare God with circumstances. Take the case of the spies; Numbers 13, 14. They said, "All the people of the land are men of great height; and we saw the giants there, the sons of Anak... and in our own eyes we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." If the Israelites were going to measure their own height against the sons of Anak, they had no business being there. What did Caleb and Joshua say? They quieted the people, saying, "They are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." That is, they compared these sons of Anak with God; what does it matter then whether they were giants or grasshoppers?

They, by their unbelief, had shut out God; and therefore it was obviously a question between Israel and the Canaanites. Faith would have made it a question between God and the Canaanites.

"They are stronger than we are," say the spies, but in truth their strength had gone from them. The cities were walled, and they saw the giants too. When they at last reached Canaan, the walls were just as high, and the children of Anak were still there. Not one of unbelief's difficulties had gone. Only, when they go forward with God, difficulty is no difficulty.

When the men of Israel magnified the strength of the nations of Canaan, Joshua and Caleb, true men of faith, said, "They are bread for us... the LORD is with us; do not fear them" (Num. 14:9). Bread indeed! For every difficulty that faith in God overcomes gives strength and nourishment to the soul.

Difficulties only help us realise more of what He is for us. Israel had to fight giants to take the promised land, and Joshua and Caleb said of them, "They are bread for us" (Num. 14:9). Faith grows stronger through the very demands that expose the weakness of unbelief.

First, "If the LORD delights in us," they said, "He will bring us into this land." In this they showed that they shared the LORD's mind. He did delight in His people, and they knew it. So everything depended on what He was and on His power, not on what the people were or could do. Second, they said, "Only do not rebel against the LORD... and do not fear the people of the land." The people of Israel had only to follow their divine Leader. Last, they declared — and this was the source of all their strength — that the LORD was with them, so fear of the enemy was needless.

And why were they to be stoned? For telling lies? For blasphemy or wrongdoing? No; it was for their bold and earnest testimony to the truth... The people did not like the truth then any more than now. Truth is never popular... There were six hundred thousand voices raised against two men who simply told the truth, and trusted in God.

And why were they to be stoned? Was it for telling lies? Was it for blasphemy or evil-doing? No; it was for their bold and earnest testimony to the truth. Their orders were to spy out the land and bring back a true report about it. This they did; and for this "all the congregation bade stone them with stones." The people did not like the truth then any more than now. Truth is never popular. There is no place for it in this world, or in the human heart. People will receive lies, and error in every shape; but never truth. In their day Joshua and Caleb faced what all true witnesses in every age have faced. All must expect it — the opposition and hatred of most of their fellows. Six hundred thousand voices rose against two men who simply told the truth and trusted God.

Those words should have cheered the people. Instead, the moment they came out, they brought open hostility.

In vain Joshua and Caleb step in: unbelief is unreason itself. The crowd only answers, "Stone them with stones." Then God must answer for Himself, and the glory of the LORD breaks out in the tent of meeting before the eyes of the rebellious people.

The congregation was so enraged with Joshua and Caleb that they said, "Stone them with stones." The men who listened to Stephen were cut to the heart and filled with hatred. This crowd was the same: they would gladly have murdered the faithful witnesses. But the glory of the LORD appeared, to vindicate His servants and to punish His stiff-necked and rebellious people. What a contrast, as always, between the LORD's estimate and man's! His favour rested on the very men the children of Israel would have stoned.

Chapter 14 shows an outbreak of murmuring and revolt against the LORD. They wanted a leader to take them back to Egypt! Many today want to leave the path of faith for the ground of nature and the activity of deceiving spirits. Joshua and Caleb pleaded with the people, and Moses pleaded with the merciful and patient LORD for pardon… reason

Three times in the book of Numbers the glory of the LORD appeared at a moment of crisis. First, when the people refused the good news about the land of promise and were about to stone Moses, Joshua and Caleb (Num. 14:10). Then at the rebellion of Korah (Num. 16:19). Then when the people quarrelled with Moses because there was no water (Num. 20:6). On the first occasion the rebellion made Moses and Aaron fall on their faces before the whole assembly… God spoke of disinheriting Israel, but Moses interceded and they were spared. Yet the LORD answered, "As I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD" (verse 21). This will certainly be fulfilled under the reign of Christ.

Caleb and Joshua had not only been in the land, they had been with God about the land. They had looked at it all from faith's point of view. They knew the land was theirs in the purpose of God. They knew it was worth having as the gift of God. And they knew they would yet have it by the power of God. They were men full of faith, full of courage, full of power.

"A hopeless case," we might say. The charge against the people was unbelief, because God had told them that He was going to give them the land and that it was a good land. So there was no need to send spies at all. Even after the spies gave their reports, the people should have trusted God to help them conquer the land as promised.

They do admit that God had worked miracles for them. But they said, in effect, "He has given us water, can He give us bread?" Men speak against God when there are no miracles, and ask "Why does He not intervene?" They forget that when God worked miracles before the eyes of men, they spoke against God. Miracles and signs do not change the heart of man. Miracles or no miracles, the natural man is unbelieving.

So it was with Israel; so it is with Christendom. No wonder that it is denounced as "a wicked heart" of unbelief. For what else is or can be distrust of such a God? The more He reveals His love, the more He exposes the wickedness of a heart that refuses His grace, or — worse still — gives it up. Nothing is more false than to treat faith as a mere process of the mind, with nothing moral in it. Faith rests on the deep principle of submission to God's word.

The Lord addressed Moses because of the rebellion of Israel. God had shown wonderful patience with them, but how can patience continue in the face of organised rebellion?

God was willing to begin again — to make a fresh start. As with Abraham, so He would take Moses as a fresh stock to work from. He was willing to make him such a name as Moses otherwise could not hope for. The heart of Moses answered to the heart of God. He would not hear of it. The offer was to bring out the love that held to what God can afford to be to His people. What He might do for Moses he would not now think of.

Again we see the glory of Moses. The blessing of the people depends on his mediation, and in this he is a picture of the great Mediator. As Moses pleads, God had in fact tied His glory to the salvation of His people and to bringing them into the land. In the wilderness He had declared Himself the One who forgave iniquity, transgression and sin, even while He did not clear the guilty. The generation that had now tempted Him to the limit of His forbearance would perish in the wilderness. Caleb, on the other hand, as following Him fully, would enter into the land. So the Lord is sanctified in judgment and in mercy.

The charge against the people was unbelief. God had told them that He was going to give them the land, and that it was a good land. So there was no need to send spies at all. Even after the spies had given their reports, the people should have trusted God to enable them to conquer the land as promised.

They had provoked the Lord. They broke His law, they rejected His captain, and they refused to believe Him despite all the signs He had shown among them. The wages of sin is death, which would have reached them by a plague. Suppose God had cut them all off, and kept a posterity for Abraham according to His promise by starting again through Moses. In principle He would have been doing what He did at the flood. He destroyed mankind, and yet He preserved a posterity for Adam through Noah. But would such a line through Moses have proved any better than the line through Noah? Or better than the line through Abraham so far? The answer, which the New Testament gives, is NO.

God was willing to begin again — to make a fresh start. As with Abraham, so He would take Moses as a fresh stock to work from. He was willing to make him a name such as Moses could not otherwise hope for. The heart of Moses answered to the heart of God. He would not hear of it. The offer was to bring out the love that held to what God can afford to be to His people.

Here was what nature might well regard as a golden opportunity for him. Never before and never since have we any case in which a mere man had such a door open before him. The enemy and his own heart might say, "Now's your time. You have here an offer of becoming the head and founder of a great and mighty nation. The Lord Himself is offering it to you. You have not sought it. The living God puts it before you, and it would be the height of folly on your part to reject it."

Suppose all this personal glory and greatness could only be bought by giving up a single ray of divine glory. What then? Away with it all. Let the name of Moses be blotted out for ever. … The thought of being made great at God's expense was more than the heart of this blessed man of God could bear. He could not endure the thought of the nations blaspheming the name he loved so well. He could not bear anyone ever saying, "The Lord was not able."

There is, first and above all, a jealous care for the Lord's glory. … But then it is on this very ground — the keeping of the divine glory — that Moses seeks pardon for the people. … "Let the power of my Lord be great." To what end? Judgment and destruction? No — "The Lord is longsuffering." What a thought! The power of God in longsuffering and pardon! How unspeakably precious!

This incident had two consequences. In response to Moses' intercession, the Lord pardons the iniquity of the people (v. 20). At the same time, God announces how He will now deal with the people. Everyone aged 20 or more would have to die in the wilderness instead of entering the land. The journey would also stretch out by 40 years (v. 34).

God was willing to begin again — to make a fresh start. As with Abraham, He would make Moses the root of a new family line. He was willing to give him a name Moses could never have hoped for otherwise. The heart of Moses answered to the heart of God. He would not hear of it. The offer was to bring out the love that held to what God can afford to be to His people.

What if he did become a head and a founder? What if millions in the future looked back to him as their famous ancestor? If he could only buy all this personal glory and greatness by giving up a single ray of divine glory — what then? Away with it all. Let the name of Moses be blotted out for ever… He could not bear the nations speaking against the name he loved so well, or anyone ever saying, "The LORD was not able."

Moses' intercession rests on the testimony the LORD had given about Himself… The principle behind it is this: the LORD is perfectly identified with His people. Moses presses on the LORD that His own glory is bound up with the keeping and blessing of His people. It cannot be separated from them.

He protests that the Egyptians would hear of Israel's destruction. So would other nations who had heard that God was with Israel. They would all dishonour God by saying He was unable to keep His promise of bringing Israel into the land.

Here is the true ground of appeal for mercy and forgiveness. It is not our need, great as it may be. It is not even repentance, heartfelt and true. It is the glory of God, the honour of His name, the written pledge of His faithfulness to those who are under the blood… When we pray, we make our requests known and ask a Father's forgiveness. But do we fully enter into the meaning of "for the sake of" or "in the name of Jesus Christ"? Is it merely a closing formula in our minds? Yet God our Father hears it in its full and blessed meaning, and answers our prayers accordingly. Otherwise He could not answer at all and still be righteous… God hears the prayer and passes over the people's sin. Here is a wonderful combination: God maintains the honour of His Name, and shows mercy to Israel.

Moses could not bear to see the LORD's character damaged. So he holds Him firmly, as it were, to His own word… He clings to the word of God and to His ways. He clings to the love God had proved so often, even to this faithless people He had known so well from the first. If He had borne with them before, He would not turn from them now.

"Let the power of my Lord be great." To what end? Judgement and destruction? No — "The LORD is long-suffering." What a thought! The power of God in long-suffering and pardon!

Again, in this wonderful instance, Moses gives a beautiful picture of the interceding grace of the Lord Jesus. That grace keeps and sustains His people despite their waywardness.

The Lord was with them and among them in a symbolic presence. This was the glory of Israel's position among the nations of the earth. It was also the guarantee their hope of the promised inheritance rested on.

This pillar of cloud stood for the divine presence. It protected them from the burning heat by day, and from the countless dangers and terrors of the darkness by night. It guided these vast crowds of wayward and ignorant people through the empty, howling wilderness, home to the promised land. But to do this, the movements of the cloud had to guide the people on every stage of their journey. Here we have the two great essential principles: protection and subjection.

The intercession of Moses comes in, based on the testimony the Lord had given of Himself. (Compare Ex. 34:6-7.) The principle of it is this: the perfect identification of the Lord with His people. He presses on the Lord that His own glory is tied to the keeping and blessing of His people, and cannot be separated from them.

The heart of Moses answered to the heart of God. He would not hear of it. The offer was to bring out the love that held to what God can afford to be to His people. What He might do for Moses, he would not now think of.

What if all this personal glory and greatness could only be bought by giving up a single ray of God's glory? Then away with it all. Let the name of Moses be blotted out for ever… He could not bear the thought of the nations blaspheming God's name, which he loved so well, or of anyone ever saying, "The Lord was not able."

Still, God cannot allow sin. Neither could He give the people up; for had He not redeemed them? as Moses pleaded with Him (Num. 14:13-16)… He cannot give them up; He cannot allow sin; and therefore He brings in priestly grace to meet the difficulty.

So Moses could not bear to see the Lord's character compromised. He holds Him fast, as it were, to His own word… He clings to the word of God and to His ways. He clings to the love God had so often proved, even towards the unbelieving people He had known so well from the first. If He had borne with them before, surely He would not turn from them now. "And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to your word: but as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord."

Here Moses takes the very highest ground. He is completely taken up with the Lord's glory. He cannot bear the thought of that glory losing its brightness in the eyes of the nations. What if he became a founder and a head? What if millions in the future looked back to him as their famous ancestor? If all this personal glory and greatness could only be bought by sacrificing a single ray of divine glory — what then? Away with it all. Let the name of Moses be blotted out for ever... He could not bear to hear the nations speak against the name he loved so well. He could not bear anyone to say, "The Lord was not able."

The intercession of Moses rests on what the LORD had said about Himself. (Compare Ex. 34:6-7.) The principle is this: the LORD identifies Himself completely with His people. Moses urges on Him that His own glory is bound up with keeping and blessing His people, and cannot be separated from them.

God must accomplish His purposes to His glory, but in grace He has tied them to us... This marks faith: not just believing that God is glorious, but connecting His glory with the blessing of His people. So Moses says, "What will You do to Your great name?" and "The Egyptians will hear of it." He pleads with God this way all through. What a source of security and ground for praise, that God should have joined His glory to our blessing and to His promises to us in Christ!

The sin was deep, and God had threatened to disinherit them. How instructive, then, to learn the true ground of appeal for mercy and forgiveness. It is not our need, great as it may be. It is not even repentance, heartfelt and true. It is the glory of God, the honour of His name, the written pledge of His faithfulness to those who are under the blood... We pray, we make our requests known, we ask a Father's forgiveness. But do we fully grasp the meaning of "for the sake of" or "in the name of Jesus Christ"? Is it merely a closing formula in our minds?

So Moses could not bear to see the LORD's character compromised. He holds Him tightly, as it were, to His own word... He clings to the word of God and to His ways. He clings to the love God had so often shown, even to this faithless people He had known from the first. If He had borne with them before, surely He would not turn from them now. "Then the LORD said, 'I have pardoned, according to your word'" (verse 20). And He goes on to promise that all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD (verse 21).

God hears the prayer and passes over the people's sin. What a combination! God keeps the honour of His name and shows mercy to Israel, while His judgment upholds His righteousness. This is the glory that will fill the earth.

Moses protests that the Egyptians would hear of Israel's destruction. So would other nations who had heard that God was with Israel. They would all dishonour God by saying He was unable to keep His promise of bringing Israel into the land (vv. 13-16)... Again, in this wonderful instance, Moses gives a beautiful picture of the interceding grace of the Lord Jesus. That grace keeps and sustains His people despite their wayward ways.

God was willing to begin again — to make a fresh start. As with Abraham, He would start a new family line from Moses. He was willing to make him such a name as Moses otherwise could not hope for. The heart of Moses answered to the heart of God. He would not hear of it. The offer was meant to bring out the love that held on to what God is willing to be to His people. What He might do for Moses he would not now think of.

What if he did become a head and a founder? What if future millions looked back to him as their famous ancestor? If all this personal glory and greatness could only be bought by giving up a single ray of God's glory — what then? Away with it all. Let the name of Moses be wiped out for ever… He could not bear to have the name he loved so well insulted among the nations. He could not bear that anyone should ever say, "The Lord was not able."

Look at the love he has for Israel on the one hand, and the care for God's character on the other. He says, Lord, I do not want to be made much of, but I do want something for others.

The sin was deep, and God threatened to disinherit them. How instructive, then, to be shown the true ground of appeal for mercy and forgiveness. It is not our need, great as it may be. It is not even repentance, heartfelt and true. It is the glory of God, the honour of His name, the written pledge of His faithfulness to those who are under The Blood… When we pray, we make our requests known and ask a Father's forgiveness. But do we enter into the full meaning of "for the sake" or "in the name of Jesus Christ"? Is it just a closing formula in our minds?

Still, God cannot allow sin. Neither could He give the people up; for had He not redeemed them? as Moses pleaded with Him. He cannot give them up; He cannot allow sin; and therefore He brings in priestly grace to meet the difficulty. To take away their murmurings, He does not use the rod of Moses, but that of Aaron. The rod of Moses could only judge them for their sin… But Aaron's does it by priestly grace.

Notice this. Even as the Lord pronounces judgment, He acts according to the very word to which Moses had tied Him in faith… He would hold fast His mercy, but He would by no means clear the guilty. There was pardon, or Israel would never have entered the land. Yet He would "by no means clear the guilty", and so that generation fell. So God kept His character intact, and His hand made good what His mouth had spoken.

Again, in this wonderful case, Moses pictures the interceding grace of the Lord Jesus. That grace keeps and sustains His people despite their waywardness.

Moses could not bear to see Jehovah's character compromised, so he holds Him firmly to His own word... He holds fast to the word of God and to His ways. He holds fast to the love God had shown so often, even to this unfaithful people He had known so well from the start. If He had been patient with them before, surely He would not turn from them now.

Moses steps in to plead for the people, and he builds his plea on the testimony Jehovah had given about Himself... The principle behind it is this: Jehovah completely identifies Himself with His people. He presses on Jehovah that His own glory is tied up with keeping and blessing His people. It cannot be separated from them.

nasa, 'to bear,' take away [guilt]: used by Joseph's brothers when they asked him to forgive them, Gen. 50:17; and used of God as "forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." Ex. 34:7; Num. 14:18; and in describing the blessedness of the man "whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." Ps. 32:1.

"Let the power of my Lord be great." To what end? Judgement and destruction? No; "The Lord is long-suffering." What a thought! The power of God in long-suffering and pardon! How precious beyond words! How close Moses was to the very heart and mind of God, that he could speak like this!

It is a great mistake to think that the proclamation of divine goodness in this scene is the gospel. People are badly wrong when they quote "Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin" in this sense and stop there... There is no doubt that this is the goodness and mercy of God, but God is showing it to a people still under the government of the law... Without this mixture of law and mercy the guilty people never could have been spared. They would have been wiped out completely. It was because of this that a new generation of Israel entered the land at all.

This is clearly not pure law, and it is not pure grace either. It is the goodness of God in government, and under that government God will by no means clear the guilty. Under grace, God can justify the ungodly.

Here God is showing how He deals with people on earth in His holy government. When it comes to His judgment for eternity, He judges the dead "according to what they had done" (Rev. 20:12-13), and no child bears the sin of his father there... In the working out of God's government in this world, a father's iniquity harms his children. That fact is too obvious for any of us to overlook.

Note these two statements carefully. They are absolute and unqualified. "I have pardoned." And, "All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." Nothing could, by any possibility, touch these grand facts. The pardon is secured; and the glory will yet shine out over all the earth.

Moses could not bear the Lord's character to be compromised, so he holds Him tightly, as it were, to His own word... He clings to the word of God and to His ways — to the love God had shown so often, even to the faithless people He knew so well from the first. If He had borne with them before, surely He would not turn from them now.

There is, first and above all, a jealous care for the Lord's glory. That glory must be guarded on every side. But it is on this very ground — mainly, to maintain the divine glory — that he asks pardon for the people. This intercession links the two together in the most blessed way. "Let the power of my Lord be great." To what end? Judgement and destruction? No — "The LORD is slow to anger." What a thought! The power of God shown in patience and pardon!

If all this personal glory and greatness could only be bought at the cost of a single ray of divine glory — what then? Away with it all. Let the name of Moses be blotted out for ever.

Look at the love he has for Israel on the one hand, and his care for God's character on the other. He says, Lord, I do not want to be made much of, but I do want something for others... The mercy of God is a deep sea that never changes, and it is infinitely precious.

God answered the prayer of this one man on behalf of all Israel, telling him He has pardoned Israel: He would not destroy them. Yet, while God shows grace in this way, He will not relax His government... Israel would feel the results of their disobedience in a painful way.

God may discipline us in His government for our good, or even as a testimony, as in David's case and Numbers 14:20. Yet, between Him and the guilty, He forgives. He does not charge the sin against them. He no longer holds them guilty.

Note these two statements carefully. They are absolute and unqualified. "I have pardoned." And, "all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD." Nothing could possibly touch these grand facts. The pardon is secured, and the glory shall yet shine out over all the earth.

How close Moses was to the very heart and mind of God when he could speak like this! Compare him with the prophet Elijah on Mount Horeb, who prayed against Israel. There can be little question which of these two honoured men was more in tune with the mind and spirit of Christ.

Again, in this wonderful instance, Moses beautifully pictures the interceding grace of the Lord Jesus. That grace keeps and sustains His people, despite their waywardness.

This is remarkably fine. The order, the tone, and the spirit of this whole appeal are beautiful. First and above all, there is a jealous care for the Lord's glory. That glory must be guarded on every side. Yet it is mainly on this ground — the keeping up of God's glory — that he asks pardon for the people... "Let the power of my Lord be great." To what end? Judgement and destruction? No; "The Lord is long-suffering." What a thought! The power of God in long-suffering and pardon!... Such words were pleasing to the ear of Jehovah, who delights in giving pardon.

Notice that at the very moment Jehovah pronounces judgment, He acts according to the word to which Moses had tied Him in his faith. Even if his faith did not reach as high as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their absolute, unconditional promises, it did fall back on the pledge Jehovah had given for His government of the people — and Jehovah holds to that pledge. So He dealt with that generation and swept it away, on the terms of His own proclamation. He would hold fast His mercy, but He would by no means clear the guilty. There was pardon, or Israel would never have entered the land. But He would "by no means clear the guilty", and so that generation fell.

His main thought was not of himself at all but of God and His glory. The people had rebelled first against God, and only after that against Moses himself. Even so, his one concern was how the Egyptians and the surrounding nations would read such a drastic judgment. With that in mind, and with God's declared patience and mercy in mind, he asked boldly for pardon. His plea prevailed, and God granted pardon as far as the death penalty was concerned.

In His government God may chasten us for our good, or even as a testimony, as in David's case and in Numbers 14:20. Yet between Himself and the guilty person He may forgive, and not count the sin against him — no longer hold him guilty.

Let the reader carefully note these two statements. They are absolute and unqualified. "I have pardoned." And, "All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." Nothing could possibly touch these grand facts. The pardon stands secure, and the glory will yet shine out over all the earth. No power of earth or hell, men or devils, can ever interfere with the divine integrity of these two precious statements.

Moses appeals to the power of God to overcome obstacles, even the obstacle of Israel's stubbornness. He also appeals to what the Lord had told him: that He is "longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression"... On this ground Moses pleaded with God to pardon the iniquity of Israel, as He had done all through the wilderness journey. Once again, in this wonderful instance, Moses gives a beautiful picture of the interceding grace of the Lord Jesus, which keeps and sustains His people despite their waywardness.

There is, first and above all, a jealous care for the Lord's glory. His glory must be guarded on every side. But then it is on this very ground, mainly, the maintaining of the divine glory, that pardon is sought for the people. The two things are linked together in the most blessed way in this intercession. "Let the power of the Lord be great." To what end? Judgment and destruction? No; "The Lord is slow to anger." What a thought! The power of God shown in patience and pardon!

Let the reader carefully note these two statements. They are absolute and unqualified. "I have pardoned." And, "all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD." Nothing could possibly touch these grand facts. No power of earth or hell, men or devils, can ever interfere with the divine integrity of these two precious statements.

Yet this grievous sin brought penalties under the government of God. Verse 21 begins, "But truly, as I live…" which is the formula of an oath. The letter to the Hebrews records the unchangeable oath made to Abraham. It also records how He swore in His wrath, "They shall not enter My rest." The men who brought a bad report of the land would never enter it. What is more, the very next day the people were to begin a fresh journey. It led not into the land but away from it. So began a weary pilgrimage of no less than forty years.

I often wondered why that verse about the whole earth being filled with the glory of the Lord (Num. 14) comes in just where it does. Then I saw that God took up Israel as a people who were to know Him, and from whom His glory should flow out into all the earth. But they had no knowledge of it, and in their hearts turned back again to Egypt. Then God says, as it were, Though Israel has failed, I will have My purpose fully carried out. They have not known My ways; they shall fall in the wilderness. But I will yet have a people (their children) who will answer to the desires of My heart, and the earth shall yet be filled with My glory.

That, of course, is judgment; and the filling of the earth with God's glory here has nothing to do with the gospel. The Lord will have the whole earth full of His glory, but He does not use the gospel for that purpose. He does send the gospel, and presses it on men with infinite patience and goodness; but they reject it; and then comes judgment.

So the question is not whether the earth is to be filled with the knowledge of the LORD's glory. All believers long for that, whether they understand it clearly or not. The question is how such a blessed outcome is to be reached. The prediction occurs in substance in Num. 14:21, Isa. 11:9, and Hab. 2:14. In all of them it goes with the carrying out of divine judgments. It never comes (as has been hastily and wrongly assumed) by the preaching of the gospel, the action of the church, or the dealings of providence, ordinary or extraordinary. It is an honour reserved for the Lord Jesus; and He alone is worthy.

They gained nothing from a testimony passed on to them by their fathers, nor from miracles worked before their own eyes. They tempted God by speaking against Him. God had provided streams to quench their thirst in a miraculous way. Even so their unbelief said, "Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?" They admit that God had worked wonders for them, but they said, in effect, "He has given us water — can He give us bread?" Men speak against God when there are no miracles, and ask, "Why does He not step in?" They forget that when God did work miracles before the eyes of men, they spoke against God. Miracles and signs do not change the heart of man. Miracles or no miracles, the natural man is unbelieving.

To tempt was to doubt His presence and action on their behalf, as Israel did, not only "ten times" (Num. 14), but also just before the Lord sent fiery serpents to cut them off.

It shows how serious the sin of murmuring and complaining about the trials of the wilderness is. At the same time it teaches us that the heart of all such complaint is doubting whether the Lord is with us. These are common traps of Satan. He often entangles the feet of the Lord's people with them and robs them of their peace and joy, even when he does not bring about their fall. The antidote to all these tendencies is a firm, unwavering grip on the truth that the Lord is among us.

The complaint God makes in this verse is striking: they "have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice." God punished the grumbling people again and again, but none of it seemed to do any good. The people died a miserable death in the desert. So a new generation entered the land of promise, apart from Joshua and Caleb. Man in the flesh, tested by the law, could not please God and had to be born again.

But there is such a thing as government, as well as grace. This must never be forgotten, and these things must never be confused. The whole book of God shows the difference between grace and government. Perhaps no part of it shows this more strongly than the section now open before us. Grace will pardon. Grace will fill the earth with the blessed beams of divine glory. But notice the terrible movement of the wheels of government in these burning words.

It is this warning that stops the living in their tracks. The dead — those whose consciences are not touched, who do not say, "To whom shall we go? you have the words of eternal life" — treat the warning with contempt and perish. This is what happened to Israel in the wilderness, and God swore to them that they should not enter into His rest (Num. 14:21-23). And why? They had given up their confidence in Him. They had heard reports of the beauty and excellence of the land. Even so, their unbelief robbed them of the promised rest.

But there is such a thing as government, as well as grace. This must never be forgotten, and the two must never be confused. The whole book of God shows the difference between grace and government. Perhaps no part of it shows this more strongly than the section now open before us. Grace will pardon, and grace will fill the earth with the blessed beams of divine glory. But notice the terrible movement of the wheels of government in these burning words.

It is very important to notice that unbelief kept Israel out of Canaan here. The inspired commentary in Hebrews 3 settles the question: "So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." It might be said that the time for Israel to enter Canaan had not come, since the sin of the Amorites had not yet reached its peak. But that is not the reason Israel refused to cross the Jordan. They knew nothing and thought nothing about the sin of the Amorites... They ought to have entered. They were responsible to do so, and they were judged for not doing so. The way was open.

Here at the border of the land there is nothing riotous or openly shameful — no idol, no feasting and playing. On the contrary, the respectable world condemns the filth of idol worship, yet approves the wisdom that guided Israel then. Before entering a hostile country, was it not praiseworthy caution to weigh the chances of victory and the enemy's power to resist? The sin here is independence from God. They would test the fruitfulness of the land and the strength of its inhabitants. Little did they think that God was testing them... Hebrews 3 refers to this very time... and the Holy Spirit uses another word — provocation — to show how exceedingly wicked their sin was... This despising of the land was the provocation.

"But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD... none of those who despised me shall see it." That, of course, is judgment; and the filling of the earth with God's glory here has nothing to do with the gospel. The Lord will have the whole earth full of His glory, but He does not use the gospel for that purpose. He does send the gospel, and He presses it on men with endless patience and goodness. But they reject it, and then judgment comes.

This is the decisive point in the history of the wilderness: the people refused to enter the land when they were brought right to its borders. For this they pay the penalty of forty years of wandering, and the whole generation dies, except two people... They are not pilgrims any more, but wanderers; not aimless, but with self-preservation as their only aim for these forty years... Progress stopped does not stop decline; on the contrary, it ripens into the rebellion of Korah and his company, the crowning sin of all... Circumcision stops too, so they lose the very sign of their covenant with the LORD. Grace alone carries them at last through the Jordan, and gives them the land they turn back from here.

We are all dull and slow to understand, even as such a favour is set before us. But a dull heart and a slow mind will not stop us sharing in it in the coming day. What will hinder — and hinder fatally and finally, if it is left to work out its bitter results — is the sin of unbelief... Unbelief lost their fathers the land. Their dead bodies fell in the wilderness. Unbelief would keep anyone who keeps giving way to it from ever being a companion of Christ, and from entering the rest that remains.

But then there is such a thing as government, as well as grace. This must never be forgotten, and we must never confuse the two. The whole book of God shows the difference between grace and government. Perhaps no part of it shows that difference more powerfully than the section now open before us. Grace will pardon, and grace will fill the earth with the blessed beams of divine glory. But look at the terrible movement of the wheels of government.

This is how faith always reasons. Faith reasons from God to the difficulties: it begins with Him. Unbelief, on the contrary, reasons from the difficulties to God: it begins with them. This makes all the difference... Faith looks the difficulties straight in the face. It is not ignorant — not indifferent — not reckless; but what? IT BRINGS IN THE LIVING GOD... Caleb showed this precious faith when he said, "Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it."

Caleb's faith lifted him out of the murmurs of Israel, their cowardice and their reproaches of the Lord. He trusted in God, held on to Him and left in His hands difficulties and giants; one thing only he sought — the Lord's delight in him.

Caleb's soul rested entirely on the grace and power of God. That same grace and power had made them triumph at the Red Sea, and had kept the spies while they searched the land... The very same principle of fully following the Lord made him encourage the people to go up. But it would also stop him from trying once the Lord had said, "Tomorrow turn back toward the Red Sea." This was because the Lord had no delight in the people.

This reveals how welcome to the Lord's heart Caleb's faithful testimony had been... He also showed the spirit of devoted discipleship in an evil day. He followed fully, and this became his distinguishing mark — a mark Caleb himself delighted to accept and recall.

Do you know what Caleb said? "I wholly followed the LORD my God" (Joshua 14:8). Oh, you say, he was conceited. No, no, he was consecrated, not conceited.

But the forty years of desert life still lie ahead. He walks them with courage right to the end, because he carries in his heart the memory of the riches and the treasure of Canaan. To him the difficulties of the desert are nothing. He pays no attention to the burning sands, the scorching sun, weariness, or thirst... A hope keeps his courage alive. And the believer's hope is not just Canaan, that is, heaven in a general way. It is Christ.

These males of twenty years and over numbered just over 600,000. Not one of them was left alive from the earlier census, except Caleb and Joshua... we see with what absolute exactness God fulfils the word He has spoken. A solemn fact for the unbeliever, but one in which we who believe can heartily rejoice.

Verse 25 reminds them that the Amalekites and Canaanites dwelt in the valley. They were formidable enemies indeed if God was not leading Israel against them. Israel had lost all claim to God's support. So God told them to turn back into the wilderness by way of the Red Sea. They had more to learn from wilderness experience.

So the people had to turn back into the wilderness and wander there for forty years. There was nothing else for it. They would not go up into the land with God, in simple faith. And He would not go up with them in their self-will and self-confidence. So they simply had to accept the consequence of their disobedience. If they would not enter the land, they must fall in the wilderness.

From Kadesh-barnea Israel had to almost retrace their steps, going back toward the Red Sea. Believers today find similar experiences because of lack of faith. Instead of moving forward in obedience to God, we must go back and learn again what the Red Sea deliverance means. It speaks of the judgment of sin in the flesh through the cross of Christ. If we do not learn it well as we begin our wilderness history, we will have to backtrack to understand it better. That is wandering instead of going steadily forward. Too many believers take almost their whole life to learn this lesson.

We now come to the decisive point in the history of the wilderness. The people refused to enter the land when God brought them to its very borders. By this they incur the penalty of forty years of wandering, and the death of the whole generation in the wilderness, except two people. For these, therefore, the whole character of their life is altered. They are not pilgrims any more, but wanderers. They do not wander without aim, yet their only aim for these forty years is to keep themselves alive.

Jehovah refused to go with Israel into the mountain of the Amorites. But He was ready to turn round, in patient grace, and go with them through all their desert wanderings. If Israel would not enter Canaan with Jehovah, He would go back into the wilderness with Israel. Nothing can exceed the grace that shines in this. If God had dealt with them as they deserved, He might at least have left them to wander alone through the desert.

Notice how beautiful this is. At the very moment God sent them back from the land for their unbelief, He gives directions about what to do in the land. His promise and purpose are as sure as His word and His nature, despite man's folly and failure.

We are just like wayward children. How well we can understand Israel's reply, "Here we are. We will go up," to the announcement that they must turn and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea. They could not bear to lose so much ground, and to cross the wilderness afresh. They would go up from where they were, but it cannot prosper; it was not the Lord's way, nor was He with them. Their attempt failed, and ended in defeat and deeper disgrace. The Lord will have us back to the cross so that we may start afresh with Him. We allow that we have sinned, but desire to go on as though we had not. This is not obedience but presumption.

God announces the forty years in a separate message. In them, those who had wanted to die in the wilderness would die there. But God would bring their little ones into the land — the very ones their parents had mourned over as about to fall as prey to the enemy. In the meantime those children would bear the consequences of their fathers' sin, as was needful for the children of such fathers: a year in the wilderness for each day of fruitless searching. Yet because God Himself appointed these years, we cannot call them fruitless. Divine love could inflict no useless pain, just as it cannot withhold the pain that profits.

Such grumbling was a dreadful evil. It judged God as untrustworthy when He had assured them that He would enable them to conquer the land. Let the believer remember that all mere complaint is, in its essence, against God. Is He not caring rightly for His people and all their interests?

But there is such a thing as government, as well as grace. This must never be forgotten; nor must these things ever be confused. The whole book of God shows the difference between grace and government. Perhaps no part of it shows this more strongly than the section now open before us. Grace will pardon. Grace will fill the earth with the blessed beams of divine glory. But notice the terrible turning of the wheels of government.

Then God says, "I have pardoned, according to your word." But He adds, yet I will discipline them. And to the people He says, "as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you." You will get the thing your wretched flesh desired, for you will die in this wilderness.

Hebrews 3 puts this beyond question: "So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." Someone might say that the time had not come for Israel to enter the land of Canaan. The iniquity of the Amorites had not yet reached its peak. But this is not the reason why Israel refused to cross the Jordan. They knew nothing and thought nothing about the iniquity of the Amorites. Scripture is as plain as possible. They were unable to enter — not because of the iniquity of the Amorites, and not because the time had not come, but "because of unbelief." They ought to have entered. They were responsible to do so, and God judged them for not doing so. The way was open. The judgment of faith spoken by faithful Caleb was clear and without hesitation: "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." They were as able at that moment as they could ever be, because the One who had given them the land was the source of their power to enter it and possess it.

God goes on in His purpose as calmly and quietly as if there had never been the despising of the land. For He says, "When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you." His purpose is as settled as if there had been no rebellion at all. He speaks in the calmness of His own purpose. After telling them of discipline, He says: You shall come into the land. It is settled with Me. I go on in the steadfastness of My own purposes.

The first word to look at is "murmurings." It translates a Greek word pronounced something like "gongusmos." You can almost hear the grumbling and muttering in the sound of it. The children of Israel murmured very often. It was one of their chief sins. They murmured at the Red Sea, at Marah, in the wilderness of Sin, at Rephidim, at the return of the spies, and against Aaron.

Nothing is easier than for a murmuring spirit to get into the heart of a believer, or into an assembly. Think of the harm one murmuring believer does! That is why the command is so solemn: "nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer" (1 Cor. 10:10)... When we examine it honestly, every bit of murmuring is not against the circumstances, nor against other believers. It always comes out of sheer unbelief towards God. That is the point.

See what a wretched, wicked state of unbelief they had fallen into. They blamed the Lord Himself for their trials and difficulties. Even Christians can fall into this trap. We know it is the Lord who brought us up out of Egypt. So when trials come, our hearts are apt to say, "This comes of my being a Christian; the Lord has brought me into these difficulties." But if Canaan had been on their hearts, the children of Israel would have said, "Thank God that we are this far on our way to Canaan."

It is very important to note that unbelief is what kept Israel out of Canaan... Scripture is as plain as possible: "they were unable to enter because of unbelief." It was not because of the iniquity of the Amorites. It was not because the time had not come. They ought to have entered. They were responsible to do so, and God judged them for not doing so. The way was open. Faithful Caleb spoke the judgment of faith, clear and without hesitation: "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." They were as able at that moment as they could ever be, since the One who had given them the land was the source of their strength to enter it and take it.

The Lord spoke to Moses because of Israel's rebellion: "How long will this people despise Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?" God had been wonderfully patient with them. But how can patience continue in the face of united rebellion?

But there is such a thing as government, as well as grace. We must never forget this, and we must never confuse the two. The whole book of God shows the difference between grace and government. Perhaps no part of it shows it more strongly than the section now open before us. Grace will pardon, and grace will fill the earth with the blessed light of divine glory. But look at the terrible movement of the wheels of government.

God says one striking thing about the budding of Aaron's rod: "I will completely take away from before Me the murmurings of the children of Israel." Let us think about what that means to God and to us. Because we have a great high priest, we can go through wilderness circumstances without a murmur on our lips. Instead of murmuring there can be thanksgiving and praise to God.

Yet this grievous sin brought penalties in the government of God. Verse 21 begins, "But as truly as I live …" which is the formula of an oath. The letter to the Hebrews records the unchangeable oath made to Abraham. It also records how He swore in His wrath, "They shall not enter my rest." The men who brought a bad report of the land would never enter it.

God's answer was this: You say you wish you had died in the wilderness — you will die in the wilderness. "As for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, and your children will wander in the wilderness forty years..." God says, You will have to die, only it will take you forty years to do it.

Unbelief always justifies Satan and makes God a liar. Faith always justifies God and proves Satan a liar. It is always true that it will be done to you according to your faith. On the other hand, unbelief reaps as it sows. So it was with Israel: unhappy, because unbelieving.

Scripture is as plain as possible. "They could not enter in" — not because of the sin of the Amorites, and not because the time had not come. It was simply "because of unbelief." They should have entered. They were responsible to do so, and God judged them for not doing so. The way was open... They were as able at that moment as they could ever be. The One who had given them the land was the source of their ability to enter it and take it.

God says, "I have pardoned according to your word," but I will still chastise them. And to the people He says, "what you have said in My hearing I will do to you." You will get the thing your wretched flesh desired, for you will die in this wilderness... The Lord does chastise in the way of government. But it is blessed to see that He never gives up His purpose, though He deals with the heart according to its unbelief. His purpose is as settled as if there had been no rebellion at all. He speaks in the calmness of His own purpose. After telling them of chastisement, He says: You will come into the land. It is settled with Me. I go on in the steadfastness of My own purposes.

God pronounced His sentence: "Your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness." Then He added, "But your little ones, who you said would become plunder, I will bring in, and they will know the land that you have rejected."

These males of twenty years and over numbered just over 600,000. Not one man from the earlier census was still alive, except Caleb and Joshua. We turn back to Numbers 14, read verses 20-32 again, and see how exactly God fulfils the word He has spoken. A solemn fact for the unbeliever, but one in which we who believe can heartily rejoice.

They despised their hope, and God takes it away. Not one above twenty should enter the land, except Caleb and Joshua. The little ones, for whom they pretended to care, God would bring in. In forty years that generation would waste away in the wilderness... They had charged God with bringing them to the land to die by the sword (verse 3). Their own fearful words now come back on them as judgment.

God's answer was this: You say you wish you had died in the wilderness — you shall die in the wilderness... Says God, You will have to die, only it will take you forty years to do it. You searched the land for forty days, and you will bear your guilt for a year for each of those days (Num. 14:34). They must know death.

The Israelites were numbered from twenty years old and upwards. That was the age at which they were able to go out to war, and were regarded as having grown up to manhood, and fit for the service of life (Num. 1:3; 14:29; Lev. 27:3).

The whole sad story can be summed up like this. They rejected their unseen God by making a calf. They rejected their visible leader when they proposed to elect a captain. And as a result their bodies fell outside the land of promise.

They ought to have entered. They were responsible to do so; and they were judged for not doing so. The way was open. Faithful Caleb spoke the judgment of faith clearly and without hesitation: "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." They were as able at that moment as they could ever be. The One who had given them the land was the source of their power to enter it and take it.

God may chasten us under His government for our good, or even as a testimony, as in David's case and Numbers 14:20. Yet between Himself and the guilty He may still forgive, and not impute the sin — He no longer holds him guilty.

They are not pilgrims any more, but wanderers. They still have an aim, but it is only to stay alive for these forty years. It is so much so that the record of those years is not given to us: we have only a few chosen incidents, and they show a state of things that matches this beginning. Progress stopped does not stop decline. Decline ripens instead into the rebellion of Korah and his followers, which is the crowning sin of all.

One thing will hinder, and hinder fatally and for ever if it works out its bitter results: the sin of unbelief. So the letter to the Hebrews keeps this warning from Israel's history before its readers. Unbelief lost their fathers the land. Their bodies fell in the wilderness. Anyone who keeps giving way to unbelief will be shut out for ever from being a fellow or companion of Christ, and from entering the rest that remains.

It is of the greatest importance to note here that it was unbelief that kept Israel out of Canaan on this occasion. The inspired commentary in Hebrews 3 puts this beyond all question: "So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." Some might say that the time had not come for Israel to enter the land of Canaan. But that is not why Israel refused to cross the Jordan. They knew nothing and thought nothing about such reasons. Scripture is as plain as possible: they were unable to enter — simply "because of unbelief." They ought to have entered. They were responsible to do so, and they were judged for not doing so. The way was open. Faithful Caleb spoke the judgment of faith, clear and certain: "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." They were as able at that moment as they could ever be. The One who had given them the land was the source of their strength to enter it and take it.

Notice how, at the very moment when the Lord pronounces judgment, He acts according to the exact word to which Moses had tied Him in his faith. Even if his faith did not rise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their absolute, unconditional promises, it went back to the governmental pledge of the Lord. To this pledge the Lord holds. So that generation was dealt with and purged away according to the terms of His own proclamation. He would hold fast His mercy, but He would by no means clear the guilty. There was pardon, otherwise Israel would never have gone into the land. Yet He would not clear the guilty, and so that generation fell. In this way God kept His character intact, and His hand made good what His mouth had spoken.

"My servant Caleb," said the Lord, "because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it." This shows how welcome Caleb's faithful testimony was to the Lord's heart. He also showed the spirit of devoted discipleship in an evil day. He followed fully, and this became his mark — a mark Caleb himself was glad to accept and recall.

In this evil state of things Israel had taunted their children — or rather taunted God about them — as if they faced certain death. Unbelief had fastened on the little ones. Could children like these cross the desert safely and enter the land against such enemies? Unbelief said no. The very people who gave way to such unbelieving doubt of the Lord's care reaped the consequences themselves. The children they thought could never survive the desert were the only ones God brought in. With them went the two men who defended God and held fast to His word: Caleb and Joshua.

If you go to Numbers 15, you get the security of God's purpose beautifully set out. In Numbers 14 He says their bodies will fall in the wilderness. He pronounces judgment on the whole nation, apart from two people. Then chapter 15: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land," do this and that, and He goes on with His own intentions just as calmly as if nothing in chapter 14 had happened.

One striking fact emerges. Among all these men of twenty and over, numbering just over 600,000, not one was left alive who had been in the earlier census, except Caleb and Joshua. We turn back to Numbers 14 and read verses 20-32 again, and we see with what complete exactness God fulfils the word He has spoken. A solemn fact for the unbeliever, but one in which we who believe can heartily rejoice.

Unbelief always justifies Satan and makes God a liar. Faith always justifies God and proves Satan a liar. It is always true that according to your faith it will be done to you. And unbelief, on the other hand, reaps as it sows. That is how it was with Israel — unhappy, because unbelieving.

But now God Himself steps in. They will be dealt with according to their faith; they shall perish in the wilderness, according to their wish.

Unbelief had fastened on the little ones. It seemed pointless to expect that such as they could pass safely through the desert and enter the land in the face of the enemy. The very people who gave way to such unbelieving doubt of the Lord's care reaped the consequences themselves. And the children, who they thought could never survive the horrors of the wilderness, were the only ones brought in, along with the two men who defended God and held fast to His word — Caleb and Joshua.

Therefore, their concern for their little ones was not love at all. The best way we can love our children is by giving them a good example by obeying the Lord. God cared far more for the children than they did.

Suppose a friend gave me something as a great treasure. I am sure it is mine, yet I seldom look at it and seldom care to think about it. That would prove something. Not that I doubted it was mine, but that I despised the thing and placed no value on it. This is very often how we treat the heavenly glory that belongs to us. We do not question the truth of the promises. But when our souls are not dwelling on the glory before us and delighting in it, there is a "despising of the pleasant land."

Suppose I say I am counting on God to bring my children to Canaan, while all the time I am educating them for Egypt. That is a deadly delusion. My conduct proves my profession to be a lie. And I should not be surprised if God, in His righteous dealings, lets me be filled with the fruit of my own doings.

These males of twenty years and over numbered just over 600,000. Of all who had been counted in the earlier census, not one was left alive except Caleb and Joshua. Turn back to Numbers 14 and read verses 20-32 again. There you see with what absolute exactness God fulfils the word He has spoken. It is a solemn fact for the unbeliever, but one in which we who believe can rejoice with all our hearts.

God's answer was this: You say you wish you had died in the wilderness — you shall die in the wilderness… God says, You will have to die, only it will take you forty years to do it… They had to know death.

It is of the greatest importance to note here that it was unbelief that kept Israel out of Canaan on this occasion… Someone might say that the time for Israel to enter Canaan had not yet come. The iniquity of the Amorites had not yet reached its height. But this is not the reason why Israel refused to cross the Jordan. They knew nothing and thought nothing about the iniquity of the Amorites. Scripture is as plain as possible: "they were unable to enter" — not because of the iniquity of the Amorites, not because the time had not come — but simply "because of unbelief." They ought to have entered. They were responsible to do so, and they were judged for not doing so. The way was open.

Psalm 95 refers to this moment, and Hebrews 3 and 4 quote that psalm. They press the point home: unbelief lay at the root of it all. "So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." We need to note this. It shows their case was not a loss of blessing through backsliding. They had entered, by profession only, into a calling they never had faith for at all. This is the point of the solemn warnings that have so large a place in the Epistle to the Hebrews.

God will deal with them according to their faith. They will die in the wilderness, just as they wished. Only the faithful and the children will enter the land. Even they must bear, as they march, the consequences of the unbelief of the mass. However, other hopes and other consolations will be their portion.

One striking fact emerges at the end of the chapter. These males of twenty years and over numbered just over 600,000. Among them, not one man from the earlier census was still alive, except Caleb and Joshua. Turn back to Numbers 14, read verses 20-32 again, and you see how exactly God fulfils the word He has spoken. A solemn fact for the unbeliever, but one in which we who believe can heartily rejoice.

Take care: many profess, and many fall by the way and never get in at all. Israel all came out of Egypt, but they fell in the wilderness, and never reached the goal. There is no question raised here about a true soul going in. "We who have believed enter that rest" — no doubt about that; but you should remember Israel. They heard the report from the spies — the gospel of the rest of Canaan in their day — and never got in. The word preached by the spies did not profit them, because it lacked the divine mixture of faith: "it was not mixed with faith in them that heard it." "They were unable to enter because of unbelief."

God's answer was this: You say you wish you had died in the wilderness — you shall die in the wilderness. "As for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness." God says: you will have to die, only it will take you forty years to do it. They must know death.

It is of the greatest importance to note here that it was unbelief that kept Israel out of Canaan... They knew nothing and thought nothing about the iniquity of the Amorites. Scripture is as plain as possible: "They could not enter in" — not because of the iniquity of the Amorites; not because the time had not come — but simply "because of unbelief." They ought to have entered. They were responsible to do so; and they were judged for not doing so. The way was open.

If you want to see the connection of bearing sin in Isaiah 53:12 with the punishment due to it, you have only to compare Leviticus 5:1, 17; ch. 17:16; ch. 20:19; ch. 24:15; Numbers 5:31; ch. 9:13; ch. 14:34; ch. 30:15. In all of them you will see it means coming under all the consequences of the sin committed, and being answerable for it before God. So it is spoken of particular sins, as idolatry, Numbers 14:33.

In them, those who had wanted to die in the wilderness would die there. Their little ones, whom they had mourned over as certain to fall to the enemy, would be brought into the land. Meanwhile those children would bear the consequences of their fathers' sin, as was needful for the children of such fathers: for each day of fruitless search, a year in the wilderness. Thank God, however: because He Himself appointed these years, we cannot call them fruitless. Shall we say that of any of the Lord's ways with us here? No — the more painful, the more profitable. Divine love could inflict no useless pain, just as it cannot withhold the pain that profits.

God will deal with them according to their faith. They shall perish in the wilderness, just as they wished. He will bring only the faithful ones and the children into the land. Even those must undergo, on their march, the consequences of the unbelief of the mass. However, other hopes and other consolations will be their portion.

If Israel brings a pilgrimage of forty years upon themselves, the Lord will be in the wilderness with them for forty years... The God of the camp is the Guide and Companion of the camp. He may be grieved, and He may have to show His displeasure, but He never leaves them. His arm is not shortened, nor is His ear heavy.

God's answer was this: You say you wish you had died in the wilderness — you shall die in the wilderness... Says God, You will have to die, only it will take you forty years to do it. They must know death.

But now God Himself steps in. They will be dealt with according to their faith; they shall perish in the wilderness, according to their wish. Only the faithful and the children will be brought into the land. But on their march they must still go through the consequences of the unbelief of the crowd.

The children they had mourned over, as certain to fall to the enemy, would be brought into the land. Meanwhile they would bear the consequences of their fathers' sin, as was needful for the children of such fathers: for each day of fruitless search, a year in the wilderness. Thank God, however, that because God appointed these years, we cannot call them fruitless. Shall we say so at last of any of the Lord's ways with us here? No — the more painful, the more profitable. Divine love could inflict no useless pain, just as it cannot withhold the pain that profits.

"My breach of promise": "alienation" or withdrawal from something; hence, figuratively, "enmity."

They despised their hope, and it is taken away. Not one over twenty would enter the land, except Caleb and Joshua. The little ones, whom they pretended to care about, God would bring in. In forty years that generation would waste away in the wilderness. So they would know God's breach of promise. They had charged God with bringing them to the land to die by the sword (v. 3). Now their own dreadful words come back on them as judgment.

Caleb and Joshua had to go the long way round too. They had not joined the people in the evil. But the unbelief of the others had made the march painful and hard, and they had to go along with the people and bear part of it. This is what we must make up our minds to. If the Church has failed, we must make up our minds to accompany it in its course of sorrow, though not in its course of sin.

But allow a year to pass for each day; that is, 483 years from the command to rebuild Jerusalem... For this plan of allowing a year for a day we have a precedent in Scripture. (See Numbers 14:34.)

God dealt with Israel in the desert to repay their sin. That is plainly a weak basis for interpreting symbolic prophecies given many centuries later.

But even after all this, the very next chapter begins, "When you come into the land." All their sin does not change it: they are looked at as if they were already there.

Verse 35 stresses God's displeasure. He speaks of Israel gathering together against Him. For that reason He would bring on them the terrible discipline of dying in the wilderness. He had spoken, and He would carry out this unsparing sentence.

Someone might say the time had not come for Israel to enter the land of Canaan. The sin of the Amorites had not yet reached its highest point. But that is not why Israel refused to cross the Jordan... Scripture is as plain as possible. They "were unable to enter" — not because of the sin of the Amorites, and not because the time had not come, but simply "because of unbelief." They ought to have entered. It was their responsibility, and God judged them for not doing it.

God's answer was this: You say you wish you had died in the wilderness — you will die in the wilderness... God says, You will have to die. Only it will take you forty years to do it: "According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years" (Num. 14:34). They must know death.

Grace can pardon — freely, fully, and forever. But the wheels of God's government roll on, with crushing power and awful seriousness. Grace pardoned Adam's sin. Government still drove him out of Eden, to earn a living by the sweat of his brow, among the thorns and thistles of a cursed earth. Grace pardoned David's sin; but the sword of government hung over his house to the end.

They are not pilgrims any more, but wanderers. They are not without an aim, yet their aim is only to keep themselves alive for these forty years. So much so, that we are not given the record of them... Stopping their progress does not stop their decline. Instead the decline ripens into the rebellion of Korah and his company, the crowning sin of all.

Caleb and Joshua must go the long way round, too. They had not joined the people in their evil. But the march was painful and hard, and the unbelief of the others had caused it. They still have to go along with the people, and bear their share of it. This is what we must make up our minds to. If the Church has failed, we must make up our minds to accompany it in its course of sorrow, though not in its course of sin.

In Numbers 14 He says their dead bodies shall fall in the wilderness. He pronounces judgment on the whole nation, except two persons... Then in chapter 15 we read, "The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land," and so on. God goes on with His own intentions, as calmly as if nothing in chapter 14 had happened.