13:1-2 When the people arrived at Kadesh the Lord told them to go up and take possession of the land He had promised them (Deut. 1:19-21). Kadesh stood in the Desert of Zin, which was a section of the great Paran wilderness. The people asked Moses if they could send spies ahead of them. They did so, "that they may search out the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we should go up, and the cities which we shall enter"(Deut. 1:22). Moses allowed this (Deut. 1:23) with God's permission (Num. 13:2). Clearly the Israelites were not rebelling against God by sending the spies, but neither were they stepping forward in bold obedience with strong confidence in God, as they should have done. Why did God not lead Moses to record here (vv. 1-3) the fact that the sending of the spies was the people's idea (Deut. 1:22)? The reason may be that this was not the sin that resulted in God's postponement of their entrance into Canaan. Their reaction to the spies' report caused that result. The mission of the spies had some genuine value to the Israelites (vv. 18-20), but it also opened the possibility of fear and failure to obey God.
13:3-16 The men named as the spies were not the same as the tribal princes (conveners; 1:5-15; 7:12; et al.). Their personal qualifications for this mission may have been the basis for their selection.
"The name [Joshua, v. 16] describes a special role that Moses wished Joshua to have when he renamed him in Numbers 13:16. Joshua's earlier name, Hoshea, simply means he has saved'. In the name Hoshea, the person or god who saves is not made clear. Moses specified the LORD as the source of salvation by renaming Joshua."112
13:17-20 The Negev (lit. "south") was the arid area of land to the south of Canaan that formed a transition between the desert to the south and the cultivated fields of Canaan to the north. Rainfall averages 8-12 inches per year in the Negev making it semi-arid. The hill country (v. 17) refers to the more mountainous sections of Canaan generally here. Later Moses used the term more specifically of part of the territory God gave to the tribes of Ephraim and Judah. The time of first-ripe grapes (v. 20) would have been late July or early August.
13:21-25 The spies surveyed a very large area. Lebo-hamath (v. 21) stood about 50 miles north of Damascus, 100 miles north of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee).113
The Anakites (v. 22) were a tribe of very tall people who lived in Canaan (v. 33).
Hebron was a large fortified town. Moses gave it special emphasis here because it was near Hebron that God had promised to give Abraham the land (Gen. 13:14-18). From there Abraham had set out to defeat a coalition of kings (Gen. 14:13). The only piece of real estate Abraham possessed in Canaan was in Hebron, and there he and the other patriarchs lay buried. The spies, of course, knew these historical facts, and memories of these patriarchal events should have strengthened their faith in Yahweh as they passed through Hebron.
Zoan (v. 22) is another name for Tanis, the capital city of Egypt from which the Israelites had come.114
The valley of Eshcol was apparently just north of Hebron on the way to Jerusalem.115The Hebrew word translated "Eshcol"refers to the stalk or stem of some fruit or flower. From this it came to mean a whole bunch or "cluster"(of grapes). A huge cluster of grapes carried on a pole between two men has long been a symbol of the land of Israel. This figure illustrates the great agricultural productivity of the land. It still is a popular symbol of modern Israel today and is the logo of the Department of Tourism.
The spies reported that the land was indeed as fruitful as they had heard (v. 27), "nevertheless . . ."(v. 28). Everything the spies said from this word on was uncalled for.116Their commission had been to view the land and to report back on what they saw. It was not their job to determine if the Israelites could overcome the Canaanites. God had promised that He would give the land to His people.
It was the people and cities in Canaan that discouraged the spies (v. 28). These Hittites (v. 29) were one of the native tribes in Canaan, not the great Anatolian Hittites (cf. Josh. 1:4; Judg. 1:26). As they had despised God's provisions and plans (chs. 11-12), the 10 spies now disbelieved God's promises that He would give the land and its people into their hands. They reckoned only on their own natural ability and failed to rely on God's supernatural ability (v. 31).
They described the tall Anakites as Nephilim (v. 33).
The Nephilim were, "the demi-gods who lived on the earth before the flood (Gn. 6:4)."117
The word "Nephilim"means strong ones or tyrants, not people of gigantic stature, though it came to imply superhuman giants. The spies concluded that the Anakites were relatives of the Nephilim.
"The use of the term Nephilimseems to be deliberately provocative of fear, a term not unlike the concept of bogeymen and hobgoblins."118
14:1-4 God had just proved His supernatural power to the Israelites three times since the nation had left Sinai (chs. 11-12). There was no excuse for this failure to trust Him to lead them victoriously into Canaan.
14:5-9 Moses and Aaron tried to persuade the people to enter the land (Deut. 1:29-31). They also prayed for the nation in this hour of its rebellion (v. 5). Moreover Joshua and Caleb warned the people against turning back (vv. 7-9). They rightly identified the true actions of the Israelite majority as rebellion against God and fear of the Canaanites (v. 9). They reminded the people that God was with them (v. 9).
14:10-12 Nevertheless the congregation violently rejected their pleas to trust and obey God (v. 10). God Himself prevented the people from stoning Caleb and Joshua by manifesting Himself (v. 10).
". . . the majesty of God flashed out before the eyes of the people in a light which suddenly burst forth from the tabernacle (see at Ex. xxv. 10)."119
As a faithful mediator Moses again interceded for the disobedient Israelites.
The failure of the Israelites grew out of unbelief (v. 11; cf. Heb. 3:19). They failed to believe that God would give them the land of their enemies as He had promised.
Often in Scripture we read of people asking God, "How long?"However here it is God who asked this of Moses. This illustrates the intimate relationship that Moses and God enjoyed (12:7-8).
Was God's threatened action a real possibility, or was He only testing Moses' reaction with this offer? God had threatened a similar punishment at Sinai when the Israelites had made the golden calf (Exod. 32:10). God could have fulfilled His promises to Abraham by destroying and dispossessing all the other living Israelites and by sparing only Moses and his descendants. However, God could not have fulfilled the prophetic promises that He had given through Jacob (Gen. 49) and done so. There would have to be descendants of Judah from whom a great ruler would come (Gen. 49:10) as well as some future for the other tribes.
Perhaps God meant that He would completely destroy that older generation of Israelites immediately (cf. Exod. 32:10). He said that He would also give Moses and his descendants a much larger place in the nation. Perhaps then other peoples would regard Moses as the father of the Israelite nation.
". . . this passage intends to show that the people failed to inherit the Promised Land and hence died in the wilderness without inheriting the blessing, not so much for a specific act of disobedience or for fear of the battles that lay ahead, but rather for the simple fact of their unbelief. They failed to trust in God."120
Moses interceded again much as he had done at Sinai (cf. Exod. 32:11-13). Moses based his appeal on God's reputation among the Egyptians (vv. 13-14) and the other nations (vv. 15-16). He also cited God's promise that He would be patient (vv. 17-18) and His past loyal love to Israel (v. 19). Moses' words proved effective (v. 20).
The fact that God granted the people pardon in response to Moses' intercession is another indication of His grace (vv. 20-21).
The failure of the Israelites would not frustrate God's purpose to manifest His glory throughout the earth through the seed of Abraham (v. 21). Even though the present generation would die in the wilderness, Caleb (and Joshua, not mentioned here, cf. v. 30) would enter the Promised Land.
The ten times the Israelites tested God (v. 22) by complaining were probably these.
1. At the Red Sea (Exod. 14:11-12)
2. At Marah (Exod. 15:23)
3. In the wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16:2)
4. In the wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16:20)
5. In the wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16:27)
6. At Rephidim (Exod. 17:1)
7. At Horeb (Exod. 32)
8. At Taberah (Num. 11:1)
9. At Kibroth-hattaavah (Num. 11:4)
10. At Kadesh (Num. 14:1-3)
It is noteworthy that in Egypt God sent 10 plagues to build the faith of His people, but in the wilderness they complained against Him in unbelief 10 times. Evidently the measure of their iniquity had reached its capacity from God's viewpoint with this tenth rebellion (cf. Gen. 15:16).
Because the adult generation had failed to trust God He would not defeat their enemies. Therefore He instructed them to march southeast toward the Gulf of Aqabah and away from the Amalekites and Canaanites (v. 25). Since they wanted to return to Egypt, God sent them back toward where they had been. Since they feared their children would die in Canaan, God would preserve those very children in the wilderness and give them a home in Canaan (v. 31). Since the adults had rejected Canaan, God would give it to their children (v. 31). Since they feared dying in Canaan, God would let them die in the wilderness (v. 2).
"Typical of the irony in this story, their punishment is made to fit their crime."121
"When the Lord asked How long?' [v. 27] he meant this was the end. The oath formula As I live' [v. 28] was the strongest denial conceivable. The things he said next were irrevocably going to happen. That is what lies behind verses 28, 30, and 35."122
The Bible nowhere specifies a particular age of accountability for children. However the fact that God judged all the Israelites who were 20 years old and older for this sin seems significant. He evidently regarded those who had lived 20 years as responsible adults (v. 29).123
The 40-year duration of the punishment resulted from the 40-day duration of the expedition by the spies (v. 34). These years included those already spent in the wilderness since complaining characterized the people from the time they first departed from Egypt.
"The round number forty (v. 34) may refer to a human lifetime: generally speaking, everyone above the age of twenty would die in the wilderness in a period of forty years, because very few people lived beyond the age of sixty. There is a curious connection between the forty days of preparation for an entry that did not take place and forty years of awesome preparation for an entry that would take place--but only for a new generation."124
The 10 spies who brought the majority opinion seem to have died shortly after God pronounced their sentence as a result of a plague He sent (v. 37).
"As an unmistakable evidence that God's word of judgment would be literally fulfilled, the spies, except Joshua and Caleb, at this moment were struck dead with a plague from the Lord."125
Having received their sentence from the Lord, the people then presumptuously proceeded to go up on their own to take the land (vv. 40-42).
"They are like children who had broken a valuable vase and decided to make it better' by gluing it back together. The result of such action looks nothing like the original."126
The Israelites refused to accept God's discipline as they had refused to accept His promise. Thus they rebelled against Him again even though Moses sounded the ominous warning, "the LORD will not be with you"(v. 43). They tried to gain His blessings without Him, which is unbelief. Consequently God allowed their enemies to rout them. The key to success would not be their military might or psychological power but their obedient trust in God.
It is also possible for us Christians to fail to enter into our full reward if we fail to continue to trust and obey God (1 Cor. 9:24-10:13; Heb. 3:12-4:14).127Every genuine Christian will eventually go to heaven, but only the faithful will receive all the rewards God wants each Christian to possess. God will give or withhold these at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; et al.).
"This rather large section of narrative [i.e., chs. 13-14] introduces an important element in the development of God's covenant with Israel: the theme of the faithfulness of God in keeping the covenant and the unfaithfulness of humans in not trusting him.
"Following the account of the people's failure to believe in God in chapters 13 and 14, the writer has attached a further and rather large set of laws dealing with sacrifice and the priesthood (15:1-19:22). Thus, as has been the case throughout the earlier parts of the Pentateuch, after an account of Israel's unbelief, more laws are added within the narrative [cf. Exod. 32; Gal. 3:19-23]."128
Battles, this one and the battle with the Canaanites in 21:1-3, frame this section of laws and the Lord's discipline of the Israelites in the wilderness during the next 38 years.129
