Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.
Nevertheless His eye spared them from destroying them, and He did not make an end of them in the wilderness, restraining His intended judgment so that it did not end in the destruction of the people despite their rebellion and unfaithfulness. That rebellion which provoked judgment was that they despised divine judgments, disobeyed statutes, polluted the Sabbaths, and followed idols. Their rebellion and idolatry and pollution of the Sabbath called for judgment, yet mercy held back utter destruction.
Although spared from complete destruction, the first generation was still judged and barred from entering the promised land. Neglect of the Sabbath was among the reasons for that exclusion from Canaan. When their children continued in the same Sabbath neglect, He declared that they would be scattered among the nations.
In its context the verse belongs to a passage teaching that the soul who keeps the Sabbath is stamped with the sign of divine government and must not dishonor this sign. By close examination of the Word a person may know whether he has the King's mark and has been chosen and set apart to honor God. The surrounding warning about Sabbath-breaking applies to the enforcement of Sunday observance.
Nevertheless His eye spared them from destroying them, and He did not make an end of them in the wilderness, restraining His intended judgment so that it did not end in the destruction of the people despite their rebellion and unfaithfulness. That rebellion which provoked judgment was that they despised divine judgments, disobeyed statutes, polluted the Sabbaths, and followed idols. Their rebellion and idolatry and pollution of the Sabbath called for judgment, yet mercy held back utter destruction.
Although spared from complete destruction, the first generation was still judged and barred from entering the promised land. Neglect of the Sabbath was among the reasons for that exclusion from Canaan. When their children continued in the same Sabbath neglect, He declared that they would be scattered among the nations.
In its context the verse belongs to a passage teaching that the soul who keeps the Sabbath is stamped with the sign of divine government and must not dishonor this sign. By close examination of the Word a person may know whether he has the King's mark and has been chosen and set apart to honor God. The surrounding warning about Sabbath-breaking applies to the enforcement of Sunday observance.