Numbers 14:10
But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
The whole congregation ordered Joshua and Caleb to be stoned to death for faithfully urging Israel to trust God and go forward into Canaan. Their faithful plea was that the land is exceedingly good and flowing with milk and honey, that the Lord would bring Israel in if He delighted in them, and that they must not rebel nor fear the inhabitants because their protection was gone and the Lord was with Israel. Just as the stones were ready and the two men would in a few minutes have been killed, the glory of the Lord appeared before all Israel in a striking display of flaming light and terrible majesty that exposed their plotting and stopped the attack. At the sight the stones dropped from their hands, a hush fell, the people shook with fear and dared no further resistance, while the unfaithful spies crouched terror-stricken and fled to their tents. The scene stands as the pattern for faithful messengers ever after, who bring a true and good report of the heavenly Canaan and encourage advance in God's work yet face distrust, reproach, and even threats of violence from those governed by fear and unbelief.
The Threatened Stoning
All the congregation ordered Joshua and Caleb to be stoned with stones for faithfully urging Israel to trust God and go forward. The call came because the two men had truthfully urged Israel not to rebel and not to fear the people of the land, and the threatened violence was stopped only when the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle before all Israel to defend the faithful witnesses and confront the rebellion. That appearing publicly revealed God's presence amid the rebellion and brought the people's disobedience into view.
Joshua and Caleb had reported that Canaan is an exceedingly good land flowing with milk and honey, and that if the Lord delights in Israel He will bring them in and give it to them. They had charged Israel not to rebel against the Lord nor to fear the people of the land, because those people are bread for Israel, their defense is departed, and the Lord is with Israel. They stood in defense of the truth that with His strength Israel could go up and possess the land, yet the people took stones in their hands and in a few minutes the faithful men would have been killed had the Lord not interposed. Their plea only increased determined rebellion, and in rage the people cried out with a loud and angry cry that Caleb and Joshua should be stoned.
The call to stone them belonged to a wider rebellion in which the people, stirred by fear and unbelief, believed the discouraging report about fortified cities and powerful inhabitants. They answered the true report with blasphemous complaint, cast off their God-given leader, chose one of their own rebellious number to lead them back to Egypt, and joined the unfaithful spies in demanding that the two faithful men be stoned. The mob seized stones to slay them and rushed forward with madness to kill them as Caleb's testimony in favor of entering the land rose above the tumult. Courageous testimony for advance thus provoked violence from people governed by fear and a desire to retreat.
The phrase about their defense being departed means the Canaanites had filled up the measure of their iniquity so that divine protection was withdrawn from them. That withdrawal left them secure and unprepared for battle, while by covenant the land was insured to Israel.
The setting leads to judgment, for God declared that Israel's persistent unbelief and rejection of the signs He had given had provoked Him. The adults would die in the wilderness during forty years of wandering, and the men who brought the evil report were slain by plague while Caleb and Joshua were kept alive. The readiness to stone God's faithful witnesses showed the people were not transformed in character even by that stroke, but were prepared to exalt their own judgment and pervert the judgment of God. When the people afterward tried to enter Canaan in their own strength without Moses, the cloud, or the ark, after being warned the Lord was not with them, they were defeated because the opportunity had passed and their enemies were ready.
The Glory Intervenes
The stones were already in hand and ready, and within a few minutes the two faithful men would have been killed for urging Israel to trust God and go forward rather than rebel or fear the people of the land. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel and stopped the attack. That appearing publicly defended the faithful witnesses, proved God was watching their plotting, and delivered His servants from the hands of the maddened throng. It was needed to quell the mad and blasphemous utterances and to save the lives of His faithful servants from murderous violence.
The appearing was a striking display of terrible glory, a signal manifestation set before all Israel. It came as a flaming light illuminating the tabernacle, a visible signal of the Lord revealing divine presence, power, and authority. By it God brought the people's disobedience into view amid the rebellion and confronted them with One mightier than they. Israel well knew that manifestation could not be resisted and that its authority was bound to be obeyed.
At the sight the stones dropped from their hands, a hush fell over the congregation, and they shook with fear. No one dared continue resistance once the murderous design was checked. The spies who had brought the evil report crouched terror-stricken and sought their tents.
Pattern for Later Times
The congregation ordered Caleb and Joshua to be stoned because they brought a favorable, true report of what they had seen in the land. Their experience is the example of faithful messengers facing rejection and threats for bringing a good report. It provides the comparison for opposition to those who bring a good report of the heavenly Canaan, who likewise may be rejected and threatened with hostility even though that land is good and can be possessed.
The history of rejecting the faithful report and counsel of Caleb and Joshua illustrates how God's people may resist faithful warnings and turn against those who stand for what is right, a pattern repeated in later times. It shows the danger of spreading distrust and opposing those who encourage advance in God's work, until the congregation is turned against those urging faithfulness and seeks to stone them. Courageous testimony urging Israel to trust God and go forward could provoke violence from people governed by fear and a desire to retreat. Caleb saw stones in the hands of those ready to destroy him, yet reproach and danger did not deter him from bearing his message, and he is the example of faithful people who uphold God's commandment when others treat it with contempt.
The same loud, boisterous spirit of rebellion that bade stone Joshua and Caleb with stones appears in modern Israel in council meetings and board meetings and in settling accounts with ministers with human prejudice destitute of the divine nature. Men in responsibility are required to stand as Joshua and Caleb stood to reprove evil and turn the whole current of evil.