Numbers 14:13, commentary and pictures

After the evil report of the spies from Canaan and the unbelieving rebellion of Israel, when God purposed to smite them with pestilence and disinherit them and to make a greater nation from Moses, Moses agonized for the people and refused to give them up or become the founder of that greater nation. He appealed to God's reputation among the nations, that the Egyptians would hear of Israel's destruction, for God had brought this people up from among them in His might, and would conclude that He could not bring them into the land He had promised and sworn to them and therefore slew them in the wilderness, to the dishonor of His name and power and faithfulness. He urged that the Egyptians would tell it to the inhabitants of the land, who had heard that the Lord was among Israel face to face with His cloud standing over them and going before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He also begged that the power of the Lord be great in long-suffering and great mercy in forgiving iniquity and transgression as He had forgiven Israel from Egypt until now, and God pardoned according to his word, yet declared that Israel must wander forty years in the wilderness because He could not work through the transgressors as before without dishonoring His name. The prayer expresses love for Israel and zeal that God's enemies have no cause to triumph over His honor and mighty acts, and it stands as a warning to later times against cowardly complaint and refusal to heed faithful counsel and obey God when He provides the time to act.

Context and Intercession

The words belong to the return of the spies from exploring Canaan, whose evil and lying report and the people's unbelieving response broke down the courage of all Israel despite all God's signs. The faithless spies were under Satan's control when they destroyed confidence, though God had planned easy access into Canaan. The people walked and worked at cross-purposes with Him and rebelled, so that God's own presence was needed to adjust matters.

When God purposed to smite rebellious Israel with pestilence and disinherit them and to make a greater and mightier nation from Moses, Moses agonized in plea for the people not to be destroyed. He refused to give Israel up and would not accept becoming the founder of a greater nation, for he could not endure the thought of their destruction and he knew what might have been and the glory God would have revealed in an obedient people. His appeal began from concern for God's reputation among the nations.

He argued that the Egyptians would hear of Israel's destruction, for God had brought this people up from among them in His might and power by His great deliverance out of Egypt. That deliverance was known beyond Israel, and its destruction would lead the nations to question God's power and faithfulness. They would conclude that He could not bring them into the land He had promised and sworn to them and therefore slew them in the wilderness as one man, which would dishonor His name, power and faithfulness.

The Egyptians would tell it to the inhabitants of the land, who had heard that the Lord was among Israel face to face with His cloud standing over them and going before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Those surrounding peoples had heard His fame and knew God was present with them. If God killed them, the nations who heard His fame would speak against Him and say He was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to them.

He also begged that the power of the Lord be great according to what He had spoken, appealing to His long-suffering and great mercy forgiving iniquity and transgression. He asked pardon for the iniquity of the people according to the greatness of His mercy, because of His forgiveness of Israel from the time they left Egypt until now. His plea turned aside utter destruction and God said He had pardoned according to Moses' word. Yet He could not work through the transgressors as before, for it would dishonor His name to do great things for those who in spirit were not a whit better than the heathen around them, and He declared that Israel must wander forty years in the wilderness to know His breach of promise.

Warning for Later Times

Numbers 14:13 belongs to the refusal to trust after the evil report of the spies, after which God declared that the people would wander forty years in the wilderness. When they then tried to enter Canaan anyway, the favorable time had already passed and their enemies were ready. Though Moses warned them that the Lord was not with them, they went up presumptuously and were defeated. The outcome shows the danger of acting after disregarding God's direction and missing the time He has provided.

The history of the twelve spies stands as a warning against cowardly complaint and refusal to heed faithful counsel. It is marked by repeated rejection of God's warnings and drawing back from obeying Him. That same pattern applies to God's people in later times. The rebellion is connected with the forty-year wilderness delay, which has been wrongly called unnecessary.

The verse is a plea born of love for Israel and zeal for God's honor and mighty acts. It appeals to God's reputation among the nations, for Egypt would hear of Israel's destruction although God had brought the people up from among them in His might and power. The inhabitants of the land would also hear, for they had heard His fame and that the Lord was among Israel face to face. To destroy Israel in the wilderness would lead the nations to conclude that He could not bring them into the land He had promised and sworn to them, and the prayer asks that Israel's enemies be given no cause to triumph over His power and name.