Moses Kneeling in Prayer Above the Camp of IsraelBible World
14:17Numbers 14:17
And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
On the borders of the Promised Land after the evil report of the spies, when Israel refused to advance, rebelled against God's promise and threatened Joshua and Caleb while God declared He would smite them with pestilence and make of Moses a greater nation, Moses pleads that God's power be made great by acting according to His revealed character and promise, displaying that power in pardoning by sparing Israel and continuing mercy. Refusing a greater nation for himself and agonizing for a people who provoked wrath and deserved punishment, he pleads to vindicate God's name before the Egyptians who saw His might and the inhabitants who heard the Lord was among Israel face to face with cloud by day and fire by night, lest they say He was not able to bring them into the sworn land and therefore slew them in the wilderness. His strongest plea is God's own revealed long-suffering and great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression yet by no means clearing the guilty to the third and fourth generation, asking pardon according to the greatness of that mercy as He had forgiven them from Egypt until now. God pardons according to Moses' word and spares Israel from immediate extermination, as such pleading had often moved Him, yet those who saw His glory and miracles and tempted Him ten times will not see the sworn land, for unbelief still brings consequence and He will not do great things through transgressors no better in spirit than the heathen, and Israel must turn back to wander by the Red Sea and later falls when it goes up after the time has passed. This is intelligent prayer that appeals to Jehovah's reason and sympathy with unequaled earnestness, and it remains the privilege of believers to cite God's promises, for He is reasonable and compassionate, touched by His people's sorrows and hearing prevailing prayer, while the history warns God's people not to draw back from risk and disregard faithful counsel as Caleb and Joshua stood firmly for God and the right.
Setting and Wording
The plea belongs to the crisis on the borders of the Promised Land after the spies' evil report, when Israel refused to advance in obedience to God's command. In that rebellion the people rejected God's promise and threatened Joshua and Caleb, provoking Him after failing to believe despite all the signs He had shown. At the height of that rebellion God declared He would smite them with pestilence and disinherit them and make of Moses a greater and mightier nation.
The plea was followed by judgment that Israel must turn into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea for a long sojourn and wandering. The men who had seen His glory and miracles in Egypt and the wilderness and tempted Him without hearkening would not see the land sworn to their fathers. The people afterward went up toward Canaan after the favorable time had passed and were defeated.
To ask that the power of the Lord be great according as He has spoken is to ask Him to show the greatness of His power in keeping with what He has already declared. It is to ask Him to display His power by acting according to His revealed character and promise, His long-suffering, great mercy, forgiveness of sin, and just judgment. That power is made great in pardoning, in sparing Israel from immediate destruction and extermination and continuing to show mercy and to forgive them from Egypt even until now.
Plea Answer and Application
Moses would not take honor for himself when offered a greater and mightier nation from his own line, but agonized in plea for Israel even though they had provoked divine wrath, failed to believe despite signs, and deserved punishment and extermination, for he could not bear the thought of their destruction and rejection. He went to the true source of power to lay the case before the Lord when murmuring and rebellion made destruction seem certain. Knowing what might have been and the glory that would have been revealed in an obedient people, he interceded by asking that the power of the Lord be great as He had spoken.
The plea was to guard God's name before the Egyptians who had seen Him bring Israel up in might and before 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 of fire by night. If God should kill the people as one man, those nations would hear and say He was not able to bring them into the land He swore to them and therefore slew them in the wilderness, and His enemies would have ground to claim He could not bring His people into the promised land. To destroy them would thus dishonor God among the nations, so Moses asked Him to display His power in keeping with what He had already declared.
He based the appeal on his knowledge of Jehovah's long-suffering and infinite love and mercy, pleading God's marvelous providences and promises in behalf of the chosen nation, and then as the strongest of all pleas urging God's love for fallen man. He repeated God's own words back to Him, that the Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting iniquity upon children to the third and fourth generation. He begged pardon for the iniquity of the people according to the greatness of that mercy and as God had forgiven them from Egypt until now, asking God to display His power by acting according to His revealed character and promise.
God pardoned according to Moses' word and spared Israel from immediate destruction and extermination, and such pleading in behalf of erring Israel had often led Him to spare them. Yet pardon did not remove consequence, for the men who saw His glory and miracles in Egypt and the wilderness and tempted Him ten times without hearkening would not see the land sworn to their fathers. Unbelief and cowardice still brought the turning back toward the Red Sea, for He could not work through the transgressors as before, since it would dishonor His name to do great things for those who in spirit were no better than the heathen around them.
The prayer was intelligent prayer, an appeal to Jehovah's reason and sympathy offered with an earnestness and sincerity never equaled, and it was answered because God is reasonable and compassionate. The sorrows of His people touch His heart of love, His loving-kindness fails not, as a kind Father He does not mock the miseries of His children, and He regards urgency and hears prevailing prayer and avenges His own who cry day and night to Him. It remains the privilege of believers also to cite God's promises in prayer. The history of the twelve spies is applied to God's people, who may draw back from action when risks arise and fail to heed faithful counsel, while Caleb and Joshua stand firmly for God and the right.
On the borders of the Promised Land after the evil report of the spies, when Israel refused to advance, rebelled against God's promise and threatened Joshua and Caleb while God declared He would smite them with pestilence and make of Moses a greater nation, Moses pleads that God's power be made great by acting according to His revealed character and promise, displaying that power in pardoning by sparing Israel and continuing mercy. Refusing a greater nation for himself and agonizing for a people who provoked wrath and deserved punishment, he pleads to vindicate God's name before the Egyptians who saw His might and the inhabitants who heard the Lord was among Israel face to face with cloud by day and fire by night, lest they say He was not able to bring them into the sworn land and therefore slew them in the wilderness. His strongest plea is God's own revealed long-suffering and great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression yet by no means clearing the guilty to the third and fourth generation, asking pardon according to the greatness of that mercy as He had forgiven them from Egypt until now. God pardons according to Moses' word and spares Israel from immediate extermination, as such pleading had often moved Him, yet those who saw His glory and miracles and tempted Him ten times will not see the sworn land, for unbelief still brings consequence and He will not do great things through transgressors no better in spirit than the heathen, and Israel must turn back to wander by the Red Sea and later falls when it goes up after the time has passed. This is intelligent prayer that appeals to Jehovah's reason and sympathy with unequaled earnestness, and it remains the privilege of believers to cite God's promises, for He is reasonable and compassionate, touched by His people's sorrows and hearing prevailing prayer, while the history warns God's people not to draw back from risk and disregard faithful counsel as Caleb and Joshua stood firmly for God and the right.
Setting and Wording
The plea belongs to the crisis on the borders of the Promised Land after the spies' evil report, when Israel refused to advance in obedience to God's command. In that rebellion the people rejected God's promise and threatened Joshua and Caleb, provoking Him after failing to believe despite all the signs He had shown. At the height of that rebellion God declared He would smite them with pestilence and disinherit them and make of Moses a greater and mightier nation.
The plea was followed by judgment that Israel must turn into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea for a long sojourn and wandering. The men who had seen His glory and miracles in Egypt and the wilderness and tempted Him without hearkening would not see the land sworn to their fathers. The people afterward went up toward Canaan after the favorable time had passed and were defeated.
To ask that the power of the Lord be great according as He has spoken is to ask Him to show the greatness of His power in keeping with what He has already declared. It is to ask Him to display His power by acting according to His revealed character and promise, His long-suffering, great mercy, forgiveness of sin, and just judgment. That power is made great in pardoning, in sparing Israel from immediate destruction and extermination and continuing to show mercy and to forgive them from Egypt even until now.
Plea Answer and Application
Moses would not take honor for himself when offered a greater and mightier nation from his own line, but agonized in plea for Israel even though they had provoked divine wrath, failed to believe despite signs, and deserved punishment and extermination, for he could not bear the thought of their destruction and rejection. He went to the true source of power to lay the case before the Lord when murmuring and rebellion made destruction seem certain. Knowing what might have been and the glory that would have been revealed in an obedient people, he interceded by asking that the power of the Lord be great as He had spoken.
The plea was to guard God's name before the Egyptians who had seen Him bring Israel up in might and before 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 of fire by night. If God should kill the people as one man, those nations would hear and say He was not able to bring them into the land He swore to them and therefore slew them in the wilderness, and His enemies would have ground to claim He could not bring His people into the promised land. To destroy them would thus dishonor God among the nations, so Moses asked Him to display His power in keeping with what He had already declared.
He based the appeal on his knowledge of Jehovah's long-suffering and infinite love and mercy, pleading God's marvelous providences and promises in behalf of the chosen nation, and then as the strongest of all pleas urging God's love for fallen man. He repeated God's own words back to Him, that the Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting iniquity upon children to the third and fourth generation. He begged pardon for the iniquity of the people according to the greatness of that mercy and as God had forgiven them from Egypt until now, asking God to display His power by acting according to His revealed character and promise.
God pardoned according to Moses' word and spared Israel from immediate destruction and extermination, and such pleading in behalf of erring Israel had often led Him to spare them. Yet pardon did not remove consequence, for the men who saw His glory and miracles in Egypt and the wilderness and tempted Him ten times without hearkening would not see the land sworn to their fathers. Unbelief and cowardice still brought the turning back toward the Red Sea, for He could not work through the transgressors as before, since it would dishonor His name to do great things for those who in spirit were no better than the heathen around them.
The prayer was intelligent prayer, an appeal to Jehovah's reason and sympathy offered with an earnestness and sincerity never equaled, and it was answered because God is reasonable and compassionate. The sorrows of His people touch His heart of love, His loving-kindness fails not, as a kind Father He does not mock the miseries of His children, and He regards urgency and hears prevailing prayer and avenges His own who cry day and night to Him. It remains the privilege of believers also to cite God's promises in prayer. The history of the twelve spies is applied to God's people, who may draw back from action when risks arise and fail to heed faithful counsel, while Caleb and Joshua stand firmly for God and the right.