Numbers 14:38, commentary and pictures

This verse belongs to the account of Israel's spies and the people's response to their report, concerning the mission from Kadesh to survey Canaan, for which men chosen from the tribal rulers were sent with the Lord's permission to assess the land, its people, and its produce. After the evil report made the congregation murmur against Moses and against the Lord, Moses made known God's decision to turn Israel back to be enclosed in the wilderness for forty years until those continually murmuring should die, and the ten unfaithful spies who brought the evil report were consumed by fire sent from God's presence before Israel's eyes. Their doom signified the destruction of all in their ranks above twenty years of age, a merited punishment for unbelief and rebellion that cost them all, and after God gave the judgment of forty years in the wilderness Israel's later attempt to enter Canaan came too late because their enemies were prepared and they were defeated.

Although Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh were among the men who went to search the land, they lived on and stayed alive before the Lord and before the people while the ten unfaithful spies and the men who brought the evil report perished, so that they alone among the spies remained alive. Joshua and Caleb survived because they remained faithful, trusted God's promise, and spoke truthfully about the land, while the other spies spread unbelief and the congregation turned against the faithful. Their living on before God and the people proved to Israel and confirmed that their report about the land was correct and true. Joshua and Caleb were the exceptions among the adults who left Egypt and among that generation: they were not condemned to die in the wilderness but were spared to remain alive and were permitted to enter Canaan, in contrast with the judgment on the rebellious generation that died in the wilderness. Their faith was rewarded in keeping with God's word, for God brought them into the promised land and they ate the grapes of Eschol.

Their example shows that steadfast faith can stand firm even when others are overcome by fear and rebellion, for Caleb and Joshua stood boldly forward and firmly for God and the right with faithful reports and true counsel while Israel gave cowardly complaining, drew back from action when risks were to be encountered, and was unwilling to heed; and the same unwillingness to heed faithful reports is manifested among God's professed people today, so the history is re-enacted now. As then, servants of God who bear the burden of His cause and practice strict self-denial and suffer privation to help His people are seldom better appreciated than Caleb and Joshua were, few of professed Israel whose minds have been enlightened by divine wisdom dare to stand as Caleb did, and those chosen to conduct God's work who will not turn from integrity to gratify the selfish and unconsecrated become targets for hatred and malicious falsehood stirred by Satan in the last days. Ancient Israel was repeatedly tested and found wanting and few received God's faithful warnings, and darkness and unbelief do not decrease as the second advent of Christ nears, when truth is less palatable to the carnally minded and hearts are slow to believe and tardy to repent; yet God long bears with His people, forgiving wanderings and waiting for room in their hearts while false ideas, jealousy, and distrust crowd Him out, and He sustains His faithful servants with continual evidences of His wisdom and assistance so they need not be discouraged, calling for men of spiritual nerve and stamina to resist Satan's artifices.