And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper.
Moses spoke after Israel had refused to enter Canaan under God's promised presence, believed the faithless spies instead, and been sentenced to wander forty years, die in the wilderness, and know God's breach of promise. Early the next morning they swung to the opposite extreme, confessing sin yet resolving in their own strength to invade in order to reverse His decision, and he warned that this going transgressed the Lord's commandment and would not prosper because the Lord was not among them. Their confession was not true repentance but stubborn self-will that came too late to undo the declared consequence or to make self-chosen warfare obedient. They pressed on without Moses, without the ark, without the cloudy pillar, and without the divine presence, and were smitten before the Amalekites and Canaanites and driven back to Hormah with great slaughter. Defying God's command never prospers, for refusing to move when He commands and moving when He forbids are both transgression, and a lost opportunity through unbelief cannot be restored by human impulse.
Israel's Forbidden Invasion
The warning was given after Israel had refused God's command to go up and enter Canaan when He promised to go with them and give them easy access, listening instead to the lying report of the faithless spies, and after God had sentenced them to wander forty years in the wilderness, to die there, and to know His breach of promise. The Lord had been holding back the armies that inhabited Canaan, but through unbelief Israel did not make the right moves at the right time, and through the testimony of the unfaithful spies their opportunity was lost. Christ Himself had led Israel through the wilderness, yet their history was rebellion and murmuring, refusing when told to go up and take Jericho.
Early the next morning the people went to the other extreme, mourning greatly when they learned that God purposed they should not possess the land but die in the wilderness. They gathered equipped for war, confessing they had sinned and resolving in their own strength to go up to the promised place and possess it. They were as forward to go as they had been backward before, determined to follow human impulse and rush forward to avert the judgment pronounced by the Lord. Their purpose was to seize Canaan in their own strength in hope of changing God's decision, expecting God to change His action and still give the land as Caleb and Joshua had told them.
Moses warned that this going up transgressed the commandment of the LORD and would not prosper. Not prospering meant the Lord was not among them because they were turned away from the Lord. Their admission that they had sinned did not make their self-chosen warfare obedient, for God had not told them to take the land by warfare. Their claim of repentance was not true change but stubborn self-will, and it came too late to undo the consequence He had declared or to restore the favorable time. Deciding later to go did not cut across the Lord's designs without result, but confused the work He had outlined and ended in plain defeat.
They ventured out against warning without their appointed leader and General, without Moses, without the ark of the covenant of the Lord, without the cloudy pillar, and without God's presence that those signs represented. Moses and the ark remained in the camp while the people went out against the enemy. The command to return by the Red Sea was also mercy, because the Amalekites and Canaanites had heard of them, were before them at the top of the hill, and were preparing to attack. The defeat was not God's planned humiliation, for He had pledged to go with their armies, but their own rebellion caused His breach of promise and made the Amalekites in ambush His instrument to punish their guilty rebellion.
They were met, smitten before their enemies, and driven back to Hormah with great slaughter, death, and loss. They fell by the sword and were routed by the Amalekites and Canaanites as Moses had said they would be smitten before their enemies. Their rebellion did not prosper, while Caleb and Joshua later entered the promised land as God had said. By contrast, when Israel later advanced at God's command with Moses, the cloudy pillar, the ark, and the divine presence leading them, they won victory over Og and Sihon. That later victory when Moses, the pillar, and the ark accompanied them shows the contrast between acting in defiance of God and moving forward under His leading.
Disobedience Cannot Prosper
Defying the command will not prosper, for both refusing to act when commanded and acting when forbidden are transgression, and going without the divine presence brings defeat rather than success. The earlier refusal to enter the land was disobedience, and the later attempt to fight after the order to retreat was another transgression just the same. That presumptuous advance went without the appointed leaders, without Moses, without the cloudy pillar, and without the ark which had represented His presence. It was routed by the Amalekites and Canaanites into defeat, death, and loss, while Caleb and Joshua later entered the promised land as had been said. By contrast the later victory came when Moses, the pillar, and the ark accompanied the advance, showing the difference between moving in defiance and moving forward under His leading.
A lost opportunity through unbelief cannot be restored by human impulse, and deciding later to go does not undo disobedience. Admitting sin did not make it right to disobey again by attempting to enter after being forbidden to go, because the Lord was not with those who had turned away from Him. The ark and Moses remained in the camp while the Amalekites and Canaanites struck and drove the invaders back to Hormah. That later decision, determined to avert the pronounced judgment and to escape it by rushing forward in human impulse and own strength, cut across His designs and confused the work He had outlined, and ended in plain defeat.
The meaning is that one movement must not be rushed upon the heels of another, but the devised plan must be given every advantage and fully carried out in accordance with the divine mind, waiting for Him to indicate what to do next. He had been holding back the armies inhabiting Canaan, but through unbelief the right moves were not made at the right time, and through the testimony of the unfaithful spies the opportunity was lost.
The same cowardly complaining, drawing back from action when risks must be encountered, and unwillingness to heed faithful reports and true counsel seen in the days of Caleb and Joshua is re-enacted among His people today. Ancient Israel was repeatedly tested and found wanting, with few receiving faithful warnings, and darkness and unbelief increase as the time of the second advent nears. Truth becomes less palatable to the carnally minded, whose hearts are slow to believe and tardy to repent. The servants who bear the burden of the cause with strict self-denial and privation to help the people are no better appreciated now than then, and those chosen to conduct the work, because they will not turn from integrity to gratify the selfish and unconsecrated, become the target for hatred and malicious falsehood. Long He has borne with the people, forgiving wanderings and waiting for room in their hearts, while false ideas, jealousy, and distrust crowd Him out, and few enlightened by divine wisdom dare come boldly forward as Caleb did to stand firmly for God and the right. His servants would become discouraged except for the continual evidences their Master gives of His wisdom and assistance, and in these last days when Satan is awake and working warily, the call is for men of spiritual nerve and stamina to resist his artifices.
Moses spoke after Israel had refused to enter Canaan under God's promised presence, believed the faithless spies instead, and been sentenced to wander forty years, die in the wilderness, and know God's breach of promise. Early the next morning they swung to the opposite extreme, confessing sin yet resolving in their own strength to invade in order to reverse His decision, and he warned that this going transgressed the Lord's commandment and would not prosper because the Lord was not among them. Their confession was not true repentance but stubborn self-will that came too late to undo the declared consequence or to make self-chosen warfare obedient. They pressed on without Moses, without the ark, without the cloudy pillar, and without the divine presence, and were smitten before the Amalekites and Canaanites and driven back to Hormah with great slaughter. Defying God's command never prospers, for refusing to move when He commands and moving when He forbids are both transgression, and a lost opportunity through unbelief cannot be restored by human impulse.
Israel's Forbidden Invasion
The warning was given after Israel had refused God's command to go up and enter Canaan when He promised to go with them and give them easy access, listening instead to the lying report of the faithless spies, and after God had sentenced them to wander forty years in the wilderness, to die there, and to know His breach of promise. The Lord had been holding back the armies that inhabited Canaan, but through unbelief Israel did not make the right moves at the right time, and through the testimony of the unfaithful spies their opportunity was lost. Christ Himself had led Israel through the wilderness, yet their history was rebellion and murmuring, refusing when told to go up and take Jericho.
Early the next morning the people went to the other extreme, mourning greatly when they learned that God purposed they should not possess the land but die in the wilderness. They gathered equipped for war, confessing they had sinned and resolving in their own strength to go up to the promised place and possess it. They were as forward to go as they had been backward before, determined to follow human impulse and rush forward to avert the judgment pronounced by the Lord. Their purpose was to seize Canaan in their own strength in hope of changing God's decision, expecting God to change His action and still give the land as Caleb and Joshua had told them.
Moses warned that this going up transgressed the commandment of the LORD and would not prosper. Not prospering meant the Lord was not among them because they were turned away from the Lord. Their admission that they had sinned did not make their self-chosen warfare obedient, for God had not told them to take the land by warfare. Their claim of repentance was not true change but stubborn self-will, and it came too late to undo the consequence He had declared or to restore the favorable time. Deciding later to go did not cut across the Lord's designs without result, but confused the work He had outlined and ended in plain defeat.
They ventured out against warning without their appointed leader and General, without Moses, without the ark of the covenant of the Lord, without the cloudy pillar, and without God's presence that those signs represented. Moses and the ark remained in the camp while the people went out against the enemy. The command to return by the Red Sea was also mercy, because the Amalekites and Canaanites had heard of them, were before them at the top of the hill, and were preparing to attack. The defeat was not God's planned humiliation, for He had pledged to go with their armies, but their own rebellion caused His breach of promise and made the Amalekites in ambush His instrument to punish their guilty rebellion.
They were met, smitten before their enemies, and driven back to Hormah with great slaughter, death, and loss. They fell by the sword and were routed by the Amalekites and Canaanites as Moses had said they would be smitten before their enemies. Their rebellion did not prosper, while Caleb and Joshua later entered the promised land as God had said. By contrast, when Israel later advanced at God's command with Moses, the cloudy pillar, the ark, and the divine presence leading them, they won victory over Og and Sihon. That later victory when Moses, the pillar, and the ark accompanied them shows the contrast between acting in defiance of God and moving forward under His leading.
Disobedience Cannot Prosper
Defying the command will not prosper, for both refusing to act when commanded and acting when forbidden are transgression, and going without the divine presence brings defeat rather than success. The earlier refusal to enter the land was disobedience, and the later attempt to fight after the order to retreat was another transgression just the same. That presumptuous advance went without the appointed leaders, without Moses, without the cloudy pillar, and without the ark which had represented His presence. It was routed by the Amalekites and Canaanites into defeat, death, and loss, while Caleb and Joshua later entered the promised land as had been said. By contrast the later victory came when Moses, the pillar, and the ark accompanied the advance, showing the difference between moving in defiance and moving forward under His leading.
A lost opportunity through unbelief cannot be restored by human impulse, and deciding later to go does not undo disobedience. Admitting sin did not make it right to disobey again by attempting to enter after being forbidden to go, because the Lord was not with those who had turned away from Him. The ark and Moses remained in the camp while the Amalekites and Canaanites struck and drove the invaders back to Hormah. That later decision, determined to avert the pronounced judgment and to escape it by rushing forward in human impulse and own strength, cut across His designs and confused the work He had outlined, and ended in plain defeat.
The meaning is that one movement must not be rushed upon the heels of another, but the devised plan must be given every advantage and fully carried out in accordance with the divine mind, waiting for Him to indicate what to do next. He had been holding back the armies inhabiting Canaan, but through unbelief the right moves were not made at the right time, and through the testimony of the unfaithful spies the opportunity was lost.
The same cowardly complaining, drawing back from action when risks must be encountered, and unwillingness to heed faithful reports and true counsel seen in the days of Caleb and Joshua is re-enacted among His people today. Ancient Israel was repeatedly tested and found wanting, with few receiving faithful warnings, and darkness and unbelief increase as the time of the second advent nears. Truth becomes less palatable to the carnally minded, whose hearts are slow to believe and tardy to repent. The servants who bear the burden of the cause with strict self-denial and privation to help the people are no better appreciated now than then, and those chosen to conduct the work, because they will not turn from integrity to gratify the selfish and unconsecrated, become the target for hatred and malicious falsehood. Long He has borne with the people, forgiving wanderings and waiting for room in their hearts, while false ideas, jealousy, and distrust crowd Him out, and few enlightened by divine wisdom dare come boldly forward as Caleb did to stand firmly for God and the right. His servants would become discouraged except for the continual evidences their Master gives of His wisdom and assistance, and in these last days when Satan is awake and working warily, the call is for men of spiritual nerve and stamina to resist his artifices.