Numbers 14:45, commentary and pictures

After Israel refused in unbelief to go up and take the land and was sentenced to wander forty years in the wilderness and die there instead of possessing it, the people mourned and then reversed course the next morning to go up on their own. Though Moses distinctly warned them not to go because the Lord was not among them and they would be smitten before their enemies, they presumed to advance to the hilltop without God's presence and aid, without the cloud, without the ark which stayed in the camp, and without Moses. The favorable time had passed and the enemies were ready, so the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that hill came down and smote them and drove them back even unto Hormah with great slaughter and loss. The defeat shows they were as forward to go when God forbade it as backward when He commanded it, that belated repentance came too late to undo disobedience or bring success, and that without God's direction His people cannot win by their own strength and human impulse.

Setting and Presumptuous Defeat

The verse belongs to the return of the twelve spies from a fertile land, when most of the spies emphasized the strength of its inhabitants and the difficulty of conquering it. When commanded to go up and take the land, Israel in unbelief refused after the lying report of the faithless spies. For that refusal Israel was sentenced to wander forty years in the wilderness, to know the breach of promise, and to die in the wilderness instead of possessing the land.

After learning God's purpose and mourning greatly, the people armed themselves early the next morning and declared they would now go to the promised place because they had sinned. That resolve was a reversal from refusal to a determination to go without permission, saying they had sinned and now repented and that God would certainly give the land if they did what Caleb and Joshua had told them. Moses distinctly warned them not to go up, that the Lord was not among them because they had turned away, that the Amalekites and Canaanites were before them, and that they would be smitten before their enemies and fall by the sword. He told them distinctly that God would not be with them and that they would not prosper, but they would not heed the warning.

They presumed to go up to the hilltop without God's presence and aid, without His direction, and without power to win by their own strength. They went without Moses their appointed leader, without the cloud showing God's presence, and without the ark of the covenant, which with Moses stayed in the camp. In stubborn will they went to battle without their General and without the ark, refusing to go when God promised to go with them and demanding He go with them when their perversity required it. The favorable time had passed, for the enemies had heard they were coming and were ready to resist them. The Amalekites had prepared and lay in ambush, and the Canaanites met them in force at the top of the hill, with enemies in the valley warned and ready to be at the top of the hill before them.

Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill came down and smote Israel and discomfited them even unto Hormah. They drove them back with great slaughter and loss, inflicting great loss and leaving many dead. The defeat strengthened the Canaanites' resolve to resist Israel. Those who escaped returned humbled but not converted and murmuring at every proving. God in pity and mercy bade Israel return into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea and turned their course lest the triumphant enemy follow up the advantage against a people without His protection.

Lessons on Obedience Today

Israel was as forward to go when forbidden as backward when commanded, revealing a settled determination to disregard the divine will, and its belated repentance came too late to undo disobedience or bring success. In unbelief it refused to go up and take the land when commanded after the lying report of the faithless spies, and when sentenced to wander forty years in the wilderness, to know the breach of promise, and to die in the wilderness instead of possessing the land, it reversed the next morning and declared it would now go to the promised place because it had sinned. Moses distinctly warned not to go up, for the Lord was not among them because they had turned away, the Amalekites and Canaanites were before them, and they would be smitten before their enemies and fall by the sword. They presumed to go up to the hilltop without God's presence and aid, without Moses their appointed leader, without the cloud showing His presence, and without the ark of the covenant which stayed in the camp, demanding He go with them when their perversity required it though they had refused to go when He promised to go with them. The Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that hill came down and smote them and discomfited them even unto Hormah, driving them back with great slaughter and loss.

By wicked, unbelieving rebellion Israel forfeited the protection of God, and the Amalekites with the Canaanites became His instrument for punishing guilty rebellion. The humiliation was not His plan, for He had pledged to go with their armies to battle, but their own rebellion caused Him to make a breach of promise. Those who escaped returned humbled but not converted and murmuring at every proving, and God in pity and mercy bade Israel return into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea and turned their course lest the triumphant enemy follow up the advantage against a people without His protection. They went out to battle contrary to the Lord's direction, without His presence, and were overcome by their enemies.

The attempt to take the land on their own did not prosper, showing that without God's direction His people cannot win by their own strength. Their presumption to go forward without the Lord's presence brought the very judgment Moses had warned of, for they went without the Lord after turning away from His command and were struck and driven as far as Hormah. The battle was fought in defiance of His judgment after refusal to trust and obey, without Moses, the cloud, or the ark, and their decision to fight was not obedience to His command and was without His aid. Acting from human wisdom and impulse after disobedience cannot recover what unbelief lost but brings defeat. God was holding back the armies inhabiting Canaan, but Israel did not make the right move at the right time and lost its opportunity, then tried from human impulse and desire to avert that judgment by going forward anyway and was smitten and defeated. This warns against rushing one movement upon the heels of another and against cutting across God's designs, teaching to wait until His plan is fully carried out and not to rush ahead with a human plan after disregarding His direction.

The defeat illustrates that disobedience has consequences and that God cannot be treated lightly, while in contrast later advance under God's leadership shows that obedience and trust in God enable His people to face daunting obstacles. They were routed because they went without Moses their appointed leader, without the cloud showing God's presence, and without the ark. The history of the report of the twelve spies has an application to God's people today, as scenes of cowardly complaining and drawing back from action when risks are to be encountered, and unwillingness to heed faithful reports and true counsel, are re-enacted, with ancient Israel repeatedly tested and found wanting and few receiving the faithful warnings given by God. Darkness and unbelief do not decrease as the time of the second advent nears, with truth becoming less palatable to the carnally minded whose hearts are slow to believe and tardy to repent. The Lord long bears with His people, forgiving wanderings and waiting for room in their hearts, while false ideas, jealousy and distrust crowd Him out, creating the need for men like Caleb who dare to come boldly forward and stand firmly for God and the right, with spiritual nerve and stamina to resist Satan in the last days.