Numbers 26:63, commentary and pictures

These are the ones counted in the second numbering of Israel by Moses and Eleazar the priest in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, made at the end of the forty years of wandering about thirty-eight to forty years after the first numbering, just before entering Canaan and shortly before the death of Moses.
Of all the men counted the first time, only Caleb and Joshua were still alive to be counted again, for every other one had fallen in the wilderness and did not enter the promised land.
This proves that God fulfills His threatened judgment, solemn oath, and terrible sentence excluding the rebels from the land and dooming them to die in the wilderness, which was fully carried out because of wickedness and sin breaking out in open rebellion against Him.
It stands as instruction to those upon whom the ends of the world are come, that even with hopes of entering the kingdom as strong as Israel's and with as great tokens of God's favor and willingness to save, cherishing sin in the heart will bring ruin and cause men to come short of the promise as Israel did.

Second Census at Moab

These were the ones counted in Israel's second numbering, taken by Moses and Eleazar the priest in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. It was made at the end of the forty years of wandering, forty years after the first numbering recorded in Numbers 1. That first census had been taken soon after leaving Egypt, roughly thirty-eight years earlier, while this second census stood just before entrance into Canaan and shortly before the death of Moses. It was therefore the numbering of a new generation at the close of the wilderness period, distinct from the numbering at its beginning.

The verse invites direct comparison of this numbering with the first census in Numbers 1. Such comparison shows how each tribe gained or lost during the wilderness journey, with some tribes decreasing and others increasing greatly. The difference in the tribes becomes clear when the two numberings are set side by side. The comparison provides the basis for noting the change in every tribe from the beginning of the wandering to its end.

Though the total number of adult males had changed little between the two censuses, the numbers of the separate tribes had shifted greatly. Simeon had decreased by almost two-thirds, while Manasseh had increased by almost two-thirds. Some tribes thus increased greatly while others declined. The difference is understood to connect greater faithfulness to God with prospering.

Judgment on Rebellious Generation

The second numbering is the proof that the men counted the first time had fallen in the wilderness during the forty years and did not enter the promised land, for not one of them was alive to be counted again except Caleb and Joshua. With only those two exceptions the rebellious generation had died, and almost none of that former host remained alive when the sentence was fulfilled. Those who stress Caleb alone teach that only Caleb remained of the company that had provoked God nearly forty years earlier, fulfilling His word that they would not enter Canaan. The numbering was made at the end of the forty years of wandering, shortly before Moses' death, and it showed that generation to have perished in the wilderness.

It proves beyond dispute that God fulfills His threatened judgments, His solemn oath, and His terrible sentence excluding the rebels from the land and dooming them to die in the wilderness, which was fully carried out. Every man and woman of that generation knew they would die before the forty years expired, and so they did, with only two exceptions, so that not one of the vast host remained alive and all but two failed to enter the land designed for them. The terrible failure came because the people were wicked, with sin in their midst breaking out in open, wanton rebellion against God. Day after day they yielded to Satan instead of overcoming and profited nothing by God's dealings with them.

What was only eleven days' journey from Sinai to the promised land became thirty-nine years of needless wandering. It stands as instruction to those upon whom the ends of the world are come, that even with hopes of entering the kingdom of God as strong as Israel's, and with as great tokens of His favor, presence, and willingness to save, cherishing sin in the heart will bring ruin and cause men to come short of the promise as Israel did.