NUMBERS 14
The result of the testing recorded in these two chapters was exceedingly solemn. It brought to light that the most of the people who had been baptised to Moses were characterised by unbelief, by despising God, and by rebellion against Him. He “was not pleased with the most of them” (1 Corinthians 10:5). He could have no pleasure in an unbelieving and rebellious generation. The people here represent, typically, the whole baptised profession which is nominally Christian, but is really characterised by unbelief, and by preferring the world to what is spiritual and heavenly. “Is it not better for us to return to Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces before the whole congregation of the assembly of the children of Israel” (verses 3 - 5).
When Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before God (chapter 16:22,45; 20:6) it was an attitude of intercession which was always answered in grace. But in this chapter they fell upon their faces before the congregation, showing how they felt effaced by the rebellious unbelief of the people. This set forth, typically and prophetically, how the unbelief of the Christian profession really nullifies, so far as the unbelievers are concerned, all that Christ is as the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.
[p. 173] Christ as the true Moses — the Mediator — has brought to men the declaration of God in grace and love, the disclosure of all His favourableness, so that men may be blessed in the knowledge of God, and may have an inheritance according to His thoughts of love. Then Christ as Priest is “for men”; He holds that office for the benefit of men in relation to God. A priest must be “able to exercise forbearance towards the ignorant and erring”; it belongs to his office to “offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins”. Aaron might well have been acceptable to the people, if they had considered his office, and especially in reference to their imperfections and sins. But they murmured against him as well as against Moses. Ought not sinful men to appreciate One of whom it is said prophetically, that He “made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12), and who said in priestly grace upon the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)? All that Christ is as Mediator and Priest has been available for men in the Christian profession for nearly two thousand years, but unbelief nullifies it all, so far as the unbelievers are concerned. Unbelief as found within the Christian profession, and that is what is typified here, is the result of a wicked and rebellious will. So the warning is, “See, brethren, lest there be in any one of you a wicked heart of unbelief, in turning away from the living God. But encourage yourselves each day, as long as it is called Today, that none of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12,13). The people are seen in Numbers 14 as rebellious and hardened; they had wickedly departed from the living God, so that all that had been set before them in Moses and Aaron was completely set aside. “And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt”. It is a prophetic picture of what has come to pass, in a terribly real way, in Christendom.
[p. 174] But, thank God! that is not the whole story. We have seen in chapter 13:17 how Moses gave Hoshea a new name, Jehoshua-Jehovah is Saviour. A divine salvation was in mind prophetically, even before the dreadful state of unbelief in the people was exposed. God intended then, and He intends now, to bring what was of Himself into evidence, notwithstanding the general state of the people. So Joshua and Caleb come forward to voice the language of faith. They had seen the land with very different eyes from the other ten searchers. “And they spoke to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it out, is a very, very good land. If Jehovah delight in us, he will bring us into this land, and give it us, a land that flows with milk and honey; only rebel not against Jehovah; and fear not the people of the land; for they shall be our food. Their defence is departed from them, and Jehovah is with us: fear them not” (verses 7 - 9). God was, and is, amongst His people as Saviour, and He showed in Joshua and Caleb how completely He could save men from all that they were naturally, so that they became as distinctly characterised by faith as the generation of flesh was by unbelief.
God had then, and He has now, in the midst of general unbelief, a witness to the power and completeness of His salvation. Joshua typifies Christ as God’s salvation, while Caleb sets forth the work of God in man so that there is another spirit with him, even the “spirit of faith” (2 Corinthians 4:13). The two together give the complete idea. That is, a divine salvation wrought by Christ and in Christ altogether apart from what man is as in the flesh. Then a divine work in man which leads to his having the spirit of faith in what God is, and what He has effected — an entirely new principle which is wrought of God, and which honours God. So that the land, which tested what the people were, and [p. 175] brought out their unbelief and rebellion, brought out in those who were on the principle of faith a true and deep appreciation. It was, in their estimation, “a very, very good land”. This was how they thought of it, though not yet in possession of it, and this is how those who have the spirit of faith regard what God proposes to give. They may be conscious that they are not in possession or enjoyment of “the land”, but they know that it is “a very, very good land”, because the God whose love they know is the Giver of it. This is deeply wrought in the heart of every one who has the spirit of faith, and it accounts for the interest which the saints take in the things of God. They have no thought of returning to Egypt, no desire for another captain who will please them better than Christ! They go on steadily year after year with a deepening sense of the value of what God gives. There is a bit of Caleb, if we may so say, in every believer; each one has heard the voice of God, and wants to hear it; each one watches and prays that his heart may not be hardened, and that he, may not fall “after the same example” of those who do not hearken to the word. Such are not marked by rebellious unbelief; it is their constant desire to know God and His ways better.
Then mark the assurance of faith! “If Jehovah delight in us, he will bring us into this land, and give it us”. Faith encourages itself to remember that we are objects of delight to the heart of God, as the younger son was when he was clothed with the best robe, and had a ring put on his hand, and sandals on his feet. By the Lord Jesus Christ we have access by faith into the favour of God in which we stand, and the Spirit of sonship makes us conscious that God delights in us. Joshua and Caleb were conscious of having a place in Jehovah’s delight; they had drunk in His thoughts of His people as secured for them by His salvation. What [p. 176] they were according to the flesh had no place or part in this; it was simply according to His own purpose and grace. Such is the privilege and joy of faith.
There was nothing to fear, for the simple and blessed reason that “Jehovah is with us” (verse 9). The evidence of this had been present with them all the time from Egypt onwards; they were daily surrounded by proofs of it. But faith alone had the assurance and comfort of it, and the courage which it imparts. The very mention of it only exasperated the generation of unbelief. “And the whole assembly said that they should be stoned with stones” (verse 10). Not only was God despised, and murmured against, but the faith that honoured Him called out violent enmity. It was the last provocation that was needed to fill up the testimony of what unbelief really was, and to seal its doom. The testing had made apparent what was there. The unbelief and rebellion of the natural heart was fully exposed, and also the confidence and courage of those who have the spirit of faith. Now what will follow? How will God act under such circumstances, and at such a juncture? What course will He take? These are vital questions, for the conditions which we see here are precisely the conditions which obtain today.
“And the glory of Jehovah appeared in the tent of meeting to all the children of Israel” (verse 10). We may depend upon it that the glory of God will always appear at times when it is challenged. It is the great comfort of faith that it should do so, and it is a definite exercise of faith to know how it is appearing under the conditions which exist now. This chapter throws light on this important matter.
God had one man at that moment who had said to Him at the entrance of the tent, “Let me, I pray thee, see thy glory” (Exodus 33:18), and whom He had answered by passing by, and proclaiming what He was [p. 177] and how He was acting towards the children of men. Moses understood that the glory which was appearing in the tent of meeting was the glory which had been proclaimed on the mount. And Jehovah was minded to bring out that His servant cherished the glory which He had shown him, and that he understood what was suitable in relation to it. God loves to give His faithful servants an opportunity to speak to Him in a manner which proves that they understand what He has shown them. Jehovah, having shown Moses His glory, was minded to bring out that Moses appreciated it as the only thing which was suitable to Him under the circumstances which existed. And He brought this out by proposing to destroy the people who despised Him, and to make of Moses a nation greater and mightier than they (verses 11,12). The people deserved to be destroyed; of that there could be no question. To make of Moses a nation greater and mightier than they was a proposal which, I suppose, God would never have made to any other. But He knew to whom He was speaking, and He had pleasure in bringing out the spiritual greatness of His servant. It was His glory to have a servant who knew exactly what was suitable at such a time. So that He might be able to say, “I have pardoned according to thy word”. God loves to have His servants in communion with His mind, and understanding what is suitable to His glory, so that He can answer their prayers, and do according to their word. Moses was brought to the great spiritual elevation of knowing how it was suitable for God to act in the face of such conditions as were present. God is well pleased to have His saints at that elevation today.
In reply to what Jehovah said to him, Moses made not the slightest reference to a great nation being made of himself; his soul was tilled with something vastly more important than that! It was only just at the end [p. 178] of his speaking that he referred to the iniquity of the people; he was absorbed by something infinitely greater than that! Whatever the people might be, God had been pleased to make Himself known in connection with them as a Redeemer and a Saviour, as One favourable to them, who had thoughts of good in His heart for them. God had set a witness to this in Israel that they might know Him thus, and that even Gentiles might be attracted by the way He was known there. The testimony of it had gone forth, for Moses could speak of “the nations that have heard thy fame” (verse 15). All this was great in the heart of Moses. It was the very glory of Jehovah that He was made known thus in the world, and it was not suitable to that glory that He should slay the people as one man. Under the circumstances of the moment the destruction of the people would not serve His glory, but would bring reproach upon Him. Therefore His power was to be great in another way. Moses understood all this — a wonderful elevation for a man — and was able to express it to Jehovah.
“And now, I beseech thee, let the power of the Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, Jehovah is slow to anger, and abundant in goodness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy loving-kindness, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now” (verses 17 - 19). In this prayer Moses was simply holding to the glory of Jehovah as Jehovah had made it known to him when he was in a cleft of the rock. This was after the making of the golden calf, by which the people had forfeited all title to anything but judgment. It was only on the ground that Jehovah was merciful and [p. 179] gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy unto thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, that He could go on with such a people. Now it must be still the same. There had always been iniquity in the people, but God had not destroyed them, He had forgiven them. It must be either destruction or forgiveness, if people are sinful.
At the present time the unbelief of men who are professedly Christian is fully manifested; they are indeed ready to make a captain and return to Egypt. The lawless one who is about to be revealed is the captain of man’s choice, and he will very soon lead the mass of people in Christendom away from everything that is of God. But at such a time as this the glory of God is appearing in the tent of meeting. In spite of the general condition of unbelief the tent of meeting is still here. There is a company built together in the Lord “for a habitation of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22), and the glory of God appears there. It is not appearing in the way of destruction, but in forgiveness. The mass of those who are in the place of Christian profession are unbelieving and rebellious, but God has been going on for long centuries without bringing in destruction upon them; His ways have been on the line of forgiveness. I am not referring to forgiveness of sins as preached in the glad tidings, and which believers have for Christ’s Name’s sake, but to forgiveness as publicly manifested by God going on in long- suffering with a sinful people. It is the dominant principle in the public ways of God, and will be, so long as the present testimony continues of Him as a Saviour-God who will have all men to be saved. Nothing suits the present period but forgiveness; it is a manifestation of God’s glory which is worthy of Himself. God is great enough in power — for notice that Moses says, “Let the power of the Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken” — to rise above all the iniquity, and to go on the line of forgiveness with a people whom, if His power and glory were not great enough to forgive, He would have to destroy.
It is not a question here whether men repent or not; most assuredly the mass of them do not repent. But the glory that is in the tent of meeting is a glory of forgiveness. What a flood of light this caste upon the present ways of God! Christendom is as evil and unbelieving as Israel was, but God is not destroying. He is causing His power and glory to appear in another way. Every unbeliever in Christendom should realise that the only reason why he is not destroyed is that God is standing towards him in the attitude of pardon. And it may be added that He would have everyone of His people to be imbued with the same spirit.
But alongside this dominant principle of forgiveness in contrast with destruction the action of another principle continues; namely, that of divine government. “By no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth generation”. Though pardon marks the present ways of God, and not destruction, this does not mean that God does not take account of what is wrong, or that He will fail to visit it in due time. He pardoned at the intercession of Moses, and did not destroy them there and then, as they deserved. But He intensely disapproved of them as an “evil assembly” who had rebelled against Him. When He said, “Forty years was I grieved with the generation”, the word “grieved” implies loathing (see marginal note to Psalm 95:10). God deals in His government with all that displeases Him, though there may be a period, more or less prolonged, during which He does not bring destruction on those who deserve it. His attitude towards all is one of pardon, but this is provisional, pending the time when [p. 181] He will publicly settle every moral question, as He surely will, when all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah. Meanwhile His government continues its inexorable course.
“I have pardoned according to thy word. But as surely as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah! for all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice, shall in no wise see the land which I did swear unto their fathers: none of them that despised me shall see it” (verses 20 - 23). This is very solemn. God may pardon in the sense that He suspends a sentence which would otherwise be immediately executed, but that does not mean that He has any pleasure in an unbelieving people, or that they will escape from His governmental dealings. He may bear long, but in due time every unbeliever will die, and will hereafter stand at the great white throne to be judged according to his works.
“But my servant Caleb, because he hath another spirit in him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he came; and his seed shall possess it” (verse 24). The generation of faith alone will go into what God has purposed in love for His people. Faith alone really wants it, or could have any delight in it. People have an idea of being happy in heaven, but how can it be if they have an extreme distaste for everything that is spiritual and heavenly now?
The people continue to be an “evil assembly”, and their carcases would fall and be wasted in the wilderness. “After the number of the days in which ye have searched out the land, forty days, each day for a year shall ye bear your iniquities forty years, and ye shall know mine estrangement from you. I Jehovah have spoken; I will surely do it unto all this evil assembly [p. 182] which have gathered together against me! In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and thus they shall die” (verses 34,35). That is what is going on at the present time. The generation of unbelief has been fully exposed — not in the heathen world, where God’s glory and signs have not been seen, nor His voice heard, but — in the place where there has been Christian light, and God’s voice has been heard. He has not destroyed that generation; He has pardoned in the sense that He allows men to go on without cutting them off in judgment. But they are a grief to His heart, and they are wasting in the wilderness; they will all ultimately be consumed there. Not one of the generation of unbelief will come into the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.
The ten men were not pardoned who brought up an evil report upon the land. Theirs was a sin unto death, and they died by a plague before Jehovah (verse 37). Their guilt was such that they were by no means cleared; the government of God acted in a direct way to bring their guilt upon them. God’s general dealing with unbelief at present is forbearing and long-suffering; it is on the line of pardon. But there are exceptional cases in which some special mark of divine displeasure is visited upon men who are prominent in spreading evil influences.
“And Moses told all these sayings to all the children of Israel; then the people mourned greatly. And they rose up early in the morning, and went up to the hilltop, saying, Here are we, and we will go up to the place of which Jehovah has spoken; for we have sinned” (verses 39,40). Unbelief can be presumptuous as well as fearful. Afraid to go up with God, but not afraid to go up without Him. First despising a divine favour which was put within their reach, and then despising a solemn action of divine government which was now [p. 183] irreversible. Moses warned them that they would not prosper, but that they would fall by the sword. “Yet they presumed to go up to the hill-top ... And the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt on that hill, came down and smote them, and cut them to pieces as far as Hormah (utter destruction)” (verses 44,45).
But Joshua and Caleb would come into the land; also “your little ones, of whom ye said they should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land that ye have despised” (verse 31). The “little ones” were a new generation; they represented, typically, a race that has not been corrupted by Egyptian influences, but has grown up under the nurture of God in the wilderness. It will be noticed that, according to the margin, verse 33 reads, “And your children shall fed in the wilderness forty years”. It corresponds with what Paul said at Antioch, “For a time of about forty years he nursed them in the desert” (Acts 13:18). The “children” represent a generation nurtured by God. So that if He was grieved forty years with the generation of unbelief all the time that they were being wasted and consumed, on the other hand His parental care was being expended on a generation that He was feeding and nursing in view of their growing up to be brought into the land. God had, and has, a new-born generation for Himself of entirely different character from the generation of unbelief.
The new generation is not only fed in the wilderness, but it is disciplined there. It has to learn how displeasing to God all the ways of the old generation are. It has to bear the “whoredoms” of those whose carcases are being wasted in the wilderness (verse 33). So that their senses are being continually “exercised for distinguishing both good and evil”. The “children” were learning, typically, the good in being fed and nurtured by God; they were learning the evil in bearing the [p. 184] whoredoms of the generation that was to perish in the wilderness. These exercises go on with all the children of God. Those who are of the new-born race are nurtured by God, but they have to learn what the old generation is, not merely as seeing it in others, but as finding that in their own flesh good does not dwell. We have all to learn to submit ourselves to the discerning and penetrating power of the living and operative word of God, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart, and lays all things naked and bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
All this exercise casts us continually upon grace and mercy. But there is a throne of grace to which we may approach with boldness, and we have a great High Priest who is able to sympathise with our infirmities. There is everything to encourage confidence even in the feeblest believer. The trials and difficulties of the wilderness now become discipline for us which faith accepts as the chastening of love. The Father of spirits chastens us for our profit “in order to the partaking of his holiness”. The nurture and the discipline are going on all the time with every one of the children of God in view of our going into the land.
It is no part of the teaching of this chapter that children of God may fall in the wilderness. It is calculated to produce and deepen in us all great diligence that we may not do so. This is exactly the exercise suggested by Hebrews 3 and 4. But in that epistle, though the writer warns against the danger and possibility of unbelief working, he writes as persuaded concerning those to whom he wrote that they had shown love to God’s Name. This was a clear proof that they were linked with Joshua — “connected with salvation” — and not part of the hardened and unbelieving generation, Indeed, he says with much certainty,
“[p. 185] But we are not drawers back to perdition” — we do not want to make a captain and return to Egypt — “but of faith to saving the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).
So that while Numbers 14 is full of grave admonition as to the consequences of unbelief, it contains much that is most encouraging and stimulating to faith. We might say that its great positive teaching is that some will come into the land. Joshua and Caleb, and all the new-born generation will come in. So that the next section of the book (chapter 15:1 - 31) takes account of the children of Israel as being composed of persons who are going to “come into the land of your dwellings, which I give unto you”. The generation of unbelief drops out of the mind of the Spirit of God, the end of that generation having been declared in this chapter. In the next section God identifies the people with the new race that will enter in. After fully exposing unbelief and its end, He goes on with what was before His own heart and mind.