NUMBERS
CHAPTER 14
Israel murmurs and speaks of returning to Egypt—Joshua and Caleb give a good report of Canaan—Moses mediates between Israel and the Lord—Adults of Israel shall not enter promised land—The Lord slays false spies by a plague—some rebels try to go alone and are slain by Amalekites and Canaanites.
2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: [ The people are scared that Moses is going to have them go to battle against the giants in Canaan, so they murmur against Moses. ] and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! [ Same old song sang again. We were better in Egypt why did we leave in the first place. ] or would God we had died in this wilderness!
3 And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? [ Showing just how little they have learned in the rpocess. They have not learned yet to trust in the Lord. He has not let them down yet. He has destroyed the mightest army in the world. he has parted the red sea, feed them manna...and still they do not trust him. ] were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
6 ¶ And Joshua [ Who was originally named Oshea. Num 13:16. ] the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them [ They were two of the twelve spies sent to the land of Canaan. ] that searched the land, rent their clothes:
7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.
8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.
10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. [ So the people pick up stones to kill them. ] And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
11 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people [ The children of Israel. ] provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, [ In essence the Lord said that he is done will all 12 of the tribes. I am going to leave them on their own from here on out because no matter how hard I try I cannot save them. If they will not follow me then they really are not my people at all. ] and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
[ So while he is speaking directly to Moses he is saying that Moses and those that are with you. Namely Calab (tribe of Judah) and Oshea (Jehoshua tribe of Ephraim specifically but refers to the tribe of Joseph. ) and your tribes ]
13 ¶ And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)
14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
15 ¶ Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
16 Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my LORD be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, [ Translated from the Hebrew term "hesed", a powerful word with deep meaning that encompasses kindness, mercy, covenant love, and more.” President Nelson gave an address to young adults of the Church called “Choices for Eternity.” In that message he says, “God has a special love for each person who makes a covenant with Him in the waters of baptism. And that divine love deepens as additional covenants are made and faithfully kept.”
And that little “22 in the article” will lead you to this footnote: “In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, the word for God’s covenant love is hesed.” Right after the introduction, the first heading in President Nelson’s message in the Liahona is “A Special Love and Mercy.” The section begins like this: “Once we make a covenant with God, we leave neutral ground forever. God will not abandon His relationship with those who have forged such a bond with Him. In fact, all those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of love and mercy. In the Hebrew language, that covenantal love is called hesed (חֶסֶד).
“Hesed has no adequate English equivalent. Translators of the King James Version of the Bible must have struggled with how to render hesed in English. They often chose ‘lovingkindness.’ This captures much but not all the meaning of hesed. Other translations were also rendered, such as ‘mercy’ and ‘goodness.’ Hesed is a unique term describing a covenant relationship in which both parties are bound to be loyal and faithful to each other.
“A celestial marriage is such a covenant relationship. A husband and wife make a covenant with God and with each other to be loyal and faithful to each other.
“Hesed is a special kind of love and mercy that God feels for and extends to those who have made a covenant with Him. And we reciprocate with hesed for Him.
“Once you and I have made a covenant with God, our relationship with Him becomes much closer than before our covenant. Now we are bound together. Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us. Each of us has a special place in God’s heart. He has high hopes for us.” “At its core, hesed indicates a special kind of love and mercy that is only available to those in a covenant relationship. Because God has hesed for those who have covenanted with Him, He will love them in such a way that, no matter what, He will continue to work with them and offer them chances to change and return to Him when they stray.”
“[Hesed] is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient.”
“This loyal love means that God will always keep working with His covenant people. It means that when they stray, He will do whatever it takes to bring them back. It might be that they respond easily to His pleadings to return. In other circumstances, He may have to bring them back the hard way. Regardless, God will loyally and lovingly extend merciful chances to those for whom He has hesed.”
“There is evidence in the Bible that after receiving hesed from God, mankind was supposed to extend hesed to each other, which was both necessary and only possible when in a covenant relationship with God and each other.”
“Because of God’s hesed, it is covenantally certain that God will gather Israel back to Him.”
“It is vitally important to recognize and feel God’s love for us. Trusting in that immovable love—that indefatigable hesed, that inexorable, compassionate caring for and reaching out to us—is essential to help us move along the covenant path.” ] , forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
19 Pardon, I beseech thee, [ Moses pleads with God not to destroy the remained of the tribes that do not follow his word. The 10 tribes is what we have here. There are two the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Joseph which have responded that they are willing to follow God so he is going to bless them and the Lord said he was going to destroy the other 10 tribes, which Moses pleads that he will not do. ] the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
20 And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word:
[ The Lord said ok I will not destroy the other 10 tribes, however they are no longer inder my protection. ]
21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.
[ This is Israel. In Duet Moses told the people that all that God has done was planned out from the beginning to provide a place for Israel to prosper. So we need to ask ourselves in the history of the earth has Israel ever filled the earth with glory? No this an event to take place in the future. 10th article of faith. Literal gathering of Israel which is happening right now. Ephraim and the tribe of Joseph represented as an oxen are pushing people forward with their horns gathering in from the ends of the earth. The second part of the article of faith is "the restoration of the ten tribes". This has not happened yet either. The 10 tribes were essentially wiped out beginning with when they where scattered and taken off into Assyria in 720 BC. In Second Book Of Esdras 13:40-46 https://www.thefirmament.org/scripture/second-esdras/13/ It says that the ten tribes decided that they had not been faithful to the promises that God had tried to make with them. So maybe if we recommit to the Lord he will bless us. Which is exactly what he did. So if Israel grew in 400 years from 70 people who were numbered of Joseph's family when they cam into Egypt, Grew into a group 400 years later over 2.3 million people. So the body of the tribes that were taken northward were comprised of at least 5,000 households. It says there were 5,000 men who had not bent their knee to Baal. So God would have taken the faithful ones I suppose. So if you have 5,000 and then have 2,700 years in the wilderness would be an enormous number of people. Such that the scriptures that take about the return of the ten tribes rivaling the exodus of the children of Israel. I think we beging to get an idea of the scope, the magnitude of the return. So here when the Lord suggests that the world will be filled with my glory one cane see that with such a restoration that promise would be fulfilled. ]
22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, [ In Hebrew numerology means “the amount of time needed to accomplish what needs to be accomplished.” It may be an actual forty days and forty nights, but it is not meant to be taken literally. Examples: It rains for forty days and forty nights; Moses is upon the Mount for forty days and forty nights; Jesus is in the wilderness communing with God for forty days and forty nights; Jonah has to teach the people of Nineveh for forty days and forty nights—each signifying the length of time needed to accomplish what needed to be accomplished. ] and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
36 And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,
37 Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD.
38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.
[ God preserved Calab and Joshua as they were the two spies that believed in the hand of God, that God could do whatever God said he would do. ]
40 ¶ And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned.
41 And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper.
43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you.