Yahweh said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have worked among them?
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have worked among them?
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And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
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And the LORD said unto Moses: 'How long will this people despise Me? and how long will they not believe in Me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them?
Cross-references (24)
Passages linked to Numbers 14:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 78:32 For all this they still sinned, and didn’t believe in his wondrous works.
- Psalms 106:24 Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They didn’t believe his word,
- Psalms 78:22 because they didn’t believe in God, and didn’t trust in his salvation.
- Deuteronomy 1:32 Yet in this thing you didn’t believe Yahweh your God,
- Deuteronomy 9:22-23 At Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to wrath. When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, “Go up and possess the land which I have given you,” you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God, and you didn’t believe him or listen to his voice.
- Psalms 78:41-42 They turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They didn’t remember his hand, nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;
- Numbers 14:23 surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of those who despised me see it.
- Numbers 14:27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation that complain against me? I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel, which they complain against me.
- John 12:37 But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him,
- Hebrews 3:8 don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness,
- Exodus 16:28 Yahweh said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?
- Deuteronomy 9:7-8 Remember, and don’t forget, how you provoked Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. Also in Horeb you provoked Yahweh to wrath, and Yahweh was angry with you to destroy you.
- Hebrews 3:16 For who, when they heard, rebelled? Wasn’t it all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?
- Hebrews 3:18 To whom did he swear that they wouldn’t enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
- Exodus 10:3 Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, “This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.
- Psalms 95:8 Don’t harden your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
- Proverbs 1:22 “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge?
- Jeremiah 4:14 Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long will your evil thoughts lodge within you?
- Hosea 8:5 Let Samaria throw out his calf idol! My anger burns against them! How long will it be until they are capable of purity?
- Zechariah 8:14 For Yahweh of Armies says: “As I thought to do evil to you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and I didn’t repent;
- Matthew 17:17 Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.”
- Mark 9:19 He answered him, “Unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me.”
- John 10:38 But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
- John 15:24 If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have seen and also hated both me and my Father.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 14:11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How…
Num 14:11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
Ver. 11. Ere they believe me.] Unbelief is the root of rebellion and apostasy. {Heb 3:12}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here is, I. The righteous sentence which God gave…
Here is, I. The righteous sentence which God gave against Israel for their murmuring and unbelief, which, though afterwards mitigated, showed what was the desert of their sin and the demand of injured justice, and what would have been done if Moses had not interposed. When the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle we may suppose that Moses took it for a call to him immediately to come and attend there, as before the tabernacle was erected he went up to the mount in a similar case, Exo 32:30. Thus, while the people were studying to disgrace him, God publicly put honour upon him, as the man of his counsel. Now here we are told what God said to him there.
1. He showed him the great evil of the people's sin, Num 14:11. What passed between God and Israel went through the hands of Moses: when they were displeased with God they told Moses of it (Num 14:2); when God was displeased with them he told Moses too, revealing his secret to his servant the prophet, Amo 3:7. Two things God justly complains of to Moses: - (1.) Their sin. They provoke me, or (as the word signifies) they reject, reproach, despise me, for they will not believe me. This was the bitter root which bore the gall and wormwood. It was their unbelief that made this a day of provocation in the wilderness, Heb 3:8. Note, Distrust of God, of his power and promise, is itself a very great provocation, and at the bottom of many other provocations. Unbelief is a great sin (Jo1 5:10), and a root sin, Heb 3:12. (2.) Their continuance in it: How long will they do so? Note, The God of heaven keeps an account how long sinners persist in their provocations; and the longer they persist the more he is displeased. The aggravations of their sin were, [1.] Their relation to God: This people, a peculiar people, a professing people. The nearer any are to God in name and profession, the more he is provoked by their sins, especially their unbelief. [2.] The experience they had had of God's power and goodness, in all the signs which he had shown among them, by which, one would think, he had effectually obliged them to trust him and follow him. The more God has done for us the greater is the provocation if we distrust him.
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2. He showed him the sentence which justice passed upon them for it, Num 14:12. "What remains now but that I should make a full end of them? It will soon be done. I will smite them with the pestilence, not leave a man of them alive, but wholly blot out their name and race, and so disinherit them, and be no more troubled with them. Ah, I will ease me of my adversaries. They wish to die; and let them die, and neither root nor branch be left of them. Such rebellious children deserve to be disinherited." And if it be asked, "What will become of God's covenant with Abraham then?" here is an answer, "I shall be preserved in the family of Moses: I will make of thee a greater nation." Thus, (1.) God would try Moses, whether he still continued that affection for Israel which he formerly expressed upon a like occasion, in preferring their interests before the advancement of his own family; and it is proved that Moses was still of the same public spirit, and could not bear the thought of raising his own name upon the ruin of the name of Israel. (2.) God would teach us that he will not be a loser by the ruin of sinners. If Adam and Eve had been cut off and disinherited, he could have made another Adam and another Eve, and have glorified his mercy in them, as here he could have glorified his mercy in Moses, though Israel had been ruined.
II. The humble intercession Moses made for them. Their sin had made a fatal breach in the wall of their defence, at which destruction would certainly have entered if Moses had not seasonably stepped in and made it good. Here he was a type of Christ, who interceded for his persecutors, and prayed for those that despitefully used him, leaving us an example to his own rule, Mat 5:44.
1. The prayer of his petition is, in one word, Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people (Num 14:19), that is, "Do not bring upon them the ruin they deserve." This was Christ's prayer for those that crucified him, Father forgive them. The pardon of a national sin, as such, consists in the turning away of the national punishment; and that is it for which Moses is here so earnest.
2. The pleas are many, and strongly urged.
(1.) He insists most upon the plea that is taken from the glory of God, Num 14:13-16. With this he begins, and somewhat abruptly, taking occasion from that dreadful word, I will disinherit them. Lord (says he), then the Egyptians shall hear it. God's honour lay nearer to his heart than any interests of his own. Observe how he orders this cause before God. He pleads, [1.] That the eyes both of Egypt and Canaan were upon them, and great expectations were raised concerning them. They could not but have heard that thou, Lord, art among this people, Num 14:14. The neighbouring countries rang of it, how much this people were the particular care of heaven, so as never any people under the sun were. [2.] That if they should be cut off great notice would be taken of it. "The Egyptians will hear it (Num 14:13), for they have their spies among us, and they will tell it to the inhabitants of the land" (Num 14:14); for there was great correspondence between Egypt and Canaan, although not by the way of this wilderness. "If this people that have made so great a noise be all consumed, if their mighty pretensions come to nothing, and their light go out in a snuff, it will be told with pleasure in Gath, and published in the streets of Askelon; and what construction will the heathen put upon it? It will be impossible to make them understand it as an act of God's justice, and as such redounding to God's honour; brutish men know not this (Psa 92:6): but they will impute it to the failing of God's power, and so turn it to his reproach, Num 14:16. They will say, He slew them in the wilderness because he was not able to bring them to Canaan, his arm being shortened, and his stock of miracles being spent. Now, Lord, let not one attribute be glorified at the expense of another; rather let mercy rejoice against judgment than that almighty power should be impeached." Note, The best pleas in prayer are those that are taken from God's honour; for they agree with the first petition of the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name. Do not disgrace the throne of thy glory. God pleads it with himself (Deu 32:27), I feareth the wrath of the enemy; and we should use it as an argument with ourselves to walk so in every thing as to give no occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, Ti1 6:1.
(2.) He pleads God's proclamation of his name at Horeb (Num 14:17, Num 14:18): Let the power of the Lord be great. Power is here put for pardoning mercy; it is his power over his own anger. If he should destroy them, God's power would be questioned; if he should continue and complete their salvation, notwithstanding the difficulties that arose, not only from the strength of their enemies, but from their own provocations, this would greatly magnify the divine power: what cannot he do who could make so weak a people conquerors and such an unworthy people favourites? The more danger there is of others reproaching God's power the more desirous we should be to see it glorified. To enforce this petition, he refers to the word which God had spoken: The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy. God's goodness had there been spoken of as his glory; God gloried in it, Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7. Now here he prays that upon this occasion he would glorify it. Note, We must take our encouragement in prayer from the word of God, upon which he has caused us to hope, Psa 119:49. "Lord, be and do according as thou hast spoken; for hast thou spoken, and wilt thou not make it good?" Three things God had solemnly made a declaration of, which Moses here fastens upon, and improves for the enforcing of his petition: - [1.] The goodness of God's nature in general, that he is long-suffering, or slow to anger, and of great mercy; not soon provoked, but tender and compassionate towards offenders. [2.] His readiness in particular to pardon sin: Forgiving iniquity and transgression, sins of all sorts. [3.] His unwillingness to proceed to extremity, even when he does punish. For in this sense the following words may be read: That will by no means make quite desolate, in visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. God had indeed said in the second commandment that he would thus visit, but here he promises not to make a full end of families, churches, and nations, at once; and so it is very applicable to this occasion, for Moses cannot beg that God would not at all punish this sin (it would be too great an encouragement to rebellion if he should set no mark of his displeasure upon it), but that he would not kill all this people as one man, Num 14:15. He does not ask that they may not be corrected, but that they may not be disinherited. And this proclamation of God's name was the more apposite to his purpose because it was made upon occasion of the pardoning of their sin in making the golden calf. This sin which they had now fallen into was bad enough, but it was not idolatry.
(3.) He pleads past experience: As thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt, Num 14:19. This seemed to make against him. Why should those be forgiven any more who, after they had been so often forgiven, revolted yet more and more, and seemed hardened and encouraged in their rebellion by the lenity and patience of their God, and the frequent pardons they had obtained? Among men it would have been thought impolitic to take notice of such a circumstance in a request of this nature, as it might operate to the prejudice of the petitioner: but, as in other things so in pardoning sin, God's thoughts and ways are infinitely above ours, Isa 55:9. Moses looks upon it as a good plea, Lord, forgive, as thou hast forgiven. It will be no more a reproach to thy justice, nor any less the praise of thy mercy, to forgive now, than it has been formerly. Therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed, because they have to do with a God that changes not, Mal 3:6.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Out of the…
And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Out of the cloud upon the tabernacle:
how long will this people provoke me? which suggests that they had often provoked him, and had done it long ago, and still continued to do so; and he had long bore their provocations; but it was not reasonable, nor could it be expected by Moses or any other, that he would bear them much longer:
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and how long will it be ere they believe me; unbelief was a sin they had often and long been guilty of, and which greatly prevailed among them, and was the root of all their murmurings, mutiny, and rebellion; and what was highly provoking to the Lord, since they ought to have believed him, and that he was able to make good, and would make good his promises to them:
for all the signs which I have showed among them; the wonders and miracles he had wrought in Egypt, at the Red sea, and in the wilderness, and in their sight; on account of which they should have given credit to his word, and which were strong aggravations of their unbelief; and is the true reason why they entered not into the good land, Heb 3:18.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Detract. Hebrew, "despise, irritate, or blaspheme." God is incapable…
Detract. Hebrew, "despise, irritate, or blaspheme." God is incapable of anger, says Origen; he only foretells what will come to pass.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain THE EXCISION OF ISRAEL THREATENED AND AVERTED, Num_14:11-25.
THE EXCISION OF ISRAEL THREATENED AND AVERTED, Num_14:11-25.
11. Provoke me — Vulgate, detrahet, slander; R.V., “despise.” The same Hebrew verb is in 2Sa_12:14, and Psa_74:10, translated blaspheme, but the most common rendering is despise. Jehovah is jealous of his good name among men. The cowardice, distrust, and disobedience of Israel were a reflection upon his glory in the eyes of the Gentiles. He had set his name in Israel, and called him his “firstborn son,” (Exo_4:22,) and thus identified his own reputation with that of this favoured nation.
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Believe me — Unbelief is the germ of all other sins. Hence its culpability. Mar_16:16; Joh_3:18; Joh_16:9, notes. To discredit God’s word is to detract from his reputation.
For all the signs — God never requires faith without sufficient grounds. These were the supernatural plagues sent upon the Egyptians, the miraculous deliverance of Israel through the Red Sea, the manifestations of divine power and goodness in the manna, the smitten rock, the pillar of fire, and the grouping of all the sublimities of the physical world about the summit of Sinai at the giving of the law. The firmer the basis for faith the more culpable is unbelief.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11–24. Jehovah threatened to destroy Israel; Moses by his…
11–24. Jehovah threatened to destroy Israel; Moses by his intercession obtained their pardon, but the present generation, with the exception of Caleb, were not allowed to enter Canaan.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And the Lord said unto Moses, who had, as…
And the Lord said unto Moses, who had, as we may suppose, risen and drawn nigh when the glory of the Lord appeared.
Vers. 11, 12. The Lord breaks silence.
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It was time now for the people to be silent. They had talked and acted enough of folly. The Lord asks certain questions, and follows them with certain propositions. We can hardly call them determinations, but rather suggestions of action, such as may be further modified, if modifying considerations can be introduced.
God implies that it is useless to wait any longer.
It is not a question of whether he is long-suffering, but whether the long-suffering will answer any good end. He had been engaged, as it were, in a solemn experiment with the liberated Israelites, and the experiment was now complete. No further knowledge could be gained, and no change in the direction of trust and obedience could be hoped for, from longer waiting. To wait, therefore, was only to waste time and simulate long-suffering. It must be plain to every one who will consider carefully, that the Israelites had shown by their conduct the great distance that the calamity of human nature"s fall has placed between men and God. God knows the distance; it is we who deny it or trifle with it. This experiment with one generation was not for the information of God himself, but to instruct and impress all generations. Israel, unconsciously, was helping to lay a foundation in history for the great doctrine of regeneration. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". (Joh_3:3) Here is a generation, not born again but taken in the ordinary course of nature. Nothing is done to alter them, but a complete change is made in their circumstances. Liberated from the thraldom of oppressors, they are brought under authority of the law of God, holy and just and good. That law follows them into every hour of life. And the result of all proves that a man cannot by such strength and disposition as nature gives him inherit the kingdom of God. This generation was not fit even for the earthly Canaan. That land was no place for carnal minds to indulge their own inclinations. The people were not fit, and the unfitness is now perfectly clear. As they lift up the stones against Caleb and Joshua the experiment is complete. Hence we see the language of God here is in perfect consistency with all the Scripture that emphasizes the fact of his long-suffering. It still remains a duty of man, as it is an undoubted and gracious disposition of God, to forgive unto seventy times seven. Recollect, further, that God was dealing with these Israelites as a whole. What his relation was to each as a man, and not simply as an Israelite, is hardly to be considered here. The great lesson of Jehovah"s questionings in this verse may be stated in the words of Jesus: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain How long will this people provoke Me?
Num_14:11
How long will this people provoke Me?
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Mistrust of God deplored and denounced
I. The sin of israel is here defined: How long will it be ere they believe Me? Observe that Gods account of all the murmuring and fear which these people felt was simply that they did not believe Him. They doubtless said that they were naturally afraid of their enemies: the Anakim, the sons of the giants, these would overcome them. No, says God that is an idle excuse. No fear of giants would enter their minds if they believed Me. If these sons of Anak had been ten times as high as they were, yet the almighty Lord could vanquish them, and if their cities had been literally as well as figuratively walled up to the skies, yet Jehovah could smite them out of heaven, and cast their ramparts into the dust. Gigantic men and battlemented cities are nothing to Him who divided the Red Sea. When the Omnipotent is present opposition vanishes. Ah, but these people might have replied, we fear because of our weakness. We are not a drilled host, like the armies of Egypt. We know not how to fight against chariots of iron: we are only feeble men, with all these women and children to encumber our march. We cannot hope to drive out the hordes of Amalekites and Canaanites. A sense of weakness is the cause of our terror and complaint. But the Lord puts the matter very differently. What had their weakness to do with His promise? How could their weakness affect His power to give them the land? He could conquer Amalek if they could not. Our trembling is not humility, but unbelief. We may mask it how we please, but that is the state of the case as God sees it, and He sees it in truth. Mistrust towards God is not a mere weakness, it is a wickedness of the gravest order.
II. Describe this sin of not believing.
1. At the first blush it would seem incredible that there should be such a thing in the universe as unbelief of God. Jehovahs word is but Himself in action, His will making itself manifest; and is it to be supposed that this can be a lie under any conceivable circumstances whatsoever? Oh, the incredible infamy which lies even in the bare thought of calling in question the veracity of God. It is so vile, so unjust, so profane a thing that it ought to be regarded with horror, as a monstrous wrong.
2. Consider, next, that, though unbelief certainly exists, it is a most unreasonable thing. If God hath made a promise, on what grounds do we doubt its fulfilment? Which of all the attributes of God is that which comes under suspicion? Truth enters into the very conception of God: a false god is no God. Any other doubt in the world may plead some warrant, but a doubt of Gods truthfulness is utterly unreasonable, and if sin had not filled man with madness, unbelief would never find harbour in a single bosom.
3. Again, because this sin is so unreasonable, it is also most inexcusable. As it is to the glory of every man to be upright, so it is to the honour of God to be faithful to His solemn declarations. Even on the lowest conceivable ground, the Lords own interests are bound up with His truth. There is no supposable reason why the Lord should not be true: how dare we then, without the slightest cause, cast suspicion upon the truthfulness of the Most High?
4. I venture to say that unbelief of Gods word ought, therefore, to be impossible. It ought to be impossible to every reverent-hearted man. Doth he know God and tremble in His presence, and shall he think of distrusting Him? No one that hath ever seen Him in contemplation, and bowed before Him in sincere adoration, but must be amazed at the impertinence that would dare to think that God can lie.
III. The sin bitterly deplored. We have all been guilty of it. But what I want to call to your remembrance is this, that in any one case of doubting the truthfulness of God there is the full venom of the entire sin of unbelief. That is to say, if you distrust the Lord in one, you doubt Him altogether. The Scripture calls Him, God who cannot lie. Do you think He can lie once, then He can lie and the Scripture is broken? Ah, but I mean He may not keep His promise to me; I am such an unworthy person. Yes, but when a man forfeits his word it is no defence for him to say, I told an untruth, but it was only to an unworthy person. No, the truth must be spoken irrespective of persons. I have no right to deceive even a criminal. Do you dare say that to one person the Lord can be untrue? If it can be so, He is not a true God any more. You may as well doubt Him about everything if you distrust Him upon any one matter. Do you reply that you doubted Him upon a very trivial matter, and it was only a little mistrust? Alas! there is a world of iniquity in the faintest discredit of the thrice-holy Lord. Reflect, then, with sorrow that we have been guilty of this sin, not once, but a great many times. Timorousness and suspicion spring up in some bosoms like weeds in the furrows. They sing the Lords praises for a great deliverance just experienced, but the next cloud which darkens the sky fills them with fear, and they again mistrust Divine love.
IV. Lastly, as we have now deplored this sin, we shall conclude by heartily denouncing it.
1. This sin of unbelief, if there were no other reason for denouncing it, let it be reprobated because it insults God.
2. This is sufficient reason for denouncing it, and yet since weaker reasons may perhaps help the stronger, let me mention that we are bound to hate unbelief because it is the ruin of the great mass of our race. Why are men lost? All their sins which they have done cannot destroy them if they believe in Jesus, but the damning point is that they will not believe in Him Thus saith the Scriptures, He that believeth not is condemned already. Why? Because he hath not believed on the Son of God.
3. We may hate it, again, because it brings so much misery and weakness upon the children of God. If we believed Gods promises we should no longer be bowed down with sorrow, for our sorrow would be turned into joy. We should glory in our infirmities--sea, we should glory in tribulation also, seeing the good result which the Lord bringeth forth from them. The man who steadily believes his God is calm, quiet, and strong.
4. One very shocking point about this unbelief is that it has hampered the work of Christ in the world. The Christ that can save is a Christ believed in, but of a Christ who is not believed in it is written, He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The sin of unbelief
1. The heinousness of unbelief; shun it.
2. The large number and convincing character of the evidences of Christianity; remember that our faith should bear a proportion to them. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required, &c.
3. God takes our conduct as evidence of our belief or unbelief; let us show our faith by our works. Faith without works is dead. Faith worketh by love, &c.
4. Take heed lest we be disinherited because of unbelief (Rom_11:20-21; Heb_3:12-19; Heb_4:1-11). (W. Jones.)
Gods complaint
Two things God justly complains of to Moses.
1. Their sin: They provoke me; or, as the word signifies, they reject, reproach, despise Me; for they will not believe Me. That was the bitter root which bore the gall and wormwood. It was their unbelief that made this a day of provocation in the wilderness (Heb_3:8). Note, distrust of God, and His power and promise, is itself a very great provocation, and at the bottom of many other provocations. Unbelief is a great sin (1Jn_5:10); and a root sin (Heb_3:12).
2. Their continuance in it: How long will they do so? Note, the God of heaven keeps an account how long sinners persist in their provocations, and the longer it is, the more He is displeased.
The aggravations of their sin were--
1. Their relation to God. This people; a peculiar people; a professing people. The nearer any are to God in name and profession, the more is He provoked by their sins, especially their unbelief.
2. The experience they had had of Gods power and goodness, in all the signs which He had showed among them, by which one would think He had effectually obliged them to trust Him and follow Him. The more God has done for us, the greater is the provocation if we distrust Him. (Matthew Henry, D. D.)
Faith induced by inward discipline as well as by external evidence
It seems almost incredible; and yet when we think of it, it is only too natural. It is important to remember that faith is a plant of slow growth. It cannot be suddenly summoned into existence on a special emergency; and in order to its development there must be not only evidences presented from without, but a discipline going on within. We are apt to think that because so many deliverances have been wrought for Israel, therefore their faith must have become very strong. We forget that though God had done His part all the way through, they never had done theirs. Their faith was really utterly unexercised. It is not faith, to trust in God after He has wrought deliverance. That was all they did. If they had ever learned to trust Him before the deliverance came, it would have been a different thing. They had had abundant opportunities for the exercise of faith; but they had let them all pass by. They had contracted a habit of distrust. And instead of becoming stronger in faith, they were actually getting weaker; and accordingly when the crisis came, it was only what was to be expected that their courage should utterly fail, simply because it had no faith to rest upon. How shall we stand the test when our day of crisis comes? The answer will depend on the antecedent question, how we have improved those opportunities which have been previously given for the development of our faith. He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much. Weighed in the balances and found wanting. After all their advantages they missed the prize. The appeal of Joshua and Caleb was the last opportunity; they never had another. The glory of the Lord appeared (verse 10), no longer to open up a way for them, but to frustrate their rebellious attack on His two faithful servants, and to pass sentence of condemnation on the entire congregation. Through the mediation of Moses, the lives of the people are spared; but they are degraded from their position as the hosts of the Lord. (J. M. Gibson, D. D.)
All the signs which I have shewed.--
Miracles no remedy for unbelief
Nothing is more surprising to us at first reading than the history of Gods chosen people; it seems strange that they should have acted as they did age after age, in spite of the miracles which were vouchsafed them.
I. Hard as it is to believe, miracles certainly do not make men better; the history of Israel proves it. The only mode of escaping this conclusion is to fancy that the Israelites were much worse than other nations, which accordingly has been maintained. But as we see that in every other point they were exactly like other nations, we are obliged to conclude, not that the Israelites were more hard-hearted than other people, but that a miraculous religion is not much more influential than other religions.
II. Why should the sight of a miracle make us better than we are?
1. It may be said that a miracle would startle us, but would not the startling pass away? Could we be startled for ever?
2. It may be urged that perhaps that startling might issue in amendment of life; it might be the beginning of a new life though it passed away itself. This is very true; sudden emotions--fear, hope, gratitude, and the like--all do produce such results sometimes; blot why is a miracle necessary to produce such effects? Other things startle us besides miracles; we have a number of accidents sent by God to startle us. If the events of life which happen to us now produce no lasting effect upon us then it is only too certain that a miracle would produce no lasting effect upon us either.
III. What is the real reason why we do not seek God with all our hearts if the absence of miracles be not the reason, as assuredly it is not? There is one reason common both to us and the Jews: heartlessness in religious matters, an evil heart of unbelief; both they and we disobey and disbelieve, because we do not love.
IV. In another respect we are really far more favoured than the Israelites. They had outward miracles; we have miracles that are not outward, but inward. Our miracles consist in the sacraments, and they do just the very thing which the Jewish miracles did not: they really touch the heart, though we, so often resist their influence.
V. Let us then put aside vain excuses, and instead of looking for outward events to change our course of life, be sure of this, that if our course of life is to be changed, it must be from within. Let us rouse ourselves and act as reasonable men before it is too late; let us understand, as a first truth in religion, that love of heaven is the only way to heaven. (J. H. Newman, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Moses Intercedes for the People
Moses Intercedes for the People
v. 11. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me? as they were now doing with their insulting rejection, and how long will it be ere they believe Me, for all the signs which I have showed among them? They rejected God, they did not accept the evidences of His power and of His mercy; and His patience was at the point of being exhausted.
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v. 12. I will smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them, cut them off from the promised inheritance by exterminating them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. Cf Exo 32:10. But Moses stepped into the breach as the mediator and the champion of the people.
v. 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,)
v. 14. and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. The Egyptians themselves had received unmistakable evidence of the fact that it was the one true, the almighty God, who had led His people forth from their country, from the house of bondage, and they had brought the report to the Canaanitish nations. For they, all the nations here concerned, have heard that Thou, Lord, art among this people, being in their very midst, that Thou, Lord, art seen face to face, appearing here in a visible manifestation, and that Thy cloud standeth over them, and that Thou goest before them, by daytime in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. The report concerning all these wonderful happenings had been carried into the entire surrounding country.
v. 15. Now if Thou shalt kill all this people as one man, as the Lord had just threatened to do, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
v. 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. Cf Exo 32:11-13; Exo 34:6-7. The intercession of Moses urged that the honor of the Lord would suffer if He carried out His threat, for the heathen nations would not accept the true reason, alleging instead that the God of Israel was, after all, unable to fulfill His promises. Having urged this one point, Moses immediately added a second motive why the Lord should execute mercy rather than justice.
v. 17. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, He should reveal and prove Himself as great in mercy, according as Thou hast spoken, saying,
v. 18. The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy, 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. Cf Exo 34:6-7. That is the manner of effective prayer: it takes hold of the Word and promises of the Lord and urges His truth and mercy until He must confess Himself overcome.
v. 19. Pardon, I beseech Thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of Thy mercy, and as Thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. It is the prayer of faith which does not allege merit and worthiness, but pleads only for mercy, for forgiveness, for pardon.
v. 20. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word; He had been vanquished by the appeal of Moses, by the two great reasons urged by this bold champion of the people.
v. 21. But as truly as I live, a most solemn oath by His own life, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, as a result of the measures which the Lord intended to take in punishing the people for their sins. He did not purpose to destroy Israel as a people, according to His first threat, but He did intend to punish the transgressors, the insurrectionists.
v. 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,
v. 23. surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me see it; in bringing His judgment to pass upon this generation, the Lord would contribute to the spreading of His glory through all the earth;
v. 24. but My servant Caleb, because he hath another spirit with him, not one of disobedience and rebellion, and hath followed Me fully, trusted absolutely in the merciful guidance of Jehovah, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
v. 25. (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley. ) The part of Canaan over which Caleb would have dominion extended from the region of the Amalekites down to the lowlands where the Canaanites lived. Tomorrow turn you and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea; they were to turn their faces back to the desert and its desolation, until the punishment of the Lord would have gone into effect. In the same way the unbelievers that scorn the promises of God concerning the inheritance of the saints in light will find themselves excluded for all eternity from the blessings which they would not accept.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 How long must this people despise me? How long…
How long must this people despise me? How long must they fail to trust me, despite all the signs ... them?
Yahweh uses these questions to show that he was angry and had lost patience with the people. They can be translated as statements. AT: "This people has despised me for too long. They have failed to trust me for too long, despite all the signs ... them." (See: Rhetorical Question)
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disinherit them
"reject them from being my people." This may imply that he would destroy them, and some versions translate it that way.
make from your own clan
Here "your" is singular and refers to Moses. (See: Forms of You)
translationWords
Yahweh
Moses
people group
trust
sign
power
plague
clan
nation
might
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 14:11 God marveled that Israel had not yet learned…
14:11 God marveled that Israel had not yet learned to trust him, even after he had miraculously rescued them from slavery and provided for their needs as they traveled in the wilderness (cp. Deut 4:32-40; Matt 11:21; Luke 10:13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.