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You can turn in your Bibles to 
Numbers chapter 14. Numbers chapter 14. We won't get to the whole chapter. 
It's a lengthy one. There's a lot going on in it. 
Read beginning in chapter 13, because there's a close connection 
between chapters 13 and 14. In fact, I've called the study 
tonight in Numbers 14, the aftermath of the mission. So remember, 
chapter 13 is a reconnaissance mission. There are 12 men sent 
heads from tribes, heads from the tribes of the children of 
Israel, each representative of a particular tribe were sent 
out to the land by Moses to survey it, to scout it out, to see what 
the land looked like, to bring back some of the fruit, hopefully 
to encourage the people of Israel with reference to the conquest, 
but as we see, that's not what happened. So I'll read beginning 
in chapter 13 at verse 30. So basically this is Caleb's 
report on the heels of the other spies report. And they basically 
say there, good land, big people, definitely some challenges. So 
then Caleb in verse 30 quiets the people before Moses and said, 
let us go up at once and take possession for we are well able 
to overcome it. Now the 10 spies revised their 
report. Instead of being a good land, 
big people, challenging situation, they say bad land, bad people, 
no hope or no chance. So that's basically what you 
have there in verses 31 to 33. So, but the men who had gone 
up with him said, we're not able to go up against the people for 
they are stronger than we. And they gave the children of 
Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, 
The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that 
devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in 
it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants, the 
descendants of Anak, came from the giants, and we were like 
grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. 
So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and 
the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel 
complained against Moses and Aaron. And the whole congregation 
said to them, if only we had died in the land of Egypt, or 
if only we had died in this wilderness, why has the Lord brought us to 
this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should 
become victims? Would it not be better for us 
to return to Egypt? So they said to one another, 
let us select a leader and return to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron 
fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation 
of the children of Israel. But Joshua, the son of Nun, and 
Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had 
spied out the land, torn their clothes. And they spoke to all 
the congregation of the children of Israel saying, The land we 
pass through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the 
Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land 
and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only 
do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, 
for they are our bread. Their protection has departed 
from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them. And all 
the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory 
of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children 
of Israel. Then the Lord said to Moses, 
how long will these people reject me? And how long will they not 
believe me with all the signs which I have performed among 
them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit 
them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier 
than they. And Moses said to the Lord, then 
the Egyptians will hear it for by your might you brought these 
people out up from among them and they will tell it to the 
inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, 
are among these people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, 
and your cloud stands above them, and you go before them in a pillar 
of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now, if you 
kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard 
of your fame will speak, saying, because the Lord was not able 
to bring this people to the land which he swore to give them, 
therefore he killed them in the wilderness. And now I pray, let 
the power of my Lord be great, just as you have spoken saying, 
the Lord is long-suffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving 
iniquity and transgression, but he by no means clears the guilty, 
visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the 
third and fourth generation. Pardon the iniquity of this people, 
I pray, according to the greatness of your mercy, just as you have 
forgiven this people from Egypt even until now.' Then the Lord 
said, I have pardoned according to your word, but truly as I 
live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the 
Lord. "'because all these men who have seen my glory "'in the 
signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, "'and have 
put me to the test now these 10 times, "'and have not heeded 
my voice, "'they certainly shall not see the land "'of which I 
swore to their fathers, "'nor shall any of those who rejected 
me see it. "'But my servant Caleb, "'because 
he has a different spirit in him, "'and has followed me fully, 
"'I will bring into the land where he went, "'and his descendants 
shall inherit it. Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites 
dwell in the valley. Tomorrow, turn and move out into 
the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea." Well, we'll stop 
there. As I said, there's a lot going 
on. I'll just sort of give you the outline of chapter 14, then 
we'll just focus on the first and a little bit of the second 
section. So basically in verses 1 to 11, you have the rebellion 
of Israel. or verses 1 to 10. So the rebellion 
of Israel is the various responses to this reconnaissance mission. 
You see the congregation, you see the leadership, you see Joshua 
and Caleb, and then of course you see the response of the Lord 
in the second section, which is the intercession of Moses, 
verses 11 to 25. Thirdly, you've got the judgment 
of God in verses 26 to 38, and then finally the folly of Israel 
in verses 39 to 45. as if the folly of Israel wasn't 
enough in the first section, they have to continue to go on 
and do really stupid things and try to engage in the conquest 
without the presence of God. So that's how the chapter ends. But as I said, tonight we'll 
simply look at that first section, maybe dip in a little bit to 
the second section, at least the portion where God speaks 
in verses 11 and 12. So notice, again, the revised 
report is absolutely crucial that we get that in our minds 
and hearts as we approach chapter 14. So basically, the 10 spies 
exhibit faithlessness. And I think, in essence, that's 
what you find is what numbers 13 and 14 is all about. Either 
we trust God, we take him at his word, we trust his promises, 
we believe in his kindness, and we believe in his presence, or 
we reject that and we resist that. Well, obviously, in the 
reconnaissance mission, there were two spies and two spies 
only that trusted in the word of God. They were Caleb and they 
were Joshua. The other ten spies, and again, 
these weren't, you know, so two-bit, you know, guys on the food chain. These were heads. These were 
leaders. So certainly, they carried sway in their tribe. So when 
they make this appeal or when they give this bad report, they're 
going to carry the day with at least those in their tribes. 
So they are men that have a key position, they are men that can 
make a great impact for good or ill, and we see that here 
specifically they make an impact for very, very ill. So in verse 
31 they reiterate that they are not able to go up against, or 
they state they are not able to go up against the people, 
for they are stronger than we. Remember how chapter 13 begins, 
in verse 2 there's a reminder of God's promise to the patriarch. So the issue was never has God 
promised to give us this gift. The issue in chapter 13 was it's 
going to be a little bit more difficult and a little bit more 
uncomfortable than we had anticipated, so we're going to interpret it 
as if it's going to be impossible. And so they give the bad report. 
According to verse 32, they stress the fact that the land is not 
only is it not a good land, but it's an actual dangerous land. 
The land itself is out to kill any inhabitants. And of course, 
all the inhabitants that we saw were giants. We saw the Nephilim 
there. It's just a done deal. There's 
no way we're going to be able to surmount this challenge. So that brings us to the response 
of all the parties. Note the congregation in verses 
1 to 4. First, their reaction. The reaction 
indicates something about how they received it. They start 
to cry. They start to weep. In fact, 
it tells us that all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, 
and the people wept that night. Well, they weren't weeping because 
they got a good report, They weren't weeping tears of joy 
because they were going to enter into this land and take it on 
behalf of the promise that God had given. They're weeping because 
they're sad. They're weeping because they 
believe their tribal chiefs. They're weeping because that 
promise of God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that promise of God 
that was moved along by God's deliverance of Israel out of 
the bondage of Egypt, Well, we've got ten men now saying that it 
was all a fake, it was all a farce, it was all a sham, it was all 
a scam. So certainly they are upset about 
this and of course everything that proceeds from this point 
on is the response to a faulty report. As I went through this 
more and more last week and this week, it really underscores to 
me that we need faithful proclaimers of God's Word. These ten spies 
did function as antiprophets. These ten spies disregarded the 
promise of God, they disregarded the power of God, they disregarded 
the providence of God, they disregarded the mighty deeds of God, all 
for what? Because their eyes said that 
there were some big people in the land? So they give a bad 
report and they shape the very generation that they are responsible 
to with a faulty report that is based on lies? So the congregation 
here responds with the same sort of faithlessness that the ten 
spies had in the giving of the report. So notice, they're not 
only upset, they give vent or expression to that upsetness 
by their crying in verse 1, and then inevitably, guess what they're 
going to do? They're going to complain about 
Moses and Aaron. It's got to be Moses and Aaron's 
fault. It's got to be their fault that 
we're in this predicament. If they would have left us alone 
there in our safe environment in bondage and slavery in Egypt, 
while we were suffering under the lash, and we were suffering 
under oppression and persecution, if these men would have just 
left us there, then everything would have been great. Everything 
would have been wonderful. So of course they complain about 
the leaders. This isn't new. We've seen this. 
This is a theme that we see. In the rebellion of Israel, in 
the book of Numbers, in chapter 11, they certainly are complaining 
about their situation in terms of no meat. Chapter 12, we see 
the two closest to Moses in terms of family, Miriam and Aaron. 
They are complaining about his leadership. In chapter 16, there's 
going to be a major challenge against the leadership there 
as well. When all else fails, blame your human leaders. And 
that's precisely what they do here. So all the children of 
Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. And then notice the 
desire to go to Egypt. Verse 2b is interesting. If only we had died in the land 
of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness. You really 
got to ponder a statement like this, and I'm sure that you've 
heard me say on an occasion or two that I often wonder, especially 
over the last three or four years, the COVID era, if men actually 
want liberty, if men actually want freedom, Well, a scenario like this tells 
you they would have rather have died in bondage in Egypt than 
take their chances as free men in the wilderness. I mean, come 
on, what do we got to lose? They're at the point where they're 
saying it would have been better for us to have died under that 
oppression and that persecution. It would be better for us now, 
presently, to die in this wilderness. Instead of saying, well, if that's 
the mindset, let's at least go to this land and try to take 
it. If we're content with dying in 
Egypt, or we're content with dying in the wilderness, we should 
be content with dying trying to take the land that God swore 
to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It really is a faulty 
mindset that you see here that I think does parallel, in many 
respects, the sinner in the New Covenant era. What does Jesus 
teach about the sinner in the New Covenant era? He loves darkness. He doesn't come to the light 
lest his deeds are exposed. He's got a slave mentality. John 
8. Whoever commits sin is a slave 
of sin. And you see that same sort of 
thing here. They are enslaved with reference 
to their own desires. Notice as well, ironically, the 
ten faithless spies will incidentally die in the wilderness, so that 
part of it, they're at least going to get their wish, or if 
only we had died in this wilderness, the ten heads will. But then 
notice as well, ramping it up, they move from Moses and Aaron 
now to God. And this is flat-out blasphemy. 
Notice in verse 3a, the object of their complaint, Why has the 
Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword that our 
wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better 
for us to return to Egypt? So they move on from Moses and 
Aaron. They only get to spend their frustration a moment there. 
We know it's ultimately Yahweh that moved this Moses and Aaron 
to fetch us out of the land of Egypt and to bring us into this 
miserable wilderness where we now have to face the Nephilim 
in the land. All the giants in the land. Would 
have been better for us to have just died. So notice the object 
of their complaint is God. That's who they've got an axe 
to grind with. Notice the nature of their complaint. The interpretation of their present 
circumstances is simple. God's bad. God's bad. Look at when Moses intercedes 
for them in verse 18. The Lord is long-suffering and 
abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but 
he by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the 
fathers on the children of the third and fourth generation. 
That wasn't new data. Moses is interceding based on 
what God's already previously revealed. Certainly Moses has 
communicated those perfections of God to the children of Israel. 
But see, once there's a problem, once there's a trial, once there's 
an affliction, once there's a hardship, any good that we previously entertained 
about God, it's all out the door. It's only bad from here on out. 
Notice in verse 3, Why has the Lord brought us to this land 
to fall by the sword? In other words, God is bad. Everything he has done up to 
this point, promises to the patriarchs, exodus from Egypt, bringing us 
to this land simply to make sport of us and to kill us in the wilderness. What a terrible interpretation 
of the circumstances, again, based on a faulty report from 
ten faithless spies that feared man versus fearing God. That's 
another sort of observation as to why we need faithful communicators 
of God's Word and to have faithful recipients of that Word as well. But then notice the ignorance 
of their complaint. Brethren, these aren't the brightest 
bulbs in the chandelier. Never forget that. If only we 
had died in the land of Egypt, I'm sorry, verse 3, why has the 
Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword that our 
wives and children should become victims? Robert Alter makes the 
observation, the complainers in their terror of the imposing 
inhabitants of Canaan, neatly forget that in Egypt, where they 
longed to return, a royal decree had been devised to destroy all 
their male children, leaving the girls and women to be exploited 
by their enslavers. Oh, how soon we forget, right? 
God's got the problem here? God's the bad one here? You want 
to go back to Egypt where there was a campaign to destroy your 
baby boys, crushing them on the rocks and throwing them into 
the river? You think that's grace and goodness? Well, actually, 
yeah, that's what they think. Because now notice the idolatry 
in their hearts. Look at the question. It's similar 
to what we saw in chapter 11. It says, Why has the Lord brought 
us to this land to fall by the sword that our wives and children 
should become victims? Would it not be better for us 
to return to Egypt? Look back at chapter 11. Chapter 
11, remember this is where they're succumbing to an intense craving 
for meat. Not because they were starving, 
they weren't. Not because they'd been long in the journey, because 
they hadn't. They were just lusting after 
meat. And in verse 4 we see the nature 
of the problem. Verse 4 in chapter 11. Now the 
mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving. 
So the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who will 
give us meat to eat? Remember the fish which we ate 
freely. There's that neatly forgetting 
again. You didn't eat freely. You were slaves in Egypt. You were under oppression. You 
were under persecution. You were owned. You were not 
your own. You did not eat freely. But notice, 
their longing is for a who that is going to give them what they 
desire. And the same thing is true here 
in Numbers 14. Would it not be better for us 
to return to Egypt? At least we knew what we were 
dealing with there. At least we knew how to perform 
for our masters there. At least we knew how to make 
sure we got meat and melons and leeks and garlics there. We're 
not too sure about this Yahweh. So it's exposing the idolatry 
that's in their hearts. And the question itself is absolutely 
futile. Would it not be better for us 
to return to Egypt? Listen to John Gill, which was 
downright madness, the question, as some interpreters have justly 
observed. They must not only expect to 
be deserted by Moses. Now think through this. Gill's 
just drawing out the implications. Imagine 1403, they're in the 
wilderness, they've heard the ten spies, oh it's bad land, 
the land kills its people, you just go there and you die, it's 
just that bad. You just look at it, you're going to die. I 
mean that's what these faithless spies are communicating. There's 
Nephilim everywhere, it's just giants, everywhere's giants, 
you just can't go there. So they're sitting there now musing, wouldn't 
it be better for us to go back to Egypt? Remember the military 
and the orderliness and the structure of the camp and the amount of 
people? You don't just turn around, okay? Wouldn't it be better if 
we just went back to Egypt? Listen to what's involved in 
that. They must not only expect to be deserted by Moses, which 
they would, through whose means so many miracles had been wrought 
for them, which they had been, and who was so wise and faithful 
a governor of them, which he was, and by Aaron their priest, 
who offered their sacrifices, and prayed for them, and blessed 
them, and by such a valiant general as Joshua, who had fought for 
them against their enemies. But by the Lord Himself, so that 
they could not expect the manna to be continued as food for them, 
nor the pillar of cloud and fire as a guide unto them, nor to 
be protected from their enemies on the borders of whose countries 
they must pass, so that their destruction in the wilderness 
seemed inevitable. And if they could have surmounted 
these and other difficulties, what manner of reception could 
they expect to find in Egypt, on whose account all the firstborn 
of man and beast among them were slain, whom they had spoiled 
of their riches, and whose king and his army, and in it perhaps 
the flower of the nation, were drowned in the Red Sea for their 
sakes? What, therefore, could they think 
of, if they had any sober thought at all, but utter ruin, should 
they return there again?" He's right. Look at the folly and 
the madness of sin. Look at what happens when you 
get untethered from the promises of God. When you listen to the 
ten faithless spies that say, well, the land is just too bad, 
it's too big, it's too dangerous. And you follow that report instead 
of the revelation that has come from God, inscripturated in His 
Word, given by the Spirit through faithful men for the instruction 
of the church. Brethren, we take the Word of 
God. We stand firmly upon the truth of God. I didn't, you know, 
I'm always cautious about being too political in any sorts of 
treatments of scripture, but I think the modern day politics 
should suggest themselves to some degree when we come up at 
the end of a chapter 13 and in the voice of the antiprophets. Oh no, we can't do that. We can't 
go to land, but God told us we can. So who are we supposed to 
believe? Ten faithless spies that are 
wimps? Or the God who has commanded 
us, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as is 
the custom of some. In other words, we listen to 
what God says instead of saying, would it not be better for us 
to return to Egypt? So then notice the response, 
verse 4. They're serious. This isn't just 
some, you know, well, you know, be good to bed, go back to Egypt. 
They're actually serious. That's what's very disconcerting 
here. Notice in verse 4. So they said 
to one another, let us select a leader and return to Egypt. 
Let's turn this ship around. And let's go back to Egypt. Notwithstanding all those things 
that the right reverend John Gill has pointed out, let's just 
go back. This underscores a rejection 
of the living and true God. Make no mistake about it whatsoever. 
Go back to chapter 11. This was the issue. God wasn't 
upset because of their dietary needs or desires. It was not 
a question of meat. It was not an issue about their 
food. God is not petty and vindictive. God tells us what this longing 
for meat represented in chapter 11. So notice in verse 20, after 
having said, I'm going to give you meat, and that meat's going 
to come out of your nose. But for a whole month, until 
it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, 
here it is, because you have despised the Lord who is among 
you, and have wept before Him, saying, Why did we ever come 
up out of Egypt? It's a question of idolatry. 
It is a shift of allegiance. This intense craving for quail 
or meat was an expression of their lack of contentedness with 
the means that God had given, the manna, and its manifold uses. Remember, verses 7 to 9 there, 
not a menu, but the many ways that one can use manna. You can 
throw it in this dish. You can throw it in that dish. 
You can do lots of things with manna. It's a very versatile 
tool. So it wasn't an issue of just 
diet, it was an issue of rebellion. And the same is true here in 
chapter 14. So they said to one another, 
let us select the leader and return to Egypt. So the rejection 
of God, the rejection of God-appointed leadership, because after all, 
Moses is heading to the promised land. He ain't heading to Egypt. So if we want to head to Egypt, 
we got to turf Moses and find somebody that's aligned with 
our principles. And as well, it's a desire ultimately 
for slavery in Egypt. If it promises a few boons, A 
few pieces of fish or meat or a bit of garlic or leeks here 
or there, hey, they're happy to go back to Egypt. They're 
happy to go back to that slavery. They're happy to go back to that 
bondage if it means getting what it is that they ultimately want. 
And again, don't forget, they're making a very bad decision based 
on very bad information. You know, in some sense it is 
that cut and dry. Bad spies, bad info, dumb people 
receive it. But it just expresses or evidences 
that they are the faithless ones right alongside those ten faithless 
ones as well. So note then the response of 
the leaders. What do Moses and Aaron do? They do what I think 
only any man would ever do. They fall down. They fall down. Then Moses and Aaron fell on 
their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children 
of Israel. Why? Probably grief. I mean, 
if I was a captain of the ship and everybody was crying mutiny 
and wanting to throw me off the boat, yeah, I could see some 
grief setting in. If I was Moses Plunk Dab right 
in the middle of that wilderness and I heard the ten faithless 
spies give a bad report, and I see that everybody in the congregation 
gravitates to that bad report, and then I hear what they're 
saying about returning to Egypt, and I hear what they're saying 
about, let's find another I think grief is probably as consistent 
a response as one could have that Moses expresses, Moses and 
Aaron here express. But as well, they're waiting 
upon the Lord to intercede. They're waiting upon the Lord 
to intercede. They are ultimately now dependent 
upon God and his help and his grace. So then notice the Moses 
and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly congregation 
of the children of Israel. I jumped ahead, I was thinking 
of verse 10. Now notice again the faithful spies in verses 
6 to 9. They join in solidarity with 
Moses and Aaron. So verse 6 tells us, Joshua the 
son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among 
those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. Why did they 
tore their clothes? They tore their clothes in solidarity 
with Moses and Aaron. They're basically saying, what 
you guys are doing is absolutely, positively not the good decision 
to make here. Verse 7, Caleb reiterates the 
report that he had given according to chapter 13 and verse 30. So 
verse 7, it says, And they spoke to all the congregation of the 
children of Israel, saying, The land we pass through to spy out 
is an exceedingly good land. The original report of the 10 
spies said as much. Remember, they brought back the 
fruit that they even said in verse 27, this is truly a land 
that flows with milk and honey. That was not debatable until 
after Caleb makes his first pitch in verse 30 of chapter 13, and 
then the 10 spies completely revise it. Oh no, it's not a 
good land. It's a dangerous land. It's a 
land that kills people. It's a land that's filled with 
giants. So Caleb is simply saying what he's already said, and Caleb 
is simply saying what they themselves have already said. But already 
the predilection is in the hearts of the congregation to gravitate 
toward unbelief. But he calls them, he tries to 
call them back to some degree of repentance. Verse 8, if the 
Lord delights in us, and up until this point we had no reason to 
believe that he wouldn't, But this is going to throw a wrench 
in the whole machine to be sure. If the Lord delights in us, then 
he will bring us into this land and give it to us a land which 
flows with milk and honey. He's reiterating the promise. 
This ain't new. This is what has motivated us 
every step of the way. This is what motivated us in 
the deliverance out of Egypt. This is what moved us to leave 
that land, to come into this wilderness. We knew it was going 
to be somewhat difficult. It wasn't going to be a red carpet 
rolled out for us to just dance over to the promised land. But 
again, thus far, they're not that far into the journey. They're 
not like on the 18th year with no food and no water. That's 
just not their situation. That's not it at all. And so 
Caleb is trying to arouse the people to listen to reason, to 
listen to promise, to listen to the goodness of God. They 
had interpreted, verse 3, that God was bad and he only brought 
us out here to kill us. Caleb is trying to remind them, 
no, God's not like that. God has brought us out here to 
bless us. And then notice the warning to 
the congregation, specifically in verse 9a. It's like that. We're going to 
clean up. I don't know how better to say 
it. We're going to win. We're going 
to prosper. We're going to profit. What they 
built, we're going to take. What they stored in their pantries 
is going to be ours. The vineyards they grew, that's 
ours. The wells they've dug, that's 
ours. Remember, this isn't God arbitrarily 
punishing the righteous Canaanites. No, the Canaanites were lawless. 
They were wicked. They were reprehensible. So God 
raises up none too righteous Israel to be the means of judgment 
upon less than even Israel righteous, the Canaanites. But of course, 
when the Israelites ate the Canaanites, they'll get judged and dispossessed 
from the land as well. But this is Caleb's appeal. Do 
not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, 
for they are our bread. Their protection has departed 
from them. And then notice the encouragement for the congregation 
at the end of verse 9. And the Lord is with us. Do not 
fear them. If the Lord is for us, who can 
be against us? Paul famously asks in the book 
of Romans, Romans chapter 8. Jesus talks about not fearing 
men in Matthew 26. What's the corrective? Matthew 
10, 26. The corrective is 10, 28. But fear Him who can kill 
both body and soul in hell. So if you fear man, you're not 
fearing God. If you fear God, you're not fearing 
man. I mean, you may struggle with 
it, to be sure, but one or the other is preeminent in the heart 
of a man. In the ten faithless spies, it 
was a fair man. It was the Anakim. It was the 
Nephilim. It was the land that destroys 
its inhabitants. They were paralyzed by fear. 
Not Joshua and Caleb. Caleb says, let's go up at once 
and take possession. Like, why are we waiting? What's 
the deal here? We've got God on our side. Let's 
go do what God's called us to do. So Caleb tries to interject 
some biblical reason, some biblical promise. As Morales says, you 
who have God Almighty dwelling in your midst and going before 
you in the strength of His might should have no fear. Others may 
have cause to fear these nations, but not Israel. While fearing 
Yahweh leads to courage before men, not fearing Yahweh leads 
to the fear of man. By Yahweh's help, even the giants 
will be as Israel's bread, to be devoured in battle, for their 
shade of defense is turned away." It's usually not a question of 
fear versus no fear. It's usually a question of who 
or what do we fear. Right? I think pretty much most 
men, all men, and that means women too. for this politically 
correct age. There's some fear of something, 
right? It's not usually, I have no fear 
of anything ever. It's a question of what is it 
that we fear? I like to think that the churches 
of Jesus Christ in this 21st century context would look something 
like the churches in Judea in the book of Acts. In Acts chapter 
9, it tells us that they continued in the fear of the Lord and in 
the comfort of the Holy Spirit. That's what should mark the churches 
of Christ, the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, 
not this kind of cowering and fearfulness at the thought of 
a nation filled with giants that were going to beat us up. Notice 
then the final statement concerning the congregation in verse 10. They've heard a great sermon 
from Caleb, They've heard the invocation of the goodness of 
God. They've heard a rehearsal and 
a reminder of the promises of God, the perfections of God, 
the goodness of God, the kindness of God. How do you think they're 
going to respond? And all the congregation said 
to stone them with stones. Man, that's rough. That is rough, 
brethren, when unbelief sets in, when that kind of paralysis 
sets in, when you're going to pick up stones and throw them 
at Caleb and probably Joshua and Moses and Aaron. When you're 
going to kill the men that God has sent for you to do you good, 
you are in a bad, bad spot. So the intention to stone the 
leadership, verse 10a. But I think verse 10b underscores 
the presence of the Lord to adjudicate this mess. Notice in 10b, now 
the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting 
before all the children of Israel. I think that explains verse 5. Then Moses and Aaron fell on 
their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children 
of Israel. Moses and Aaron knew that they could not, at this 
point, prevail upon these people. Go ahead, Caleb, take the kick 
at the can. You bring in the nature of God, 
the kindness of God, rehearse the perfections of God, the goodness 
of God, and if they don't go for that, then this is what's 
facing us. So all the congregation said 
to stone them with stones. Well, the bottom line is the 
ten spies didn't believe God. The two did. But of course, the 
congregation sided with the ten faithless spies and were paralyzed 
by fear and would rather either die in the wilderness or try 
to return to Egypt, where everything was so much better, being under 
Pharaoh and the oppression of the Egyptian state. Well then, 
the intercession by Moses. We're not going to get to his 
intercession proper. I just want to look at the response 
by God in verses 11 and 12, and just do a quick bit of theology 
on the section here. Because I think passages like 
these present at least questions to some. Probably all of us. Well, how is it that God is asking 
questions? Isn't he infinite, eternal, and 
unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, 
and truth? Why does he ask questions? Well, 
I would suggest the question of verse 11, which is absolutely 
pertinent for our understanding. And the Lord said to Moses, how 
long will these people reject me? And how long will they not 
believe me with all the signs which I have performed among 
them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit 
them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier 
than they." I would suggest that, first of all, the questions here 
are spoken in what we call the manner of men. Let me just explain 
that. The manner of men. The technical 
terminology is analogical predication, but manner of men is easier to 
kind of keep in our heads. It's spoken by an infinite God 
to finite men in a way that finite men can understand. Make sense? God is infinite, he's the creator, 
we're finite, we're the creature. We know a lot about God based 
on the 31,000 propositions that he's given us in the scripture, 
but his essence is comprehended only by himself. In other words, 
only the infinite gets the infinite. The finite gets some of the infinite 
by God's grace and by God's mercy and through the revelation process, 
but we cannot ever exhaust all that God is. Is everything alright? What's that? Is somebody coming 
in? Oh. Send the thugs. Was it a guy 
or a girl? No idea, just saw the shadow. Believe it or not, this is a 
hot place for dates. Find lots of guys and girls hanging 
out here. in ways that you wouldn't want 
to find them hanging out here. So it's odd. Right under the overhang there. 
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Just enjoying this beautiful 
view here of a parking lot. No. No. Yes. Yes. Yes. What's that? Who? Oh, yeah, yeah. There's always something going 
on here. All right, well, they can catch up later. So the questions 
are spoken in the manner of men. So when we read something like 
this, we need to first ask ourselves about the nature of God. I mentioned 
the catechism question. God is infinite, eternal, and 
unchangeable. That's who God is. So when we 
come to a passage like this, this is how God reveals himself. And again, in the manner of men, 
he's revealing as the infinite God to people who do not have 
an infinite capacity. And so it's given in this sort 
of dialogue form because he wants to understand the seriousness 
of the nature, the sinfulness of the people, the glory of his 
own holiness, and the reality that this is absolutely chaotic, 
insane behavior. When you have God saying things 
like, how long will these people reject me and how long will they 
not believe me with all the signs which I have performed among 
them, you've got to understand that whatever's going on preceding 
this is pretty bad. So it's spoken in the manner 
of man. The infinite is communicating 
to the finite in a way that the finite can understand. As well, 
the questions here highlight the specific sin in Israel. The issue is idolatry. The issue 
is idolatry. God is going to cut them off, 
according to verse 12, not because they wanted a little extra meat 
in their diet, but because they wanted to go back to Egypt. They 
wanted to reject the living and the true God to go back to their 
gods that they desired. As well, the questions highlight 
the faithfulness of the congregation, and actually, as well, demonstrate 
just how bad it is. Because notice what God says, 
with all the signs which I have performed among them, how long 
will they not believe me with all the signs which I have performed 
among them? In other words, God did all this in their midst, 
God did all this in clear and present view, and yet they've 
resisted it, they've rejected it, they have turned their backs 
upon it. So He speaks to us in a manner that we can understand. 
He uses this dialogue form with Moses, threatens to cut them 
off according to verse 12. Again, God knows what He's going 
to do all along the way. He's not actually deliberating 
with Moses. If these people don't continue 
to, if they don't get their act, that's not it. God is eternal. The decree is eternal. There's 
nothing sort of plan B with God. He knows exactly what He's going 
to do along the way. He gives us these sorts of things 
to show us again how serious the problem is and how just and 
holy He is in His response to that. So the sin is of such a 
nature that God promises, or God says rather, I will strike 
them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make 
of you a nation greater and mightier than they, to show the rebellion, 
to show the righteousness of his judgment, and then I would 
suggest to show the character of godly Moses. Because when 
Moses comes to intercede for these people, he expresses what 
we saw earlier in Numbers chapter 12. Remember verse 3? Now the man Moses was very humble, 
more than all men who were on the face of the earth. If you 
doubt that proposition, listen to Moses pray in Numbers 14. 
They had picked up stones to throw at him. I'm not sure I'd 
have the mindset of Moses, oh Lord, spare them. I might just 
say, yeah, go ahead. Give them some pestilence, give 
them, everything okay? Okay, give them what they want 
and let's be done with it. So I think that that's why it's 
spoken to us in the manner of men to underscore the seriousness 
of the sin, the holiness of our God, and the goodness of Moses, 
the intercessor. So God willing, next time we'll 
pick up the intercession of Moses and then finish off the chapter. 
So I'll pray, and then if there's any questions, we can take those. 
Father in heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for the 
reality that there is nothing new under the sun and the sorts 
of things that we see in our own lives, in our own struggles 
at times, we see played out in the pages of scripture. But God, 
keep us from that kind of apostasy, that kind of faithlessness, that 
kind of defection from the truth of God's holy word. We do pray 
for your blessing upon all the churches in this land. that men 
would speak freely and openly and boldly the word of truth, 
and that your people would have a heart to receive those things. 
And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, any questions 
or comments? How many were out there?