Our merciful God relents again and doesn't kill them, but points out that the people disobeyed and tested Him 10 times:
1) lacking trust at the crossing of the Red Sea
2) complaining over the bitter water at Marah
3) complaining in the Desert of Sin
4) collecting more than the daily quota of manna
5) collecting Manna on the Sabbath
6) compllaining over lack of water at Rephidim
7) engaging in idolatry with a golden calf
8) complaining at Taberah
9) more complaining over the lack of delicious food
10) failing to trust God and enter the Promised Land
Therefore, no one would enter the Promised Land but Caleb and Joshua....The people would wander in the desert for a year for each day that the spies explored the land...the spies that spread the bad report were struck with a plague. The people wanted to go to the Promised Land anyway and were beaten back because the Lord was not with them.
Additional regulations were given in Chapter 15. God shows that disobedience will not be tolerated and a Sabbath Breaker is put to death by stoning. The penalty is severe for intentional sin. The Lord commanded tassels on garment to remind the people about the commandments.
Tassels of Obedience
Psalm 90 is the only Psalm written by Moses. This makes it the oldest of the Psalms...Moses recognizes that our days are numbered, but the Lord is not constrained by time. There is no secret sin and God knows everything, so we should use our time wisely to serve the Lord.
Got behind again....caught up.....clear me up please....Moses sent the spies and they saw the land was exactly what promised......so why did the people not want to go....but rather complain....and want to return to Egypt? Then decided to go......and when they did, the people there drove them out because God was not with them......am I right?
ReplyDeleteYep, you are on track......the spies went to investigate the land...there was one "spy" from each of the tribes. Moses wanted them to go investigate so that the Isrealites could enter with a plan. Unfortunately, the spies were intimidated by the people inhabiting the land...there were the folks that looked like giants (probably the people that Goliath descends from)and the warrior peoples that killed just to kill. The spies then took a bad report back to the Isrealites, because rather than trust God's protection, they were afraid. The spies incited fear in the Isrealites and that made God made that the Isrealites that He had delivered out of Egypt didn't trust him. So God got mad and killed the spies for spreading a bad report and then he punished the Isrealites for not trusting. The had to stay out of the promised land for one year for each day that the spies explored the Promised Land. The people got desparate and told Moses they were going to the Promised Land anyway, and they went without protection; therefore, the inhabitants were able to beat the Isrealites back! On to the desert wanderings....
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