Numbers 14:10-38

Numbers 14:10-38

Numbers 14

Numbers 14:10-38

10. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

10. Tunc dixit tota multitudo, ut eos lapidibus obruerent: et gloria Jehovae apparuit in tabernaculo conventionis omnibus filiis Israel.

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! have showed among them?

11. Tunc dixit Jehova ad Mosen, Usquequo vilipendet me populus iste? et usquequo non credent mihi in cunctis signis quae feci in medio eorum?

12. I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

12. Percutiam cum peste, expellamque eum: te autem faciam in gentem magnam et robustiorem eo.

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;)

13. Et dixit Moses ad Jehovam, Atqui audient AEgyptii (quia eduxisti in virtute tua populum istum e medio ejus:)

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.

14. Dicentque habitatori terrae ejus, qui audierunt quod tu Jehova sis, in medio hujus populi: quandoquidem oculo ad oculum visus sis tu Jehova: et nubes tua steterit super eos, et in columna nubis praecesseris eos per diem, et in columna ignis per noctem.

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,

15. Si interfeceris populum hunc quasi virum unum, tunc dicent gentes quae audierint famam tuam.

16. Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he swore unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

16. Quia absque potentia est Jehova, ut introducat populum istum in terram, quam juravit eis, ideo mactavit eos in deserto.

17. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,

17. Et nunc magnificetur quaeso fortitudo Domini mei, sicut loquutus es, dicens:

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.

18. Jehova tardus ad iram, et multae misericordiae, tollens iniquitatem et peccatum, et innocentem non faciens: visitans iniquitatem patrum in filios super tertiam et quartam generationem.

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.

19. Propitius esto agedum iniquitati populi hujus, secundum magnitudinem clementiae tuae, sicut remisisti populo huic ex AEgypto usque nunc.

20. And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word:

20. Tune dixit Jehova, Peperci secundum sermonem tuum.

21. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

21. Veruntamen vivo ego, et replebit gloria mea universam terram.

22. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles which I did in Egypt, and in the wilderness, have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

22. Quoad cunctos homines qui viderunt gloriam meam, et signa mea quae edidi in AEgypto, et deserto, et tentaverunt me jam decem vicibus, nec paruerunt voci meae:

23. Surely they shall not see the land which I swore unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:

23. Si videbunt terram, de qua juravi patribus eorum, omnes, inquam, qui me irritaverunt, non videbunt eam.

24. But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereunto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

24. At servum meum Caleb, eo quod alius fuit spiritus cum eo, et adimplevit ire post me, ipsum quoque introducam in terram quam ingressus est, et semen ejus haereditate accipiet eam.

25. (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness, by the way of the Red sea.

25. Amalec et Chananaeus habitat in valle: cras revertimini et proficiscimini in desertum via maris Suph.

26. And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

26. Loquutus est itaque Jehova ad Mosen et Aharon, dicendo:

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.

27. Usque quo congregationem hanc perversam feram, quae murmurat adversum me? murmurationes filiorum Israel, quibus ipsi murmurant contra me, audivi.

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:

28. Dic ergo eis, Vivo ego, dicit Jehova, nisi quemadmodum loquuti estis in auribus meis sic fecero vobis.

29. Your carcasses 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,

29. In deserto isto cadent cadavera vestra, et omnes numerati vestri, secundum omnem numerum vestrum, a filio viginti annorum et supra, qui murmurastis contra me.

30. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I swore to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

30. Si vos ingrediemini terram de qua levavi manum meam, ut habitare vos facerem in ea: praeter Caleb filium Jephuneh, et Jehosua filium 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.

31. Ac parvulos vestros, de quibus dixistis, In praedam erunt, ipsos introducam: et cognoscent terram istam quam despexistis.

32. But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness.

32. Cadavera autem vestra cadent in deserto hoc.

33. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness.

33. Et filii vestri pastores erunt in deserto hoc quadraginta annis: et portabunt scortationes vestras donec consumantur cadavera vestra in deserto.

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.

34. Secundum numerum dierum quibus explorastis terram quadraginta diebus, unoquoque die pro anno uno, portabitis iniquitates vestras in deserto, et cognoscetis vanitatem meam.

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.

35. Ego Jehova loquutus sum, Si non hoc fecero universae congregationi huic perversae, quae congregata est adversum me, in deserto isto consumentur, ibique morientur.

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,

36. Viri itaque illi quos miserat Moses ad explorandam terram, qui reversi murmurare fecerant adversus eum cunctam congregationem, detrahendo terrae:

37. Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord.

37. Morientur viri illi qui terrae detraxerunt, plaga coram Jehova.

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,

38. Jehosua vero filius Nun, et Caleb filius Jephuneh vivent, ex hominibus illis qui profecti sunt ad explorandam terram.

10. But all the congregation bade stone them. When these wicked men began by murmuring against God, and openly casting censure upon Him, no wonder that they should also rage against His servants; for, when we endeavor to subdue pride, it generally begets cruelty; and so also, when iniquity is reproved, it always ends at last in fury. Caleb and Joshua did not constrain them by force of arms, neither did they menace them; but only persuaded them to trust in God’s promise, and not to hesitate to advance into the land of Canaan; yet, because in their obstinacy the people had determined not to believe God, they champ the bit, as it were, upon being chastised, and desire to stone their reprovers. How great was the impetuosity of their wrath is manifest from this, that God does not attempt to appease their fury, nor to restrain them by threats, or by His authority, but openly displays His power from heaven, and miraculously protects His servants by the manifestation of His glory, as if He were rescuing them from wild beasts. There is, indeed, no express mention made of the cloud, but we may infer that the sign to which they were accustomed, was given not merely to terrify them, but also to cast them prostrate, so that they might be deprived of their power to inflict injury, and might desist even against their wills. For the majesty of God, although it truly humbles believers only, yet sometimes subdues the reprobate and the lost, or renders them astounded in all their ferocity.

11. And the Lord said unto Moses. God remonstrates with respect to their indomitable obstinacy, because they had just now hesitated not petulantly to despise and reject Him with the most atrocious insults, and notwithstanding all the clearest manifestations of His power. For I know not whether the sense which some give be suitable, when they translate the verb נאף, naatz, “to provoke.” Jerome comes nearer to the genuine sense, How long will they detract me? But let us be contented with the genuine intention of God, which He confirms by the succeeding antithesis, where He complains that He is disparaged, because they do not take into consideration the many miracles whereby He had abundantly testified His power and loving-kindness; and thus He proves their contempt, because they deliberately refuse credit to the many signs of which the accumulation at least ought to have subdued or corrected their stubbornness.

Note 57. A.V., “How long will this people provoke, me?” V. “Usquequo detrahet mihi populus iste?” Ainsworth says, “provoke me, or despite, blaspheme, contemptuously provoke me. So the Apostle expoundeth this word blaspheme, in Romans 2:24, from Isaiah 52:5; and it implieth also a contempt or despising, Proverbs 1:30; 15:5; Isaiah 5:24.”

The denunciation of their final punishment follows, together with a statement of the atrocity of their crime; for the particle “How long” indicates its long continuance, as well as the enduring patience of God. He had, indeed, punished others severely, but only for example’s sake, in order that the name of their race should remain undestroyed, whereas he now declares that He will deal with them as. with persons in a desperate condition, who cease not to make a mock of His patience. Hence we are taught, that, although God is placable in His nature, still the hope of pardon is deservedly cut off from unbelievers, who are so obdurate as that tie produces no effect upon them by His hand, or by His countenance, or His word. he then briefly adverts to the use of the signs, viz., that their object was, that the knowledge or experience of them should awaken hopes of success.

If the apparent contradiction offends any one, that God should declare the people to be cast off, when it was already decreed that tie would pardon them, a reply may be sought from elsewhere in three words; for God does not here speak of His secret and incomprehensible counsel, but only of the actual circumstances, showing what the people had deserved, and how horrible was the vengeance which impended, in respect to their wicked and detestable revolt, since it was not His design to keep Moses back from earnest prayer, but to put the sincerity of his piety and the fervency of his zeal to the proof. And, in fact, he does not contravene the prohibition, except upon the previous exhibition of some spark of faith. See Exodus 32.

Note 58. “Et quelle punition luy seroit apprestee, si Dieu se vouloit venger d’une revolte si detestable;” and what punishment would be prepared for them, if God chose to take vengeance on so detestable a revolt. — Fr.

13. Then the Egyptians shall hear it. Moses here, according to his custom, stands “in the breach” of the wall, as it is said in Psalm 106:23, to sustain and avert the anger of God, which else would burst forth, since through his intercession it came to pass that the fire was speedily extinguished, and the people were not consumed. In order to support his request., he only objects that God’s holy namo would be the sport of the wicked, if the people should perish altogether I have endeavored to reduce to their proper meaning the words which translators variously render. First, he says, “The Egyptians shall hear, whereas it is a thing sufficiently notorious, and testified by miracles, that this people was rescued from among them by thy might. The same report will also obtain currency among; the nations of Canaan, who have already heard that thou: art the protector of this people, and have undertaken the charge of governing them. If, therefore, they should altogether perish, all the nations which have heard of thy fame will east the blame on thee, and will think that thy power is broken down in the midst of its course, so that thou could not carry through to the end the work thou hadst undertaken.” The substance amounts to this, that because God had manifested by clear and evident signs that He was the deliverer of this people, He would be exposed to the reproach of the wicked, unless He should preserve in safety those whom He had once redeemed. For nothing else would occur to the minds of the heathen nations, except that God was unable to maintain His blessing, however desirous He might be to do so. And assuredly this is no ordinary effect of God’s goodness, so to connect the glory of His name with our salvation, that whatever is adverse to us brings with it reproach upon Him, because the mouth of the wicked will be open to blaspheme. And this will in fact turn to our advantage, if on our part, without dissimulation, and in zealous sincerity, we beseech God to uphold His own glory in saving us; for many boldly plead the name of God in their own behalf, although they are unaffected by any real care or love for it. Moreover, because the more illustrious God’s exercise of His power has been, the more insolently are the ungodly disposed to blaspheme, if it has appeared to fail; we must always entreat of Him that He should not desert the work of His hands which He has begun in us. To this effect are the words, “They have heard that thou art seen face to face;” for, if the people’s safety were not maintained, the failure would have been imputed to none but God, who had put. forth the power of His hand to preserve them. In fine, since their astonishing exodus had been a testimony of God’s favor, so, if he had suffered the people to perish in the desert, all would have considered it a sign of His weakness, inasmuch as it was not probable that He should not accomplish what tie desired, unless He were unable to do so.

17. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great. He derives another ground of confidence from the vision, in which God had more clearly manifested His nature, from whence it appears how much he had profited by it, and what earnest and anxious attention he had paid to it. Hence, however, we derive a general piece of instruction, that there is nothing more efficacious in our prayers than to set His own word before God, and then to found our supplications upon His promises, as if He dictated to us out of His own mouth what we were to ask. Since, then, God had manifested Himself to Moses in that memorable declaration, which we have already considered, he was able to derive from thence a sure directory for prayer; for nothing can be more sure than His own word, on which if our prayers are based, there is no reason to fear that they will be ineffectual, or that their results should disappoint us, since He who has spoken will prove Himself to be true. And, in fact, this is the reason why He speaks, viz., to afford us the grounds for addressing Him, for else we must needs be dumb.

Since I have expounded the 18th verse elsewhere, let my readers refer to that place.

Note 59. See Exodus 34:6, 7. Vol. 3, pp. 386-388.

19. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people. In order to encourage his hope of pardon, he first sets before himself the greatness of God’s mercy, and then the past instances by which it had been proved that God was inclined to forgiveness. And, indeed, the mercy of God continually invites us to seek reconciliation whenever we have sinned; and, though iniquities heaped upon iniquities, and the very enormity of our sins, might justly make us afraid, still the abundance of His grace, of which mention is here made, must needs occur to us, so as to swallow up all dread of His wrath. David, also, betaking himself to this refuge, affords us an example how all alarm is to be overcome. (Psalm 51:1) But, since the bare and abstract recognition of God’s goodness is often insufficient for us, Moses applies another stay in the shape of experience: Pardon, (he says,) as thou hast so often done before. For, since the goodness of God is unwearied and inexhaustible, the oftener we have experienced it, the more ought we to be encouraged to implore it; not that we may sink into the licentious indulgence of sin, but lest despair should overwhelm us, when we are lying under the condemnation of God, and our own conscience smites and torments us. In a word, let us regard this as a most effective mode of importunity, when we beseech God by the benefits which we have already experienced, that He will never cease to be gracious.

20. And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word. God signifies that tie pardons for His servant Moses’ sake, and makes, as it were, a present to him of those whom He had already devoted to destruction. Hence we gather how much the entreaties of the pious avail with God: as He is said, in Psalm 145:19, to “fulfil the desire of them that fear him.” He would, indeed, have done of His own accord what He granted to Moses; but, in order that we may be more earnest in prayer, the use and advantage of prayers is commended, when God declares that He will not only comply with our requests, but even obey them.

But how is it consistent for Him to declare that He had spared those, upon whom He had determined to inflict the most extreme punishment, and whom He deprived of their promised inheritance? I reply that the pardon in question was not granted to the individuals, but to their race and name. For the opinion of some is unnatural, who think that they were released from the penalty of eternal death, and thence that God was propitiated towards them, because He was contented with their temporal punishment. I do not doubt, then, but that Moses was so far heard, as that the seed of Abraham should not be destroyed, and the covenant of God should not fail For He so dispensed the pardon as to preserve their posterity uninjured, whilst He inflicted on the unbelievers themselves the reward of their rebellion. Thus the conditions of the pardon were of no advantage to the impious rebels, though they opened a way for the faithful fulfillment of His promise.

21. But as truly as I live, all the earth. It is, indeed, plain that God here swears by His life and glory: the meaning is only ambiguous in this respect, that some translate it in the past tense, that the earth had been filled with His glory, which had already been displayed in so many miracles. And this seems to accord well with what follows, “Those, who have seen my glory — shall not see the land;” still the future tense suits the context better, viz., that God should call to witness His glory, which He will hereafter assert. Moses feared lest the destruction of the people should be turned into a reproach and contumely against God; God now declares with an oath that He would so vindicate His glory, as that those, who were guilty of so great a crime, should not escape punishment. He proclaims that those should not see the land, who had shut their eyes against the miracles, of which they had been spectators and eye-witnesses, and in their blindness had endeavored to set them at naught. For, inasmuch as they had not been taught to fear God by so many signs, they were worse than unworthy of beholding the land, the possession of which ought to have been assured to them by those very signs, if God’s truth had not been utterly rejected by their ingratitude.

God complains that He had been “tempted” by them “ten times;” because they had not ceased constantly to provoke Him by their frowardness; for it is no fixed or definite number, which is intended, but God would merely indicate that they had done so without measure or end. We have elsewhere shown what it is to tempt God, viz., to subject His power to the narrow rule of our own senses, and to prescribe to Him the mode in which He is to act, according to our own desires: so as to defer to Him no further than our carnal reason dictates. The source and cause of this tempting of God is subjoined, i.e., when men refuse to listen to His voice; since nothing but obedience, which is the mistress of humility, can restrain our insolence.

Note 60. See ante, vol. 1, p. 421, on Deuteronomy 6:16.

24. But my servant Caleb. By synecdoche Caleb alone is now excepted, although Joshua was a partaker of the same grace, as he had been also a sharer in his courageous conduct; but Caleb is especially distinguished, because he had, as it were, uplifted the banner, and had stood forth first to encourage Joshua, The sum of his praise is that he “fulfilled to go after God.” The word “will,” which some understand, is superfluous, since the expression is complete without any addition. God, therefore, commends Caleb’s perseverance in obeying; because he not only promptly exhorted the others, but also proceeded boldly and unhesitatingly, without being deterred by any obstacles. God, however, magnifies his perseverance, because he looked to Him alone in his noble conflict with so great a multitude. For it is an extraordinary case for a person to stand firm, and to hold a straight course in the midst of violent and tempestuous disturbances, when all the world is, as it were, convulsed. Although the word רוח, ruach, is sometimes used for the disposition of the mind, yet I have no doubt but that Moses signifies, by metonymy, that Caleb was thus influenced by divine inspiration.

Note 61. A.V., “Followed me fully.” “Hebr., he fulfilled after me: so in Deuteronomy 1:36, and Joshua 14:8.” — Ainsworth. “Implevit, subaudi, verbum meum, vel voluntatem meam.” — S.M.

Note 62. “This other spirit was the spirit of faith, which the Law cannot give, (Galatians 3:2) — the spirit of adoption of sons, not of bondage to fear again, Romans 8:14, 15. By the guidance of this spirit, Caleb constantly followed the Lord, and obtained the promised inheritance.” — Ainsworth.