Numbers 14:39-45

G. DEFEATS BY AMALEKITES AND KENITES vv. 39-45
TEXT

Numbers 14:39. And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.

40. And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised: for we have sinned. 41. And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper. 42. Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. 43. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you. 44. But they presumed to go up unto the hilltop: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. 45. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 14:39. And Moses told these words to all the children of Israel; and the people grieved very much. 40. And they rose up early in the morning and went to the top of the mountain, saying, Here we are. We have sinned; nevertheless, we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised. 41. And Moses said, Then why are you transgressing the word of the Lord, when it will not succeed? 42. Do not go up, lest you be struck down before your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. 43. The Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you will fall by the sword because you have turned away from the Lord. Therefore the Lord will not be with you. 44. But they presumed to go up to the hill top, although neither the ark of the covenant nor Moses left the camp. 45. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that mountainous region came down and attacked them, and utterly drove them away as far as Hormah.

COMMENTARY

When the verdict of the Lord is brought unto the people, their response is typically human. Having been told they cannot enter the Land before them, that is exactly what they now say they want to do! But it is much too late. God's patience has been tried beyond reason, and they must face the consequences of their rebellions. Even their belated expression, We have sinned, is of no avail.
Ironically, the course now announced by the people, which would have been exactly what God wanted them to do shortly earlier, is now strongly forbidden; what would have been faithful obedience is now another instance of disbelieving rebellion. Moses stands before them to point out the radically changed circumstances, and the certain consequences of their new resolution: God is not with them, and they will be badly beaten by their enemies. When Israel moves to battle, it is without Moses or the ark of the covenant: and, we may be certain, neither Caleb nor Joshua was among them.
Complete defeat was the inevitable consequence. The Amalekites and the Canaanites descended upon them from the hills, and routed them to Hormah, and unidentified city of the region.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

275.

How is it that when the Israelites now want to enter the Land of Promise, they are forbidden?

276.

When would it have been more appropriate for the people to confess that they had sinned?

277.

Would the presence of Moses, or of the ark of the covenant, have assured victory for Israel at this time?

278.

The Amalekites are regularly assigned to live in and around the territory of Kadesh-Barnea; the Canaanites are not. Consult a good Bible dictionary or atlas, and determine the areas of their inhabitance.