“And your children shall feed in the wilderness forty years, and bear your wholesome, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness”
The new generation is not only fed in the wilderness, but it is disciplined there. It has to learn how displeasing to God all the ways of the old generation are. It has to bear the "whoredoms" of those whose carcasses are being wasted in the wilderness (verse 33). So that their senses are being continually "exercised for distinguishing both good and evil". The "children" were learning, typically, the good in being fed and nurtured by God; they were learning the evil in bearing the whoredoms of the generation that was to perish in the wilderness. These exercises go on with all the children of God. Those who are of the new-born race are nurtured by God, but they have to learn what the old generation is, not merely as seeing it in others, but as finding that in their own flesh good does not dwell. We have all to learn to submit ourselves to the discerning and penetrating power of the living and operative word of God, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart, and lays all things naked and bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
All this exercise casts us continually upon grace and mercy. But there is a throne of grace to which we may approach with boldness, and we have a great High Priest who is able to sympathise with our infirmities. There is everything to encourage confidence even in the feeblest believer. The trials and difficulties of the wilderness now become discipline for us which faith accepts as the chastening of love. The Father of spirits chastens us for our profit "in order to the partaking of his holiness". The nurture and the discipline are going on all the time with every one of the children of God in view of our going into the land.
It is no part of the teaching of this chapter that children of God may fall in the wilderness. It is calculated to produce and deepen in us all great diligence that we may not do so. This is exactly the exercise suggested by Hebrews 3 and 4. But in that epistle, though the writer warns against the danger and possibility of unbelief working, he writes as persuaded concerning those to whom he wrote that they had shown love to God’s Name. This was a clear proof that they were linked with Joshua-"connected with salvation" -and not part of the hardened and unbelieving generation. Indeed, he says with much certainty, "But we are not drawers back to perdition" -we do not want to make a captain and return to Egypt-"but of faith to saving the soul" (#Heb 10:39).
So that while Numbers 14 is full of grave admonition as to the consequences of unbelief, it contains much that is most encouraging and stimulating to faith. We might say that its great positive teaching is that, some will come into the land. Joshua and Caleb, and all the new-born generation will come in. So that the next section of the book (#Numbers 15:1-31) takes account of the children of Israel as being composed of persons who are going to "come into the land of your dwellings, which I give unto you". The generation of unbelief drops out of the mind of the Spirit of God the end of that generation having been declared in this chapter. In the next section God identifies the people with the new race that will enter in. After fully exposing unbelief and its end, He goes on with what was before His own heart and mind.
CAC
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