6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting. They fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord spoke to Moses, 8 “Take the staff and assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.” (Numbers 20:6-8) Rebellion (6): This is the seventh rebellion or complaint since leaving the Red Sea. In response to the people’s complaint, Moses and Aaron left the people and fell face down at the entrance of the tabernacle – a posture of desperation and anguish. More important it was an act of humility. Strike the Rock (7-8): “The Lord spoke to Moses (a phrase repeated thirty-two times in the book of Numbers) and instructed him to take the staff (either his or Aaron’s) and Speak to the rock. This was to be done in the presence of the people. Previously, when God instructed him to strike the rock at Rephidim (Exodus 17:6), only the elders of Israel were present. Challenge: Have you ever been face down before the Lord, literally or figuratively? Does God give you instructions? How does he do that? If you have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble at the very heart of your Christian experience. Henry Blackaby 

2 There was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord. 4 Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? 5 Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It’s not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates, and there is no water to drink!” (Numbers 20:2-5) The Israelites refused to enter the promised land, so the Lord punished them by having them wander in the wilderness for forty years (until the rebellious generation had passed away). No Water (2-3): The Israelites were still at Kadesh Barnea began complaining because they had run out of water. This was the second time they complained about the lack of water. The text implies that the people gathered to complained or verbally assault Moses and Aaron because of a lack of water. Moreover, they grumbled about having left Egypt. Further they would have preferred death like their brothers during Korah’s rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16). Challenging Moses’ Leadership (4-6): the language of their complaint indicates they were accusing Moses have having led them into this situation. They challenged Moses’ leadership. Clearly, they had forgotten about the hard life they had left behind (slavery). They did not remember the Lord demonstrating his power over nature at the Red Sea, his directing them with the cloud, or providing water previously. They were rewriting history. Challenge: When the going gets tough, do you have a faulty memory? If so, where is your focus? Where is your trust? Does your trust go beyond salvation? Our complaining is a kind of atheism. Spurgeon

20 The Lord responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested. 21 Yet as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested me these ten times and did not obey me, 23 will ever see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have despised me will see it. 24 But since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it. (Numbers 14:20-23) God forgave the people and then laid out the consequences. He said that the people had tested him repeatedly. The reference to ten times could mean completion – that this is the last time he would forgive them. He was fed up with their behavior. Moreover, his forgiveness showed his glory. The Lord would not permit those over the age of 20 (the rebellious generation) to enter the promised land. They would wander in the wilderness for forty years. He repeated the word despise in v 23. Despising is an emotion, a feeling, a heart condition. Their behavior grew out of the condition of their hearts. But Caleb, remained faithful. Like Noah in his generation stood out from the crowd, from evil. The lord called Caleb his servant as he did Abraham, Moses, and later, David. Further, he describes Calib as having a different spirit, that is he was set apart from his generation. He remained loyal to God. He and Joshua were vocal in their trust in the Lord despite the belief of everyone else. Yet, both Joshua and Calib suffered the consequences of the rebellious generation – they, too wandered in the wilderness for forty years. However, they entered the promised land. Challenge: Have you suffered the consequences of failure to obey the Lord? have you asked for forgiveness? Did the consequences of your behavior affect others? Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:7-8)

13 But Moses replied to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your strength you brought up this people from them. 14 They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among these people, how you, Lord, are seen face to face, how your cloud stands over them, and how you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you kill this people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will declare, 16 ‘Since the Lord wasn’t able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them, he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ (Numbers 14:13-16)  Moses countered God’s threat with concern about God’s reputation, about how God would be seen in the eyes of the Egyptians, those behind them) and the inhabitants of this land (the Canaanites (those ahead of them)). The Canaanites had watched how God had been close and personal. In an age without radio, TV or the internet, the word about God and his people crossed people groups and language. Consider Rahab. She reported that the people of Jericho had heard about the parting of the Red Sea and the victories over the kings west of the Jordan River (Joshua 2:10). Moses mention wiping out the people with a single blow is likely a reference God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. He knew God could destroy the Israelites. Finally, Moses argued that God would not finish what he started, leading his people to the promised land. Challenge: Has God tested your character? How did you respond? What are God’s promises to you? “There is nothing God loves more than keeping promises, answering prayers, performing miracles, and fulfilling dreams. That is who He is. That is what He does. And the bigger the circle we draw, the better, because God gets more glory.” Mark Batterson

11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people despise me? How long will they not trust in me despite all the signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them with a plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and mightier nation than they are.” (Numbers 14:11-12)  The Lord questioned Moses about the people despising, spurning or rejecting him and their failure to trust him. All despite how he had cared for them (plagues in Egypt, Red Sea, food and water). Then the Lord makes two promises to Moses: (1) He would bring a plague on them, killing all of them including their livestock and (2) He would establish a nation from Moses; that is reset the covenant he made with Abraham – similar to what he said at Mt. Sinai when they made the golden calf. He said he would start over with a new people. Was God canceling the promise he made to Abraham? The general thinking is that God was testing Moses character and teaching him about mercy. Challenge: Do you complain about your situation or what is happening to you. Are you rejecting God and his plan? What does this say about your trust? “Complaining about the weather seems to be a favorite American pastime. Sadly, we Christians often get caught up in this ungodly habit in our society. But when we complain about the weather, we are actually complaining against God who sent us our weather. We are, in fact, sinning against God (see Numbers 11:1).” Jerry Bridges

26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” 30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” (Numbers 13:26-31) The Positive Report (26-27): The spies confirmed that the land was flowing with milk and honey. Deuteronomy 1:25 quotes the spies as saying, “The land the Lord our God is giving us is good.” Good in Hebrew is the same word God used to describe creation in Genesis. The Negative Report (28-29): While the land was good, the spies had serious reservations about the people and the large, fortified cities. The people were giants (descendants of Anak) and the spies like grasshoppers. The listed the people who lived in the land they had explored. They said the people were courageous (had made themselves strong – the same word Moses had used to encourage the spies). Caleb’s Reaction (30-31): Caleb was ready to advance into Canaan. He did not deny or argue about the report of the other spies. Joshua agreed with Caleb (Numbers 14:5-9).  Challenge: Has anything kept you from carrying out a task God has given you? Do you view the task in human terms? “It is not the strength of then body that counts, but the strength of the Spirit” J. R. R. Tolkien

21 So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. (Numbers 13:21-25) They journeyed as far north as the head water of the Orontes River which flows north into the Mediterranean Sea northeast of Beirut, Lebanon. The explored the Negev on the south of Canaan, which is an arid region not suitable for, agriculture. Here they encounter the Anakin or descendants of Anak, a giant people. Three powerful leaders were mentioned.  Next the scouts moved through the Eshcol Valley near Hebron where they harvested the large cluster of grapes that had to be carried by two men on a pole. The Greek geographer and historian, Strabo, reported that clusters of grapes near Antioch were as much as three feet in length. On their journey they passed through land that was suitable for grazing and herding, land for raising grain, and that suitable for raising fruit and vegetables. The spies spent forty days on their survey. It is estimated that the distance between Kadesh and Rehob in the north as about 150 miles. We can assume that they traveled at least 300 miles. Challenge: When preparing for a God-given task, what do you consider? What resources are available? “God makes a promise faith believes it; hope anticipates it; patience quietly awaits it.” D.L. Moody

17 When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications? 20 Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes. (Numbers 13:17-20) Moses appointed twelve men, one from each tribe, to spy out the land. He wanted to know if the land was it habitable, suitable for growing crops. He also wanted to know if the people were strong or weak, did they live in fortified cities or tents, and how many of them were there? The purpose the expedition was to determine how to enter the land and the strategy needed to conquer it. It was not to determine if they could enter the land. Indications are that they traveled together which meant they were at considerable risk from the inhabitants; therefore, Moses command them to be courageous, or “make yourselves strong” or “be single minded” (v20). Note that the Israelites arrived at Kadesh when the harvest was taking place. A coincidence? Challenge: How do you approach a God-given task? Do you determine what is needed and the actions needed for completing it? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV 

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. (Numbers 11:16-17)  The Lord Provides Help (16-17): God’s response to the complaints was not to change their diet but to provide Moses help in leading the people. Apparently, Moses had forgotten his father-in-law's (Jethro) advice to delegate leadership responsibilities (Exodus 18). God’s Instruction (16): The Lord instructed Moses to gather 70 men. They were men who demonstrated wisdom. He told Moses to take them to the tabernacle (tent of meeting) where they would hear God reveal his will and response to Moses’ need. Sharing the Load (17): God told Moses that he would talk to him in the presence of the elders and he would place his Spirit on them so they could assist him in leading the people. The Lord commissioned or empowered the elders to share the burden of leadership with Moses. Note: God met the real need not the perceived need. Challenge: Do you complain about the position the Lord has place you in? Have you delegated your work to the Holy Spirit? Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. (Exodus 18:21-22)