BAMIDBAR

IN THE WILDERNESS

4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain [Rosh], and let us return into Egypt [Mitzrayim].

The nation being adopted as the kingdom of God, and having received its constitution three days afterwards, which was fifty days from its redemption as Yahweh's first-born of nations; and also having received its religion, and civil laws, as related in Exodus and Leviticus -- all things were prepared for transferring the tribes from the wilderness to the land of Canaan.

Moses had announced to them this consummation while groaning in Egypt. But they hearkened not for anguish of spirit. When, however, they were "baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea," they came to believe on the Lord and in him as his servant. But their probation in the wilderness was too much for their faith. They were continually turning back in their hearts to Egypt. The time, however, had now arrived to put this fourth generation to a final test.

Elpis Israel 2.4.

18 Yahweh is longsuffering [slow of anger], and of great mercy [rav chesed], forgiving iniquity and transgression [avon and peysha], and by no means clearing [exonerating] the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers [avon of the avot] upon the children [banim] unto the third and fourth generation.

"The apparent contradiction may be manifested thus: if God by no means clears the guilty, how can He be said to forgive any, seeing it is only the guilty that need forgiveness? The answer is to be found in the sense attaching to the word 'guilty' as used in this connection.

It is not in the sense of having committed an offence merely, but in the sense of having done it with guile and without that acceptable repentance towards God, which is the basis of forgiveness and which secured the pardon of David in the most heinous of offences.

Achan may be taken as a type of the guilty that will not be cleared… So Korah, Dathan and Abiram… God will by no means 'clear,' either under Moses or Christ. There is no provision for the remission of presumptuous sin. Even under the law, no sacrifice was to be accepted for such…

But for those who are not presumptuous, but who on the contrary are broken and contrite in heart, and tremble at Yahweh's word, there is forgiveness.

Bro Roberts

30 Doubtless ye [Not one of you] shall not come into the land [HaAretz], concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun [Kalev ben Yephunneh, and Yehoshua ben Nun].

The fourth generation "could not enter in because of unbelief." Neither can we unless we also believe what they rejected; for the same gospel that was preached to them, was preached by the apostles to the forty-second generation...

...God's rest in Canaan -- by which is not meant that all his saints will be living there, though all that abide there will be a righteous people; the things which belong to Canaan will overspread the world; and where there are nations to be governed there will there be saints to rule -- but this rest, I say, is the great theme of the gospel whether preached by Moses, by Jesus, or by the apostles. The rest and the kingdom are but different terms, though substantially the same. They will both be of Canaan, and are both the subject of the promise made of God to Abraham and his seed for ever.

Elpis Israel 2.4.

35 I Yahweh have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation [Kol HaEdah], that are gathered together against ME: in this wilderness [midbar] they shall be consumed [come to an end], and there they shall die.

This principle of the ideal condensation of a great while into a little, is practically exhibited in Numbers xiv. While the twelve tribes of Israel were in the wilderness, they sent twelve spies to search out the land of promise;

"and they returned from searching of the land after forty days."

Now these were literal days, and so would have remained purely and simply, but for an incident which was made the occasion of converting them into typical or symbolical days.

The spies caused the tribes to despise the land, so that they refused to go up and take possession of it. Therefore the Spirit said, they should wander in the wilderness forty years. His words are,

"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."

Here is the day for a year rule plainly indicated. Forty days searching of the land in a faithless spirit, working disobedience in the multitude, made typical of forty years bearing of iniquity, ending in death in the wilderness.

Eureka 2:2:6