Numbers 14:39-45

Numbers 14:39-45

[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,  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 there before  you, and ye shall fall  by the sword:  because ye are turned  away  from the LORD,  [44] But they presumed  to go up  unto the hill  top:  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. 

What does Numbers 14:39-45 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Having received their sentence from the Lord, the people then presumptuously proceeded to go up on their own to take the land ( Numbers 14:40-42).
"They are like children who had broken a valuable vase and decided to "make it better" by gluing it back together. The result of such action looks nothing like the original." [1]
The Israelites refused to accept God"s discipline as they had refused to accept His promise. Thus they rebelled against Him again even though Moses sounded the ominous warning, "the LORD will not be with you" ( Numbers 14:43). They tried to gain His blessings without Him, which is unbelief. Consequently God allowed their enemies to rout them. The key to success would not be their military might or psychological power but their obedient trust in God.
It is also possible for us Christians to fail to enter into our full reward if we fail to continue to trust and obey God ( 1 Corinthians 9:24 to 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 3:12 to Hebrews 4:14). [2] Every genuine Christian will eventually go to heaven, but only the faithful will receive all the rewards God wants each Christian to possess. God will give or withhold these at the judgment seat of Christ ( 1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; et al.).
"This rather large section of narrative [3] introduces an important element in the development of God"s covenant with Israel: the theme of the faithfulness of God in keeping the covenant and the unfaithfulness of humans in not trusting him.
"Following the account of the people"s failure to believe in God in chapters13,14 , the writer has attached a further and rather large set of laws dealing with sacrifice and the priesthood ( Numbers 15:1 to Numbers 19:22). Thus, as has been the case throughout the earlier parts of the Pentateuch, after an account of Israel"s unbelief, more laws are added within the narrative [4]." [5]
Battles, this one and the battle with the Canaanites in Numbers 21:1-3, frame this section of laws and the Lord"s discipline of the Israelites in the wilderness during the next38 years. [6]