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Numbers Chapter Fourteen

1. The propaganda of the 10 faithless spies launches an organized rebellion on the part of Israel (Num. 14:1-4).
   1. Human viewpoint sees no solution to the problem, and so it goes into an emotional reaction (Num. 14:1).
   2. Human viewpoint wants to blame somebody, and find fault  (Num. 14:2).
   3. Human viewpoint assumes that God is out to get them (Num. 14:3).
   4. Human viewpoint seeks leaders according to their own desires (Num. 14:4).
2. In the face of spiritual rebellion, Moses & Aaron gave their case to the Lord (Num. 14:5).
3. In the face of spiritual rebellion, Joshua & Caleb take a stand for God’s absolute standard of Righteousness (Num. 14:6-9).
   1. Their stand was not accepted by the people, and they faced imminent physical death (Num. 14:10a).
   2. The Lord will defend those believers who faithfully stand for His Righteousness (Num. 14:10b).
4. The Lord tests Moses for the second time with an opportunity to make a people and a name for himself (Num. 14:11-19).
   1. The Lord promises to destroy Israel, and make a new nation from Moses (Num. 14:11,12 cf. Ex. 32:10).
   2. Moses passes the test, as he did before (Ex. 32:11-14), and calls upon the Lord to be faithful to His unconditional covenant promises (Num. 14:13-19).
5. Since Moses confessed the sins of Israel (Num. 14:19), the Lord forgave them (Num. 14:20).
6. Although they are forgiven, the consequences of their rebellion will last throughout the remainder of their days (Num. 14:21-38).
   1. The entire generation is banned from entrance into the promised land (Num. 14:28,29).
   2. The children (which they used as an excuse for not going in) will be the ones who inherit the land (Num. 14:31).
   3. Only Caleb & Joshua will be permitted to live long enough, and enter into the land of promise (Num. 14:30).
   4. The 10 faithless spies died of a plague before the Lord (Num. 14:37; 1st Cor. 10:10).
7. After disobeying the Lord’s will to go into the land, Israel disobeys the Lord’s will to go away from the land (Num. 14:25,39-45).
   1. The Lord instructed Israel to leave tomorrow for the wilderness of the Red Sea (Num. 14:25).
   2. In the morning, Israel decided to go into the promised land after all (Num. 14:40).
   3. Moses warned them that their actions were doomed to fail (Num. 14:41-43).
   4. He was right (Num. 14:44,45).

Numbers Chapter Fifteen

1. The Lord begins His instruction for the subsequent generation—the Wilderness Generation (Num. 15:1,2,18).
2. The Lord presents Israel with “supplement offerings” to go with their other offerings (Num. 15:3-13).
   1. These grain and drink offerings are over and above the sacrificial instructions presented to their parents—the Exodus Generation.
   2. ½ hin of wine = ½ gallon.
3. The Lord also instructed Israel that the alien among them, who desired to worship with them, could do so, exactly as they did (Num. 15:14-16).
4. The Lord gives instructions to the new generation concerning:
   1. First-fruits (Num. 15:17-21).
   2. Unintentional national sin (Num. 15:22-26).
   3. Unintentional personal sin (Num. 15:27-29).
   4. Defiant sin (Num. 15:30,31).
5. During this time of instruction, a man was found breaking the Sabbath (Num. 15:32-36).
6. The Lord commanded Israel to wear tassels on the corners of their garments, for memorials of His law (Num. 15:37-41).