Numbers 14:32

³¹But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.³²As for you, however, your bodies will fall in this wilderness.

Summary

In Numbers 14:32, God declares that the Israelites who doubted His promise to enter the Promised Land would not see it, but their children would. This verse reflects the consequences of disobedience and lack of faith, as the older generation faced the punishment of wandering in the wilderness until their death. It serves as a reminder of the importance of trust and obedience in God's plans, showing that doubt and rebellion can lead to missed blessings. Despite the Israelites' unbelief, God's faithfulness to His covenant is evident in ensuring that the next generation would inherit the land He promised.

Commentary

John Gill

John Gill Bible Commentary

And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years,.... Or "feed" (b), as shepherds, who go from place to place, and seek fresh pasture for their sheep; it being the custom of a shepherd, as Aben Ezra observes, not to stand or rest in a place; and so like sheep grazing in a wilderness, where they have short commons, and wander about in search, of better. These forty years are to be reckoned from their coming out of Egypt, from whence they had now been come about a year and a half: and bear your whoredoms; the punishment of their idolatries, which are frequently signified by this phrase, and particularly of the idolatry of the calf, which God threatened to punish whenever he visited for sin, Exo 32:34; and of other sins, as their murmurings, &c. for it was on account of them their children wandered so long in the wilderness, and were kept out of the possession of the land of Canaan: until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness; everyone of them be consumed by death, save those before excepted, Num 14:30. (b) "erunt pascentes", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius, Junius & Tremellius; "pascent", Tigurine version, Piscator.

Numbers 14:32

God’s Forgiveness and Judgment

³¹But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.³²As for you, however, your bodies will fall in this wilderness.