Don’t Die in the Wilderness: The Story that Led to the Israelites Wandering and Dying in the Wilderness for 40 Years (Numbers 14)

One day, I was having my regular Bible study with the Holy Spirit. We were reading Numbers 14. It was my first time reading the story. As I was reading each scripture, I was doing what I usually do when the Israelites were in rebellion against God—rolling my eyes with a heavy sigh.

It wasn’t until I read Numbers 14:35 that I heard the Holy Spirit speak. It says, “'I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.” 

The moment I read it, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Don’t die in the wilderness.”

You see, there’s a land of milk and honey here on earth for all of God’s children. Our Promised Land may vary from each other, but it’s the land for us.

In Numbers 14, the Israelites over 20 years old did not make it into the Promised Land. They all died within the 40 years of wandering through the wilderness. 

Want to know why?

Because they complained and grumbled. They doubted God’s sovereignty. They doubted God’s promise of delivering them into the land of milk and honey.

Do you understand how crazy that is? These are the same Israelites who saw the power of God through the ten plagues in Egypt while they were still in slavery. When God delivered them from their oppressors, he was a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. 

Don’t get me started on the Red Sea. 

Imagine walking the seafloor with walls of water on either side of you. When the Egyptians chased after them, the water collapsed on them. God provided for them with manna and quail raining from heaven. He even provided them with water from a rock.

And yet, they still doubted.

When he sent spies to scout out the land of Canaan, which was the Promised Land, in Numbers 13, they came back with a false report. They spread fear amongst the rest of the Israelites. They confirmed that the land was as bountiful as God said, but they also reported that the people occupying Canaan were powerful and the cities were fortified and huge (Numbers 13:28).

The Israelites cried aloud that they wished they had died in Egypt or in the wilderness (Numbers 14:2). They even questioned whether it would be better for them to go back to Egypt (Numbers 14:3). 

They wanted to go back to slavery… That’s another post for another day.

They refused to believe the words God spoke through Moses and Aaron. God promised them deliverance into their inheritance. Because of their doubt, spreading a false report, believing a false report, and rejecting God’s sovereignty, God promised this:

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord , I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ I, the Lord , have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.

God is telling you not to die in your wilderness.

There is a land flowing with milk and honey for you. It’s part of your inheritance as an heir of God and co-heir to Christ (Romans 8:17). The same promises he made to Abraham apply to you. 

One thing that can stop you from possessing your Promised Land is grumbling and complaining like the Israelites. 

Did you know that grumble means to stop, to dwell, to complain, to murmur, and to remain. When you grumble against something, it can stop God’s promises. When you grumble, it can cause you to dwell and to remain in the situation you’re in. That’s why, as blood-bought believers, we have to speak words of faith. Our words should be in agreement with God, not against him.

Whatever promises God has promised you personally, or the promises in the Bible, they’re already yours! Move forward in faith with the full belief that his promises are going to come to pass. If God promised it, then he will fulfill what he promised (Numbers 23:19).

Don’t be intimidated by what you see. In the case of the Israelites, they saw giants and were overcome with fear. Was not God aware there were giants in the land? Of course he was! That doesn’t change that he was going to deliver those occupying the land into the Israelites' hands. 

He’s God. He can do anything.

If you’re not grumbling and complaining, but people around you are—silence them. Block them or get them out of your life if the Holy Spirit tells you to do so. If the Holy Spirit tells you to fast, then fast.

Don’t live your entire life in the wilderness, trying to get into the Promised Land. You have access to the land of milk and honey now through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Seek counsel from the Lord and cultivate intimacy with him.

God is loving, gracious, and merciful. He gives even when we don’t deserve it. The proof was on the cross.

Simply ask God to put you on the path that leads to righteousness. Pray that he guides your steps and ways. Pray that you are renewed in your mind and for the Lord to put a guard over your mouth, so you don’t speak against His Word. 

If you have complained, grumbled, or spoken against God’s promises, repent. Come out of agreement with them and come into agreement with God and His Word.

Get out of the wilderness and step into the glory of the Almighty God.

If you haven’t already, check out the episode I did on Numbers 14!