FORTY DAYS, FORTY YEARS

“’It will be a year for every day you spent reconnoitering the land that you will bear the consequences of your offenses – forty days, forty years. Then you will know what it means to oppose me!’”
Numbers 14:34

Have you ever wondered of a friend or so, when will he learn? As I read through the Torah I find myself questioning this many times. Each time the people of Isra’el complained or veered off in another direction, I read their story and question why they continued to go against the word of Adonai. Why in this case would they negate the promise of Adonai? They were standing on the brink of the Promise Land and lost it all because of ten men. Of the twelve spies who were sent out, ten of the spies came back with a negative outlook on the promise and turned an entire nation against their Deliverer. For this, punishment was given.
In Numbers 14:34, Adonai lays down the law in stating that for each day that the spies were away surveying the land, a year of wandering in the desert would be had. That is harsh, but there was more to come. Not only would these people wander, but each person over twenty who was part of the original censes named in Numbers 1, would die while wandering. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine knowing that at most you had another forty years to live, and those forty years were going to be spent seeing the same dusty scenery? Only Kalev and Y’hoshua of the older generation would not see this fate, for they returned with Adonai’s vision and promise on their mouths. The other ten spies, however, were slang by Adonai on the spot because they rebuked the promise of Him who does not lie.
But it gets even worse as we look on. On the morning following Adonai’s line in the sand, a new batch of people arose to defile Him. With the concept in their minds that they would seek Adonai’s forgiveness and simply still march toward the Land, they soon found that they went alone. Moshe warned them that going into the Land without Adonai on their side would end in defeat. This was proven when as we read in verse 45, the Amalekim and Kena’anim living in that land struck and beat Isra’el back to Hormah.
Let us not miss the lessons in this passage. First, we must understand that to rebuke the words of Adonai only ends in our destruction. And second, to walk in the ways not blessed by Adonai only ends in our destruction. I do not want to be one who is sentenced to wandering in the desert because I believed a lie. But I do not also want to be one who is struck and beaten all the way home because I moved out from under His protection. Oh how I pray that I would plant myself in His ways, and be obedient only to His direction.

Numbers 14:26 – 15:7