The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers — Section 187

'the favour of God, though it could not annu] his fa_ithfulness. 3. Confidence in God. "Neither fear ye the people." To fear them was to distrust God (Isa. viii. 13, 14; Heh. xiii. 6, &c.). II. TBB 0EBTAIN BUCCEBB OJ' THOSE WHO ENJOY THE HELP OJ' Goo. Caleb and Joshua express their confidence in various ways; e./. in eh. xiii. 30 (" veni, mdi, vici ") ; ver. 8, "be will bring us in ; " ver. 9, " brea for us," &c. The Canaanites dwelt in fortresses, but God, their strength, was departed from them. Israel dwelt in tents, but l;'rov. xviii. 10. Such confidence we may have, when opposed by foes, human or diabolical, however numerous or powerful. With God on our side we are in the majority (Illus. Exod. xiv. 13; 2 Kings vi. 16; 2 Chron. xiv. 11 ; xx. 12; :uxii. 7, 8; Ps. x:lvi. 11 ; Rom. viii 31, &c.). A good illustration may be found in a letter of the Prince of Orange after the fall of Haarlem, in which be says, "Before ever I took up the cause of the oppressed Christians in these provinces I had entered into a close alliance with the King of kings,'' &c. (Motley's ' Rise of the Dutch Republic,' Pt. III. eh. ix.).-P. Vere. 11-19.-Skilful intercession. The crowning act of unbelief on the part of the Israelites at Kadesh brings God into their midst in righteoUB anger. He remon- strates (ver. 11) and threatens (ver. 12). God's foreknowledge of Moses' prayer did not/revent this apparently absolute threat. This need be no difficulty to us, unless we bol opinions about God which would make the government of free, moral beings by promises and threats impossible. For illustrations of Divine words or acts contingent on human actions see 2 Kings xx. 1-11; Luke xxiv. 28, 29; Acts xxvii. 22-24, SL ,Moses stands in the breach, and skilfully urges two motives, suggested by-I. Hrs ZEAL ll'OB THE BONOUB OF Goo. II. Hrs FAITH IN THE MERCY OF Goo. I. (vers. 13-16). The Egyptians would soon "make comedies out of the Church's tragedies." Our best pleas are founded on the prayer, 11 Hallowed be thy name." E. g. 1. In pleading for. a highly-favoured but guilty nation. After all God has done for Britain and by it, may we not feel as though it would be a dis- honour on the Christian name and a reflection on the Christian's God if we were altogether cast off. Our plea is Jer. x. 24, and our hope is Jer. xxx. 11. 2. In pleading for a fallen Christian. 3. Or for ourselves (Ps. lxxix. 9; Jer. xiv. 7, &c.). God feels the power of this motive (Deut, xxxii. 27; Ezek. xx. 9, 14). God is not, like some men, indifferent to his own reputation (Isa. xlviii. 11). II. Note how skilfully Moses uses God's own declaration of his name in Exod. xxxiv. He appeals (1) to the pure mercy of God; (2) to the past mercies of God (Ps. xxv. 6, 7; li. 1 ; Isa. Iv. 7, 8).-P. Vere. 22, 23.-.A pric-eless privilege offered, refused, lost. The lessons from the narrative of cha. xiii. and xiv. may be summed up as follows. \Ve see here a price- less privilege- !. Oll'll'EBEO. It is Canaan, "the glory of all lands," the gift of the God of their f_11thers, who redeemed them from Egypt that he might bring them to a land of !1berty and rest. The first report of the spies (eh. xiii. 27-29) is true in itself, but its style suggests faithless fears which infect the congregation (eh. xiii. 30). The exag~erated or false reports that are now given (eh. xiii. 31-33) incrense the pnnic, but God's offer is still before them (2 Tim. ii. 12). II. R_Ell'USEO. The shades of evening were gathering when the report of the spies was delivered. (Sketch the spread of the panic during the night, eh. xiv. 1.) In the morning the murmurings take a definite form (vers. 2--4). The cogent reasonings of Caleb and Joshua are in vnin (vers. 6-9). They threaten to depose Moses, nnd to stone the faithful witnesses, and they deliberately reject the offer of God. Thus are sinners wont to believe lies and distrust true witnesses ; to assent to fallacies and resist the soundest arguments ; to neglect or persecute their best friends, and distrust and rebel agninst their Redeemer, God. III. LOST. God interposes to protect his servants and sentence the rebels. Moses' intercession saves them from immediate destruction, but not from irremediable loss. There are limits to the power of intercessory prayer (Jer. xv. 1; 1 John v. 16). A new pnnic, another night of weeping (ver. 39). On the morrow a reaction, a rcvul•  THE BOOX OF NUMBERS.