God Has Had It! Unbelief Leads to Apostasy - Numbers 13-17

 Numbers 14:20-23 (ESV Strong's)

20 Then the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.

God Has Had It!

In Numbers 13 & 14 we read about spies being sent out to take inventory of the Promise Land.  The entire point of Moses leading them out of Egypt was to take them into the Promise Land.  Because the spies brought back a report of fear the people rebelled.  Their exact comment was a complete apostasy to God.  Note:

Numbers 14:4 (ESV Strong's)

4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

They made a decision to return to the land of captivity and sin.   This is the very definition of apostasy.   It did not start out with this decision.  As the comment above states, God mentions “ten times” that they disobeyed God’s Word and failed to believe.  Here are the ten times (see David Talley, Talbot School of Theology)

1.         Exodus 14:10-12

At the Red Sea where it seemed that Pharaoh’s army would destroy them

2.         Exodus 15:22-24

At Marah where they found bitter water

3.         Exodus 16:1-3

In the Desert of Sin as they hungered

4.         Exodus 16:19-20

In the Desert of Sin as they paid no attention to Moses concerning the storing of the manna until the morning

5.         Exodus 16:27-30

In the Desert of Sin as they disregarded Moses concerning the gathering of the manna on the seventh day

6.         Exodus 17:1-4

At Rephidim as they complained for water

7.         Exodus 32:1-35

At Mount Sinai as Aaron led the people in making the golden calf

8.         Numbers 11:1-3

At Taberah where the people raged against the Lord

9.         Numbers 11:4-34

At Kibroth Hattaavah in the grumbling provoked by the rabble for quail

10.       Numbers 14:1-3

At Kadesh in the Desert of Paran when the people refused to receive the good report of Joshua and Caleb but rather wished themselves dead

This does not count the number of times AFTER Numbers 14 that they will also rebel.   Apostasy is turning away from God to something else, to replace God.   They turned back to their former life over a period of incidents the first nine, led to the final tenth.  Failure to believe in God was the root sin.  Unbelief is the sin that leads to apostasy.