Numbers 14:18 - God’s Great Love, Mercy, Forgiveness, Justice and Grace.
Numbers 14:18; God's Great Love, Mercy, Forgiveness, Justice and
Grace.
Num 14:18 (KJV) The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy,
forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation.
Num 14:18 (NIV) 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love
and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty
unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third
and fourth generation.'
Num 14:18 (AMP) The Lord is long-suffering and slow to anger,
and abundant in mercy and loving-kindness, forgiving iniquity and
transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth
generation. [Ex 34:6, 7.]
Num 14:18 (CWR) I, the Lord, am not an angry God, but I abound
in love, forgive sin and rebellion. However, I will not stop the
consequences of the sins of the parents on their children and grandchildren
down to the third and fourth generation.
The report of the majority of the spies brought about a
destructive chain reaction in the camp of Israel.
Unbelief led to rebellion (1-10). The people wept, complained,
looked back to Egypt, wanted a new leader, and even threatened to stone
Caleb and Joshua. Such are the evidences of unbelief. Faith looks
ahead with courage; unbelief looks back with complaint. Faith unites
the people of God; unbelief looks for somebody to blame. There was
still time to repent and seek God's face, but the people refused to
listen to Caleb and Joshua.
Rebellion led to intercession (11-19). Moses once again stood
between God's people and God's judgment and turned down God's offer to
make him the founder of a new nation (Exod. 32). Moses interceded for
the people on the basis of the character and glory of God.
Intercession led to pardon (20-38). God pardoned the people, but
at the same time He judged their sins (Gal. 6:7-8). The ten spies
died in a plague, and the nation was consigned to forty years of
wandering until the people who were twenty years old or older died. Faith
brings life, but unbelief brings defeat and death.
Pardon led to presumption (39-45). The people had acted
stubbornly like the mule, and now they acted impetuously like the horse
(Ps. 32:9). God forgives us that we might fear Him (Ps. 130:4), not
that we might tempt Him. The flesh can never accomplish what only
faith can do. (Deut. 1:41-44.) [Chapter by Chapter Bible Commentary by
Warren Wiersbe re Num.14]
Moses bases his appeal for mercy not on any merit in Israel, but
on God's own character. God cannot abandon His people: to abandon
them would be to fail in the eyes of others. Besides, the Lord is by
nature a God of love and forgiveness, who deals justly, but remembers
mercy. This prayer should comfort us in times of personal failure. God
will not abandon us: He has committed Himself to us publicly in the
Gospel. Besides, God is loving and merciful. We may be disciplined but
we will not be rejected. [Victor Bible Reader's Companion]
God is merciful and does forgive, not by overlooking iniquity
but by providing a substitute so that He may be both the Just One
and the Justifier of those who believe (Rom 3:21-26), [Wycliffe
Bible Commentary]
Mercy means that God does not give us what we deserve, and grace
means that He gives us what we do not deserve. What a loving God He
is!... When the night is dark and long, keep on trusting, and the dawn,
will come in God's good time. [Chapter by Chapter Bible Commentary
by Warren Wiersbe re Psa. 6]
Sin has its consequences which go on for some time, even though
a person later does what God commands. A person often must live
with the consequences of his actions, even after forgiveness takes
place. [Daily Devotional Bible re Num.19:7-21]
Like Caleb and Joshua, sometimes we must suffer because of the
sins of others; but in the end, God will vindicate those who trust
Him. (See Acts 20:24; 1 Cor. 15:58.) [Chapter by Chapter Bible
Commentary by Warren Wiersbe re Num.14]
Moses' plea reveals several characteristics of God: (1) God is
immensely patient; (2) God's love is one promise we can always count on;
(3) God forgives again and again; and (4) God is merciful, listening
to and answering our requests. God has not changed since Moses'
day. Like Moses, we can rely on God's love, patience, forgiveness,
and mercy. [Life Application SB]
Failure to obey God reveals a lack of faith in God. [Victor
Bible Reader's Companion]
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