What the Bible says about Promised Land, Detour in route to
(From Forerunner Commentary)
As the Israelites were marching out of Egypt, God suddenly led the Israelites south, at a right angle from the most direct route to the Promised Land. God was very concerned that they were not ready to fight a war. As the books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy clearly show, they were not ready for many other experiences they were soon to face. This turn south is the first indication that God had much more in mind than merely taking them to Canaan.
John W. Ritenbaugh
After Pentecost, Then What?Related Topics: Exodus | Pilgrimage to Promised Land | Promised Land, Detour in route to | Promised Land, Journey to
The last phrase ("Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?") indicates a scattering of dismembered bodies, as if they had been left unburied. These "corpses" were the same people who came out of Egypt with great joy, exulting in their new-found liberty. They yearned for a settled and free life in a land that was their own. But, instead of knowing the joy and plenty of the Promised Land, they chose to sentence themselves to live a life of homeless wandering in a barren land and to die and perhaps be buried in an unmarked grave. Chosen to be the beneficiaries of God's great blessings in a rich land, they instead lived poor and hungry in the wilderness, discontented, and often at war because of their sins. Their example ought to be a sobering warning.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Wandering the Wilderness in FaithRelated Topics: Discontent | Discontentment | Promised Land, Detour in route to | Scattering | Scattering of Israel | Wandering Out of the Way | Wilderness Wanderings