For Moses, the journey through the wilderness was not only a leadership challenge—it was an emotionally exhausting and spiritually draining assignment. Though God had promised them the land ahead, the people were unwilling to trust Him. When the spies returned with their report, the whole congregation panicked. Filled with fear, they wept and refused to move forward. Perhaps they expected God to clear every obstacle, remove every opposition, and guarantee a risk-free path.
The Judgment of God : Because of their unbelief, God declared that all those above the age of twenty would die in the wilderness—except Caleb, son of Jephunneh and Joshua, son of Nun (Numbers 26:64–65).
A Staggering Estimate: It is commonly estimated that 2.5 to 3 million people were delivered from Egypt. Of these, around 1.5 million were likely above the age of twenty. That means roughly 37,500 people died each year over forty years—an average of at least one hundred deaths every single day.
A Painful Ministry : Imagine Moses facing that daily reality. On average, one hundred people died every day, and Moses—along with the seventy elders—would have had to oversee their burials. He had envisioned leading a victorious nation into the Promised Land, not conducting funerals for forty years. This was not the ministry he expected, yet because of the people’s rebellion, he carried this sorrowful burden.
Buried or Scattered : With such overwhelming numbers, it would have been impossible to conduct proper burials with rituals or prayers. Paul writes that “their bodies were scattered in the wilderness” (1 Corinthians 10:5). While some may have been buried, many would have simply been laid to rest without ceremony—lives ending in loneliness and dishonour.
Reasons:
They witnessed signs, wonders, miracles, and deliverances—yet still refused to believe.
They doubted God’s promise and provision of the land He had given.
They indulged in rash talk, grumbling, and murmuring.
Some even longed to return to Egypt—to the very place of their slavery.
Am I, in any way, rebellious like the nation of Israel?