Joshua 5:6 For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us,
Numbers 14:32-34 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’
Psalms 95:10-11 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”
Hebrews 3:11 As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”
Hebrews 3:18-19 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Matthew 11:28-29 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Wandering in the wilderness for forty years seems like a severe punishment in todays standards. We would look at this and call it harsh, unreasonable, and definitely not from a loving God. We are good at that, putting our human twist onto God’s work. We exalt our limited wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of God. In this exaltation of self knowledge and understanding we are actually saying “If I were God” and would do things differently.
The key take away from these verses is to intentionally choose to walk by faith, believing in and walking in obedience to God. Without this intentional choice to honor and serve God you will certainly go astray in your heart. Without His word in your daily life you will go astray in your heart. Keep it close, cherish it, and seek to know how to honor and serve Him more and more each day.