1:29-31
Moses tried to counter the fear by encouraging them. They were not to be terrified, and were not to be afraid of the enemy. Why? Because God was with them. He would go before them and would fight for them as He had done in Egypt. Our God is a God who acts. He is not distant, but gets involved in our lives and takes action. Moreover, the Israelites had seen the miracles that the Lord had done on their behalf. He had been with them and had not let them be defeated. This was not about to change.
1:32-36
But the people refused to trust the Lord. Despite the fact that they had seen how He rescued them at the Red Sea. So the Lord was angry, and declared that none of them, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, would enter the Promised Land. It was God they should have feared, not the occupants of the Promised Land. Caleb followed the Lord, so he would be rewarded.
1:37
Moses himself had been banned from entering the Promised Land. This was not because of the failure to enter, but because of the water from rock incident when he and Aaron had failed to honour the Lord as holy before the people. However, Moses here seems to hold the Israelites responsible for his failure. This is an example of Moses being far from perfect. He was blaming others for his own failings. However, we should also bear in mind Moses’ faithfulness in leading the people and in handing over the leadership to Joshua.
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