After Mo'ses told the Is'ra-el-ites that they were doomed to forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and that nearly all of them would die before the chosen race would finally occupy the Promised Land, they rebelled against the decree, and proposed to go at once into Ca'naan. They uttered words of confession for their sin, but with no evidence of genuine repentance; even while confessing their sins they persisted in them. They were determined to do exactly what God had told them not to do. When He said, "Go up into Ca'naan," they replied, "We will return to E'gypt." When He said, "Return to the wilderness," they said, "We will now go into Ca'naan."
In reply to their proposal to enter Ca'naan, Mo'ses told them that the LORD would not go with them; that if they persisted in this fool-hardy course, the Am'a-lek-ites and Ca'naan-ites would defeat them with great slaughter. But they stubbornly insisted on making war against the heathen tribes of Ca'naan, even though Mo'ses would not go with them, and the Ark of the Covenant remained in camp. They were disgracefully beaten; many were slain, and the others returnt to weep before the LORD.
After this unhappy event, the Is'ra-el-ites remained in Ka'desh for many days. Then they journeyed, as the LORD had commanded, into the wilderness toward the Red Sea. For nearly thirty-eight years they wandered over the deserts of the A-ra'bi-an Peninsula. Little worthy of record took place during this dark period in Is'ra-el's history. Some new regulations were given by Mo'ses, and the laws already given were enforced. It was no doubt for the benefit of the younger generation that these special messages from God were revealed by Mo'ses, and it also served as a proof of the continuance of the LORD'S Covenant with those who would later occupy the Promised Land.
Among the happenings recorded during these thirty-eight years is the violation of the Sab'bath by a man who gathered wood on that day, and who was punished by stoning. We are not told just when this took place, but we know that the Sab'bath had been set apart by the LORD after the six days of Creation, and that it had been consecrated in the religion of Is'ra-el.
The Sab'bath was consecrated to God, dedicated to His honor, and its violation was a direct reproach upon Him. It was also a memorial of Is'ra-el's deliverance from E'gypt, so those who violated the Sab'bath were guilty of sin in the eyes of both God and man. In setting apart the Sab'bath days, the LORD intended to serve the well-being of His people by providing a season for rest and spiritual culture.
The punishment of the man who violated the Sab'bath took place in an orderly and legal manner. He was arrested in the very act of doing wrong, was brought before the elders for trial, was held in custody until the manner of his execution was determined by Divine instructions, and was then slain as directed by the LORD.
It is evident that the entire procedure was intended as a solemn warning to Is'ra-el against violating the LORD'S day by doing anything which was forbidden in the Law. The Sab'bath was made for man, and man cannot do without it. Worship for the soul and rest for the body are two of the deepest needs of humanity. The Sab'bath was made Holy for the Glory of God, and the violation of it dishonors Him.
