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Numbers 13:29
The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.

turn you

Numbers 14:4
And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

Deuteronomy 1:40
Butas for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

Psalm 81:11-13
But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me…

turn back tomorrow
This command signifies a divine directive for immediate action. The Israelites were to change their course of action due to their rebellion and lack of faith in God's promise to give them the land. This turning back represents a physical and spiritual retreat, as they were not prepared to enter the Promised Land. It serves as a consequence of their unbelief and a reminder of the importance of trusting in God's timing and plan.

and head for the wilderness
The wilderness represents a place of testing, discipline, and reliance on God. For the Israelites, it was a place where they would wander for 40 years as a result of their disobedience (Numbers 14:33-34). This period was meant to refine and prepare a new generation to enter the Promised Land. The wilderness journey is symbolic of the Christian life, where believers often face trials and must depend on God's provision and guidance.

along the route to the Red Sea
The Red Sea, also known as the Sea of Reeds, is significant in Israel's history as the site of their miraculous deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 14:21-31). This reference serves as a reminder of God's past faithfulness and power. The route to the Red Sea indicates a return to a familiar path, emphasizing the cyclical nature of Israel's journey due to their repeated disobedience. It also foreshadows the eventual fulfillment of God's promises, as the Red Sea crossing prefigures the ultimate deliverance found in Jesus Christ, who leads believers from bondage to freedom.

• The verse begins by identifying the very real military threat occupying the lowland approaches to Canaan (cf.Numbers 13:29;Judges 6:3).

• God does not minimize danger; He names the nations and the terrain to make clear that Israel’s current path is blocked.

• The reference underscores the accuracy of the spies’ earlier report (Numbers 13:28-29) and shows God’s awareness of every obstacle His people face (Psalm 33:13-15).

• It also signals that the judgment about to follow is not arbitrary; Israel’s refusal to trust God has tangible consequences (1 Samuel 15:2;Hebrews 3:18-19).

• “Tomorrow” calls for immediate obedience, not delayed debate (Psalm 95:7-8).

• God reverses the nation’s direction the very day after their rebellion, demonstrating His authority over their itinerary (Proverbs 16:9).

• The command anticipates the tragic attempt of some to press forward anyway, leading to a swift defeat (Numbers 14:40-45).

• Moses later recalls this pivot point inDeuteronomy 1:40, emphasizing that the change of course came straight from the LORD.

• The wilderness is a place of both discipline and grace: judgment on unbelief (Numbers 14:33-34) yet also daily provision (Deuteronomy 8:2-4).

• God redirects Israel away from immediate conquest so an entire unbelieving generation can pass, preserving the covenant line through their children (Numbers 14:31-32).

• This retreat highlights that inheritance of the land is a gift received by faith, not seized by human effort (Hebrews 4:1-2).

• The “Red Sea” route (literally “Sea of Reeds”) leads back toward the area where God first delivered Israel from Egypt (Exodus 14:1-2; 15:22).

• Returning to that corridor is a vivid reminder of God’s past salvation and a call to renewed trust in His power (Exodus 14:13-14).

• The path southward underscores that God sometimes moves His people away from apparent progress to accomplish deeper purposes (Romans 8:28;1 Peter 1:6-7).

Numbers 14:25 records God’s immediate, literal directive for Israel to reverse course because hostile nations occupied the valleys. Their unbelief barred them from entering Canaan, so the LORD ordered a prompt retreat into the wilderness by the familiar Red Sea route. The verse highlights the seriousness of distrust, the necessity of swift obedience, and God’s faithful guidance even when the way forward becomes the way back.

1. It has been stated just before (Numbers 13:29) that the "Canaanites" dwelt by the sea, and in the Ghor, and it has been proposed by some to understand under this name the Phoenicians, because "Sidon" was the first-born of Canaan, and because they are known to have occupied the coast. But if "Canaanite" means "Phoenician" in chapter Numbers 13:29, it is difficult to maintain that it is here equivalent to "Amorite." Again, if "Canaanite" be taken in this vaguer sense, yet it is clear that the Amorites dwelt in "the mountain" (cf.e.g., verse 45 withDeuteronomy 1:44), and not in the lowlands. This has been got over by supposing thatעֵמֶק may mean an upland vale, or plateau, such as that to which the Israelites presently ascended. It is, however, a straining of the word to assign such a meaning to it. It is rightly translated by the Septuagintἐν τῇ κοιλάδι. And even if one looking down from above might call an upland plain by this name, yet certainly one looking up from below would not. If the word stands rightly in this place,בָּעֵמֶק must mean "in the Wady Murreh," the broad sandy strait which bounded the "mountain of the Amorite" on the south. If so, we must conclude that not only the roving Amalekites, but also the Canaanites, or Amorites, had established themselves in some parts of the Wady.

2. It is scarcely credible that an observation of this sort, which would seem unusual and abrupt in any speech, should have formed a part of God's message to Moses. It has no apparent connection with the context. It does not (as often alleged) afford a reason for the command which follows; it was not at all because enemies were already in possession before them that the Israelites had to turn their backs upon the promised land, but because God had withdrawn for the time his promised aid. If the "valley" be the Rakhmah plateau, they had always known that hostile tribes held it, and that they would have to conquer them. That the words are an interpolation, as the A.V. represents them, seems as certain as internal evidence can make it; lint by whom made, and with what intent, is a question which will probably never be answered. It may be worth while to hazard a conjecture that the interpolated words are really connected with what goes before, viz., the promise of inheritance to Caleb. Now that promise was fulfilled in the gift of Hebron to Caleb and his seed (Joshua 14:14). But we have express mention inGenesis 37:14 of the "vale of Hebron," and the same word,עֵמֶק, is used in the Hebrew. Is it not possible that this parenthesis was originally the gloss of one who had a special interest in the heritage of Caleb, and wished to note that at the time it was given to him "the vale" was occupied by two hostile peoples? Intothe wilderness,i.e., the Sinaitic peninsula, as distinguished from Palestine on the one hand, and from Egypt on the other.By the way of the Red Sea,i.e., towards the Red Sea; here apparently the Elanitic Gulf (cf.Numbers 11:31).

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