S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

"Wilderness wandering" refers to the plight of the Israelites due to their disobedience and unbelief. Nearly 3,500 years ago, the Lord delivered His people from Egyptian bondage as described in Exo...

Login or Sign Up to view the rest of this answer.

July 01 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

JEAN KABUYA Supporter Pastor @Breath of Life

The answer to this question starts in Genesis chapter 15:1-21.
From verses 13 to 21 we read:

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full...

18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. 

To answer your question, you can read the Book of Numbers the all chapters 13 and 14.

God kept (punished) Israel in the desert for 40 years, because of their lack of trust and faith in Him. 

In Numbers 14:26-39 King James Version we read:

26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. 28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:

29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me. 30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. 

32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. 34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. 36 And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land...

Israel was a stiff-necked (stubborn, obstinate) people that doubted God, who had delivered them with many wonders and miracles from the mighty hand of Pharaoh; God protected them with a wall of fire separating them from Pharaoh’s chariots:They crossed the red sea with their dry feet; In the desert, God provided them with bread, meat and water. None among them was neither sick, nor had swelling feet.

But sent to explore the land God had promised them; the land flowing with milk and honey with huge grapes! So heavy that they were to be carried by two strong men.

Israel rebelled against God losing trust and faith because: They saw the Giants, sons of Anak to whom they compared themselves to small locusts;
fortified and high gates (a Goliath for them at that time). Israel said that Canaan was the land which swallows its inhabitants. They doubted God, murmured against Him, and against Moses and Aaron His servants (except Oshea son of Nun of the Tribe of Ephraim (named later Joshuah by Moses) and Caled Son of Jephunneh of the Tribe of Judah. 

As we read it in the Epistle to Hebrews chapters 3 and 4, God pronounced His sentence. 

Stay blessed brethren

November 08 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Dorcas Sitali Supporter Miss Dorcas sitali

Israel was not cursed when they were in the wilderness Deuteronomy 8: 2 says remember how The LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart whether or not you would keep His commands.Vs 3 He humbled you causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers knew, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.Vs 4 your clothes did not wear out and you feet did not swell during these forty years.Vs 5 know the in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. 

Vs 6 observe the commands of the Lord your God walking in his ways and revering Him. Vs 7 for the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land one flowing with milk and honey.

The wilderness was a preparing stage for the Israelites on there way to possessing the promised land. It was also a place were they learn t the statues or commands of the LORD because their success in the land depended on there application of the the commands of the Lord as time and time again they were reminded that if the didn't obey God the would soon perish in that land.

The other reason is found in exodus 13:17 were God said... If they face war the might change there mind and go back to Egypt... The were no accustomed to war they were coming out of slavery.

October 28 2013 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jeffrey Johnson Supporter

Why was Israel cursed with forty years of wilderness wandering?

Israel was "cursed" with 40 years of wilderness wandering primarily due to the unbelief and rebellion of the generation that left Egypt, specifically their refusal to trust God would help them conquer the promised land after spies reported giant inhabitants. As punishment for this lack of faith and disobedience, God decreed that everyone from that generation (aged 20 and over) would die in the desert, allowing a new, faithful generation to enter the land. 

The following Bible verses tell us why the Nation of Israel had to wander through the wilderness for 40 years:

Numbers 13: 25-33 ESV:

And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days. 26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, and said, "We came unto the land whither thou sentest us; and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28 Howbeit the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, and very great: and we saw the children of Anak there. 29 Amalek dwelleth in the land of the South: and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, dwell in the hill-country; and the Canaanite dwelleth by the sea, and along by the side of the Jordan." 30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." 31 But the men that went up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we." 32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, "The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."

After 40 days, the spies returned, bringing back figs, pomegranates, and grapes. The spies reported: "It is a good land, but the people are strong and the cities have high walls." Then Caleb said, "We can conquer them. Let's go right away!" Do you know why Caleb said that? Because he and Joshua trusted in Jehovah. But the other ten spies said: "No! The people there are huge, like giants! We seemed like grasshoppers next to them."

The Israelites were discouraged. They began to complain and say to one another, "Let's choose a different leader and go back to Egypt. Why should we go to this place and be killed?" Joshua and Caleb said, "Obey Jehovah, and do not be afraid. Jehovah will protect us." But the Israelites would not listen. They even wanted to kill Joshua and Caleb.

Of the twelve spies, only two, Joshua and Caleb, returned with a favourable report. They were grateful for what God had provided, and they brought back proof that it was a prosperous land. They advised: "Let us go up right now!'" But the majority said: "Ah, no, we will stay right here. We are satisfied with things the way they are." The Israelites and ten of the spies who looked over the land were too indifferent to work for the inheritance God had promised them. The ten spies of little faith influenced the whole nation, and as a result, the older generation never got into the Promised Land. 

Instead, it was their children who received the promise, and Caleb and Joshua accompanied them into the Promised Land because they were faithful and gave an accurate report.

5 days ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report