Moses' Intercession for Israel at Kadesh-Barnea (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Wednesday October 8, 2025

Prayer Series: Moses’ Intercession for Israel at Kadesh-Barnea

Lesson # 22

One of the most fascinating, courageous, and instructive prayers in the Bible is that of Moses’ intercessory prayer for the children of Israel at Kadesh-Barnea (Num 14:17-20).

Now, in order to understand and gain a true appreciation of this wonderful prayer, we must be aware of the circumstances surrounding this prayer and the context in which it is offered.

The story picks up with the nation of Israel poised to enter the land of Canaan, which was promised to Abraham.

At the people’s request, and with the approval of the Lord to test Israel’s faith in Him, Moses sent out the leaders of the tribe of Israel to perform a reconnaissance of the land of Canaan.

According to Numbers 12:16, the citizens of Israel left Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran but eventually, according to Deuteronomy 1:19, they camped in a place called Kadesh-Barnea.

Remember, the Lord promised Israel the land of Canaan as part of the Palestinian Covenant.

In Numbers 13, the Israelites were poised to enter the land of Canaan and attack it from the southern gateway, but still lacked the confidence in the Lord to receive the promise of the land, thus, the people requested that Moses make a reconnaissance of the land, rather than accept the Lord’s promise.

Numbers 13:1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.” (NIV84)

“Explore” is the third person masculine plural qal imperfect form of the verb tur (תּור), which does not mean, “to spy,” since the men sent out by Moses did not act as spies as is done today in modern international affairs but rather, the word refers to a “military reconnaissance” and inspection of the land.

According to Deuteronomy 1:22-23, the idea of making a reconnaissance of the land of Canaan did not originate with the Lord, but rather it stemmed from the unbelieving citizens of Israel.

It is clearly implied that the Lord ordered the reconnaissance as a testing, not that “He” might know the state of their hearts, but that “they” might know (John 6:5-6), thus, He agreed to the reconnaissance in order to reveal the unbelief of the people.

Numbers 13:17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.) 21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. 26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (NIV84)

The Nephilim, in Numbers 13:33, are not related to the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis 6:1-4, the offspring of the demon possessed men and women, since the Nephilim of Genesis 6:4 were destroyed in the Noahic Flood by God.

Unlike the Nephilim of Genesis 6:4, the Nephilim in Numbers 13:33 are simply a race of giants whose ancestors were of Anak.

These men, in Numbers 13:31, that were sent to make reconnaissance of the land, were not operating according to faith and they were disobedient to the Lord’s command to enter a land that was promised to them.

Caleb and Joshua demonstrated their faith by obeying the Lord’s command to take possession of the land of Canaan.

Joshua and Caleb were not looking at the obstacles, but rather were concentrating on the Lord’s promise, in Exodus 23:27-30, that He would go ahead of Israel in battle to take possession of the land.

Numbers 14:1 reveals the consequences of not operating according to faith.

Numbers 14:1 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. (NIV84)

By assuming this posture in prayer, Moses and Aaron were expressing humility in their worship and reverence towards the Lord.

This act of prostration before the Lord, by both Aaron and Moses, prefigures the mediatorial ministry of Christ (Matt. 26:39) and His pleading before God on our behalf (Heb 4:14-16; 7:25) and for us by the Spirit’s ministry (Rom 8:26).

Moses fell on his face, many times, in an attempt to intercede for the children of Israel when they rebelled against the Lord (Num 14:6-12; 16:3-4, 43-45; 20:6; Deut 9:18).

The Lord, provoked to anger by unbelieving Israel, presented Moses with two offers in Numbers 14:12.

First, He would destroy the idolatrous Israelites and, second, He would make out of Moses an entire new nation but Moses rejected both offers.

Numbers 14:15 If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.’ 17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.” (NIV84)

In his integrity, Moses had no interest in using someone else’s failure to promote his own success, so he rejected both offers and, instead, asked the Lord to forgive His people and give them another chance.

While this offer was tempting, Moses was taught by the Lord to be merciful and compassionate.

Note that God did not intend to destroy Israel because His will was to show forgiveness and mercy to Israel, despite their rebellion.

Moses knew this and, thus, appealed to the will of God.

The graciousness of the Lord in forgiving sin demonstrates the glory of God (Exo 33:18-19; Exo 34:5-7).

This intercessory prayer by Moses was noble and presented him as a striking type of Christ, who is the mediator between God and man.

Moses, like Christ, wanted God to be glorified (Num 14:13-16), and like Christ, Moses appealed to God’s power, longsuffering, mercy, grace, and justice (Num 14:17-18), as the basis for forgiving His people (v.19).

Moses’ intercessory prayer, which appealed to God’s glory and His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prevented the total destruction of the nation of Israel.

Moses demonstrated his tremendous leadership skills in this intercessory prayer and he also demonstrated selflessness and love for his people, as well as deep humility and reverence for the Lord.

Numbers 14:20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked.” (NIV84)

Once again, we see the Lord demonstrating His mercy, compassion, and loyal love to His people.

The Lord was time and time again merciful to the rebellious Exodus generation (Neh 9:17, 31; Psa 78:38).

His mercy was, is, and will be expressed towards every believer, in every dispensation, who executes the Lord’s plan (Psa 103:11).

The Lord expressed His mercy towards the Exodus generation when they were slaves to Pharaoh and the Egyptians in Exodus 3:7.

His compassion will be expressed towards Israel when they re-gather from throughout the entire world and are restored during the Millennium (Deut. 30:3).

The Lord expressed His mercy towards Israel by sending prophets to warn them of the impending discipline because of failure to confess sin and adhere to His Word.