What is the meaning of Joshua 5:6? For the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness forty years God’s timetable was precise. The forty years matched the forty days the spies had explored Canaan (Numbers 14:34). Every sunrise in that desert underscored that sin has consequences and that God keeps His word, whether in promise or in discipline. Forty often marks periods of testing in Scripture—Moses on Sinai (Exodus 24:18), Elijah on the way to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8), and Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–2). In each case, the lesson is the same: God is faithful and His people must learn to trust Him. until all the nation’s men of war who had come out of Egypt had died The generation that witnessed the plagues, the Red Sea crossing, and Sinai’s fire still refused to believe God could defeat the giants of Canaan (Numbers 13–14). Therefore, they died short of the promise, except Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 14:30). Their graves scattered in the desert formed a visible reminder to the younger Israelites: unbelief forfeits blessings. Deuteronomy 2:14 records that the last of these warriors passed away before Israel crossed Moab, showing that God’s sentence was carried out to the letter. since they did not obey the LORD Disobedience was the root, but the deeper issue was unbelief (Hebrews 3:16–19). They grumbled (Exodus 16:2), tested God (Numbers 14:22), and even threatened to stone Moses (Numbers 14:10). Disobedience is never a mere mistake; it is a heart refusing to trust God’s goodness and power. First Samuel 15:22 reminds us that “to obey is better than sacrifice,” echoing the call that faith must be lived out in action. So the LORD vowed never to let them see the land He had sworn to their fathers to give us God’s oath of exclusion (Numbers 14:23) sits beside His oath of inheritance to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 15:18; 26:3; 28:13). Both are equally certain. Divine promises are irrevocable, but participation in those promises can be forfeited by unbelief. Deuteronomy 1:35–36 reiterates that only those who wholly followed the LORD would enter. God’s character shines here: patient, just, and unchanging. a land flowing with milk and honey This phrase paints Canaan as a place of rich pasture (milk) and abundant agriculture (honey), first promised in Exodus 3:8. It symbolizes God’s desire to bless His people materially and spiritually (Deuteronomy 6:10–12). Yet the abundance was never an end in itself; it was meant to deepen Israel’s gratitude and obedience (Deuteronomy 8:7–10). The same pattern carries into the New Testament, where believers are given “every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3) so that gratitude might fuel faithfulness. summary Joshua 5:6 explains why Israel camped on Canaan’s edge with a new generation ready for conquest. The verse looks back: forty years of wilderness wandering purged the disbelieving warriors. It highlights the cause: disobedience rooted in unbelief. It underscores God’s unbreakable word: He both withholds and bestows exactly as He promises. Finally, it points forward: the land of milk and honey still awaits those who trust and obey. |
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