In the preceding verses (Numbers 14:13-1913And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) 14And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. 15Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, 16Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. 17And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, 18The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. 19Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. (Numbers 14:13‑19)), Moses has interceded on behalf of the people. “And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for Thou broughtest up this people in Thy might from among them;) and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that Thou Lord art among this people, that Thou Lord art seen face to face, and that Thy cloud standeth over them, and that Thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if Thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of Thee will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which He sware unto them, therefore He hath slain them in the wilderness. And now, I beseech Thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as Thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of Thy mercy, and as Thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”
Moses, is often a type of the Lord Jesus, as our mediator and intercessor. As a result of Moses’s interceding, God in His longsuffering and mercy pardons, and graciously declares that He will forgive, and carry His people through, although, as we will see in a subsequent section, there would be governmental consequences.
Though sin abounds, though failure’s ripe,
Though we complain, murmur, and gripe;
Our God is merciful and kind,
Gracious and loving; still we find
He pardons for His own name’s sake,
He’ll not abandon, nor forsake:
To Him we fly, His goodness, plead,
Restoring grace in time of need.
Faithful, though we unfaithful prove,
Nothing His glory can remove;
He never can Himself deny,
On this great truth our souls rely:
In spite of us, He is the same,
Enduring is His blessed name,
Nothing, His purposes will thwart,
On this we count, to this resort.