20 Then the LORD said, "I have pardoned, according to your word.
21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD,
22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice,
23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.
God has agreed to pardon Israel and to not wipe them out for their failure to trust him to take them safely into the promised land. However, he will not let anyone from the current generation into the land who did not trust him. This leads to everyone in Israel dying in the wilderness, except for Caleb and Joshua.
What is interesting in this passage is the oath that God makes. He makes the oath based upon two absolutely certain things to show that his oath is absolutely certain. The two certainties are:
- That he (God) lives, that he exists and is real
- That the earth will (eventually) be filled with his glory
These two certainties are strongly opposed to the unbelief which is here condemning Israel. It is precisely these two certainties which they do not believe to be true and which will lead to their missing out on the blessing. If Israel believed these things they would have no problem trusting God to bring them safely into the promised land.