Why Did Hashem Severely Punish the Generation of the Desert? Part 2

Rina asks: ​"At the sin of the Golden Calf, God wanted to destroy the people of Israel, and later, because of the sin of the spies, He punished them to wander in the desert for forty years. Could it really be that our Father in Heaven would have wiped us out in the desert after bringing us out of Egypt?"

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In the previous article, we learned from the Torah’s prophecy that all sins were foreseen in advance, and there was never an intention to annihilate the Jewish People in the desert. In this article, we will see that even the punishments in the wilderness were planned and carried out with mercy.

The Sin of the Golden Calf

God spared His people after the Golden Calf when Moshe (Moses) prayed on their behalf. A simple reader might think this was a chance event that could have ended differently.

However, God had chosen His people from the beginning, and He had chosen all His prophets in advance: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you came forth out of the belly, I sanctified you as a prophet” (Yirmiyahu 1:5).

The Midrash tells how God chose Moshe after he carried a thirsty lamb on his shoulders with compassion. At that moment: “God said: Since you have compassion to tend the sheep of flesh and blood, by your life — you will shepherd My flock, Israel” (Shemot Rabbah 2:2).

Just as God, who sees all generations in advance, could not make a “mistake” in choosing His chosen nation, so too He could not make a mistake in choosing His prophets. God chose Moshe to be the redeemer of Israel and the giver of the Torah precisely because He knew Moshe's pure heart and great compassion, and that he would pray for the people in their time of sin.

The Sages explained that when God threatened destruction at the Golden Calf — “Now leave Me, that My anger may burn against them, and I will consume them, and I will make of you a great nation” (Shemot 32:10), the phrase “Now leave Me” was a deliberate clue. Is it possible that the Creator of the universe needs “permission” from a human being? Rather, as the Midrash explains, it was like a king angry with his son, crying out “Leave me so I can strike him!” — hinting that he wanted someone to intercede.

Thus, God was signaling to Moshe: “Pray for them.” Even in the Torah’s harshest rebukes, God had already prepared the remedy. The story unfolded exactly as planned — with Moses stepping in as advocate for Israel.

The Sin of the Spies

The generation of the desert was on a spiritual level far beyond ours. They experienced prophetic revelation at Sinai and daily miracles in the desert. Due to this high level, they were judged by a higher standard.

The spies were not ordinary men, but righteous and wise leaders of the tribes. Their sin was not in reporting what they saw, but in spreading slander about the land, leading the people to despair and accuse God of hating them. This was a grievous public sin, undermining trust in God after all the miracles He had performed.

The spies were punished immediately as atonement, necessary for their souls. The people too were punished measure for measure: because they refused to trust God to bring them into the Land, they themselves would not enter. Only Joshua and Caleb, who trusted fully in God, were permitted to enter with the next generation.

However, even this punishment was wrapped in mercy. By strict justice, the people should have perished immediately because they accused God of bringing them to die at the hands of their enemies. Instead, God spared them, sustained them for forty years under the Clouds of Glory, fed and clothed them miraculously, and raised their children to inherit the Land.

God compared this to a father disciplining his child: “…Your clothes did not wear out on you, nor did your feet swell these forty years. Know in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you” (Devarim 8:4–5).

Today we live in a time of hiddenness and trials very different from those of the desert generation. God does not demand of us what we cannot bear — “The Holy One does not come with excessive demands upon His creatures.”

The harsh rebuke of the Torah can be difficult for us to relate to, but for earlier generations of great spiritual strength, they were fitting and even beneficial. For us, the emphasis is often on God’s revealed love, because our hearts need that reassurance.

God’s eternal love never changes, regardless of whether He acts with strict justice or with mercy, Today, the focus is more on His kindness, so that we can remember how deeply He loves each of us.

May we merit to see redemption soon, when His love will be revealed fully, without concealment.