The lesson is that unbelief—refusing to take God at His word—keeps people from entering His rest, exactly as it kept Israel out of the Promised Land.
At Kadesh-barnea, Israel stood at the border of a land God had promised to give them, yet they murmured and feared the inhabitants. God judged that generation, and Hebrews explains why: 'they could not enter in because of unbelief' (Hebrews 3:19). Les Feldick applies this to every person: the world's central problem is still unbelief, and without faith it is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 3:19 — This verse plainly states why Israel could not enter God's rest: unbelief.
Numbers 14:3 — It records Israel's complaint at the threshold of the land, showing their lack of faith.
Hebrews 11:6 — It shows why unbelief is so serious—without faith it is impossible to please God.
At Kadesh-barnea, Israel stood at the border of the land God had promised. Their response was to murmur: "And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?" (Numbers 14:3). God replied through Moses, "As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness" (Numbers 14:28-29). The New Testament draws the permanent lesson: "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:19).
Les Feldick points to Kadesh-barnea as the prime Old Testament example of unbelief. He says the generation wasted forty years in the wilderness not because of immorality but because they would not believe God (Clip 1). God had already told them He would drive out the Canaanites and that everything would be ready for them, yet they rejected the promise and claimed they were like grasshoppers (Clips 2, 6). Les says this was God's constant controversy with the nation: they could not believe Him even after all His visible power (Clip 3). He then applies it directly—the problem in Christianity and in the world today is the same unbelief, and without faith it is impossible to please God (Clips 1, 3, 7).
God had promised to drive out the Canaanites before them and to give them vineyards, orchards, farms, and houses that were already ready (Clip 6). Nevertheless, the people cried out at Kadesh-barnea, asking why the LORD had brought them there to fall by the sword, and the spies declared that the people were like grasshoppers compared to the giants (Clips 0, 2). Israel's refusal was rooted in unbelief: they could not believe what God had said, so they asked Moses to send spies as their first step instead of trusting God's promise (Clip 6).
The writer of Hebrews says, "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:19). Les Feldick stresses that the forty wasted years were not due to immorality, even though Israel had been guilty of much of that, but strictly unbelief (Clip 1). He calls it the thing God hates most of all—man's refusal to believe what He has said (Clip 7).
Les applies the Kadesh-barnea account directly to the present: 'What's the matter with Christianity tonight? Unbelief.' People simply cannot break down and say, 'Yeah, I believe what God says' (Clip 1). He says the world's problem is not a lack of technology, education, or intelligence, but that people cannot believe when they read or hear the Word of God, and without faith it is impossible to please Him (Clips 3, 7).
Israel's Murmuring at Kadesh-barnea
Les shows the people at Kadesh-barnea wept and murmured, fearing the sword and the giants, even though the land was flowing with milk and honey—and God responded that their carcasses would fall in the wilderness.
Unbelief, Not Immorality, Kept Them Out
Les stresses that the forty wasted years were not caused by immorality but by unbelief, and he says the same unbelief is the problem in Christianity today.
Rejecting God's Promise
Les describes how Israel rejected God's promise of the land at Kadesh-barnea, saying they were like grasshoppers and could not take the cities.
No Faith Cannot Please God
Les says the world's problem is not lack of technology or education but inability to believe what God has said; without faith, pleasing God is impossible.
A Remnant of Believers
Even when Israel turned back in unbelief, there has always been a remnant of true believers, and that remnant will spare the nation at the end of the age.
They Could Not Enter Because of Unbelief
Les quotes Hebrews 3:18-19 to show that Israel could not enter God's rest because they did not believe.
God's Promise and Their Unbelief
Les explains that God said He would drive out the Canaanites and leave everything ready, but Israel's first step of unbelief was asking for spies instead of taking God at His word.
God Hates Unbelief
Les says God hates unbelief more than immorality, drunkenness, or thievery, because man refuses to believe what God has said.
Numbers 14:3: And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
Israel's complaint at Kadesh-barnea shows their refusal to trust God's promise.
Numbers 14:28: Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
God's response to Israel's murmuring.
Numbers 14:29: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
The judgment of unbelief on that generation.
Hebrews 3:19: So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
The New Testament conclusion about why Israel failed.
Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Les applies the lesson that no faith cannot please God.
They did not believe God's promise. Hebrews 3:19 says they could not enter because of unbelief. Les Feldick emphasizes that it was not immorality but a refusal to trust God.
Yes. He says the problem with Christianity and the world tonight is unbelief; people cannot break down and say they believe what God says.
Les says God hates unbelief more than immorality, drunkenness, or thievery, because it is man refusing to believe what God has said, and without faith it is impossible to please Him.
Watch the Teaching: Why Israel Rejected the Promised Land — Kadesh-Barnea Explained