If only they had listened to the minority report from Caleb and Joshua, who stood up at this point and again, proclaimed the power of God.

Num 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, [which were] of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
Num 14:7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, [is] an exceeding good land.
Num 14:8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
Num 14:9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they [are] bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD [is] with us: fear them not.

Had they listened to them their attitude would have been much better:
They would have obeyed God
Insisted they should enter and possess the land
Displayed courage rooted in faith
Felt calm assurance
Saw themselves in relationship to God

The results?

Num 14:10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

Now God has to intervene, because mob mentality just got beyond stupid, and their stupidity almost cost them their lives.

Num 14:11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
Num 14:12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

You know…God has a limit too. He gets tired of foolishness like the rest of us. His patience with lack of faith wears thin, and sometimes He will just allow us to inherit from our own stupidity. Here these people are not only discrediting God and His power, but they are threatening the lives of His chosen leaders. He’s not going to tolerate that. Their blessing was Moses’ compassion, and His regard for the Name of the Lord. He takes on a Christ-like position, playing advocate for the people.

Num 14:13 And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear [it], (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)
Num 14:14 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.
Num 14:15 Now [if] thou shalt kill [all] this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
Num 14:16 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.
Num 14:17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
Num 14:18 The 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].
Num 14:19 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.

He gives a very eloquent speech, specifying that if God kills them all, other nations would say that God is not the all powerful, most high God, because of not being able to bring these people into the land He swore to give them. God’s reputation is at stake. He also calls upon God’s great mercy which spares the lives of the guilty and the foolish.

God’s answer shows why some people attain, and some people remain in the same or a lesser state of lack until they perish. He refuses to let a faithless generation define Him in the earth, and He rewards the faithful few.

Num 14:21 But [as] truly [as] I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.
Num 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

Note how He says, they tempted Him “ten times;” once for each of the ten who gave the bad report against God.

Num 14:23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
Num 14:24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
Num 14:25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
Num 14:26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 14:27 How long [shall I bear with] this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
Num 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:

Here again is a principle that people keep failing to remember. Power is in the tongue, and what you speak forth, whether it be in faith, or in fear, will come to pass; so let your words be well chosen, and keep your eyes on God and not your circumstances.

Num 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,
Num 14:30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, [concerning] which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
Num 14:31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
Num 14:32 But [as for] you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.