Why do students have to take a class or grade over again? They did not learn what they were supposed to learn in that season, so they are required to do the class or grade over again.
Why did Israel go around the mountain for 40 years? What did going around the mountain for 40 years represent? It represented doing the same thing over and over again. It represented a lesson that needed to be learned but could not be learned, and therefore, the class or lesson had to be taken over and over again.
What did Israel not learn? They could not learn to trust God and, therefore, missed the promised land. What is the opposite of trust? What did Israel do to show their lack of trust?
They complained and rebelled against Moses. They complained about their situation. They were a people easily offended. They complained about God in the dark. They had refused to move forward. They had complained it would have been better if God had never taken them out of Egypt.
Trust is learned when you come to complete abandonment of your previous life and come to fully depend on God and His government structure. Otherwise, there are the Baptist and Presbyterian churches where they will leave u alone to attend quietly.
Pastor Steve Kim