The plan of sending the spies originated with the people; and, as in itself a reasonable one, it approved itself to Moses; it was submitted to God, sanctioned by Him, and carried out under special divine direction. The orator’s purpose in this chapter is to bring before the people emphatically their own responsibilites and behavior. It is therefore important to remind them, that the sending of the spies, which led immediately to their complaining and rebellion, was their own suggestion.
The following verses to the end of the chapter give a condensed account, the fuller one being in Num. 13–14, of the occurrences which led to the banishment of the people for 40 years into the wilderness.