God had made it their privilege and their duty to enter the land at the time of His appointment, but through their willful neglect that permission had been withdrawn. Satan had gained his object in preventing them from entering Canaan; and now he urged them on to do the very thing, in the face of the divine prohibition, which they had refused to do when God required it. Thus the great deceiver gained the victory by leading them to rebellion the second time. They had distrusted the power of God to work with their efforts in gaining possession of Canaan; yet now they presumed upon their own strength to accomplish the work independent of divine aid. "We have sinned against the Lord," they cried; "we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us." Deuteronomy 1:41. So terribly blinded had they become by transgression. The Lord had never commanded them to "go up and fight." It was not His purpose that they should gain the land by warfare, but by strict obedience to His commands.

På det tidspunkt, Gud havde berammet, var det både deres forret og deres pligt at drage ind i landet, men denne tilladelse blev trukket tilbage, fordi de nægtede at opfylde Guds krav. Satan havde nået sit mål: at forhindre deres indmarch i Kanaan. Nu tilskyndede han dem - på trods af Guds forbud - til at gøre det selvsamme, som de nægtede at gøre, da Gud forlangte det. Den store forfører vandt sejr ved at få dem til at gøre oprør for anden gang. De havde tvivlet på, at de kunne indtage Kanaan, selv om Gud forenede sin kraft med deres anstrengelser, men nu mente de, at de kunne klare opgaven uden Guds hjælp. "Vi har syndet imod Herren!" råbte de. "Vi vil drage op og kæmpe, som Herren vor Gud har befalet os!" 5. Mos. 1, 41. Så forblindede var de blevet på grund af deres overtrædelse! Herren havde aldrig befalet dem at "drage op og kæmpe". Det var ikke hans hensigt, at de skulle tage landet i besiddelse ved krig. Det skulle ske ved streng lydighed imod hans befalinger.