They accused Moses of being the cause of their not entering the Promised Land. They said that God had not dealt with them thus, and that He had not said that they should die in the wilderness, and they would never believe that He had said so; it was Moses who had said this, not the Lord; and it was all arranged by Moses never to bring them to the land of Canaan. They spoke of his leading them from a land that flowed with milk and honey. In their blind rebellion they forgot their sufferings in Egypt and the desolating plagues brought upon the land. And they now accuse Moses of bringing them from a good land to kill them in the wilderness, that he might be made rich with their possessions. They inquire of Moses, in an insolent manner, if he thought that none of all the host of Israel were wise enough to understand his motives and discover his imposture, or if he thought they would all submit to have him lead them about like blind men as he pleased, sometimes toward Canaan, then back again toward the Red Sea and Egypt. These words they spoke before the congregation, and they utterly refused any longer to acknowledge the authority of Moses and Aaron. {3T 348.1}

De anklagede Moses for at være årsag til at de ikke kom ind i det Forjættede Land. De sagde at Gud ikke havde behandlet dem således og at han ikke havde sagt at de skulle dø i ørknen og de ville aldrig tro at han havde sagt noget sådan; det var Moses som havde sagt dette, ikke Herren; og det hele var arrangeret af Moses for aldrig at bringe dem til Kanaanens land. De sagde at han ledte dem fra et land der flød med mælk og honning. I deres blinde oprør glemte de deres lidelser i Ægypten og de ulykkelige plager der kom over landet. Og de anklagede nu Moses for at bringe dem fra et godt land for at dræbe dem i ørknen, så han kunne blive rig ved deres ejendomme. De spurgte Moses, på en uforskammet måde, om han troede at ingen i alle Israels hære var kloge nok til at forstå hans motiver og opdage hans bedrageri, eller om han troede at de alle ville underkaste sig for at han skal lede dem rundt ligesom blinde mennesker efter hans behag, nogen gange mod Kanaan, så tilbage igen til det Røde Hav og Ægypten. Disse ord sagde de til menigheden og de afviste fuldstændig at anerkende Moses' og Arons myndighed længere.