Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

The Lord promised to spare Israel from immediate destruction,
but because of their unbelief and lack of bravery He could not use
His power to subdue their enemies, so in His mercy He had them
turn back toward the Red Sea.
In their rebellion the people had exclaimed, "If only we had
died in this wilderness!" Now this prayer would be granted: "Just as
you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses
of you who have complained against me shall fall in this wilderness,
all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number,
from twenty years old and above. ... But your little ones, who you
said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land
which you have despised." And of Caleb He said, "My servant
Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me
fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants
shall inherit it." As the spies had spent forty days in their journey, so
the people of Israel were to be wanderers in the wilderness for forty
years.
An Example of False Repentance
When Moses told the people God's decision, they knew that
their punishment was fair. The ten unfaithful spies, struck by God
with the plague, died in the sight of all Israel, and in their death the
people could see their own doom.
Now they seemed to repent sincerely, but they were sorry for
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