Numbers 14:20

“And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word.] So as not to kill them utterly as one man: which is an instance of his being plenteous in mercy, and ready to forgive; and of the virtue and efficacy of the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, and of the great regard the Lord has to the prayers of a good man for others. The Jerusalem Targum is, “and the Word of the Lord said, lo, I have remitted and forgiven according to thy word;” which must be understood of Christ, the essential Word, and shows, according to the sense of the Targumist, that he has a power to forgive sin, and must be a divine Person, for none can forgive sin but God; (see <410207> Mark 2:7,10).”

“I have pardoned - So far as not utterly to destroy them. Numbers 14:21”

“14:20-25 As a result of Moses’ argument, the Lord pardoned Israel’s rebellion and did not obliterate them, but the obstinate adult generation would never see the Promised Land.”

“In answer to this importunate prayer, the Lord promised forgiveness, namely, the preservation of the nation, but not the remission of the well-merited punishment. At the rebellion at Sinai, He had postponed the punishment "till the day of His visitation" ( Exo 32:34). And that day had now arrived, as the people had carried their continued rebellion against the Lord to the furthest extreme, even to an open declaration of their intention to depose Moses, and return to Egypt under another leader, and thus had filled up the measure of their sins. "Nevertheless," added the Lord ( Num 14:21, Num 14:22), "as truly as I live, and the glory of Jehovah will fill the whole earth, all the men who have…”