Numbers 14:39

“And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel, etc.] That all that had murmured, who were of twenty years old and upwards, should die in the wilderness, and never see nor enter into the land of Canaan, on the borders of which they now were: and the people mourned greatly; because of their unhappy case, that they should be cut off by death in the wilderness, and be deprived of the enjoyment of the good land; their sorrow seems to have been not a godly sorrow, or true repentance for sin committed, but a worldly sorrow that works death; it was not on account of the evil of sin, the pardon of which they did not seem to seek after, but on account of the evil that was likely to come…”

“And the people mourned greatly - But it was now too late. There was now no place for repentance. Such mourning as this there is in hell; but the tears will not quench the flames. Numbers 14:40”

“14:39-45 The threat of divine punishment for their sins brought grief to the people of Israel, but their hearts were still rebellious and they again disobeyed the Lord’s command (14:25). The promise of God’s presence had been the basis for Caleb and Joshua’s initial confidence (14:9), but God would not fight alongside the Israelites until all the rebels had died.”

“mourned greatly: Exo 33:4; Pro 19:3; Isa 26:16; Mat 8:12; Heb 12:17 Numbers 14:40”

“(cf. Deu 1:41-44). The announcement of the sentence plunged the people into deep mourning. But instead of bending penitentially under the judgment of God, they resolved to atone for their error, by preparing the next morning to go to the top of the mountain and press forward into Canaan. And they would not even suffer themselves to be dissuaded from their enterprise by the entreaties of Moses, who denounced it as a transgression of the word of God which could not succeed, and predicted their overthrow before their enemies, but went presumptuously (לעלות יעפּלוּ) up without the ark of the covenant and without Moses, who did not depart out of the midst of the camp, and were smitten by the…”