For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years until all the fighting men who had left Egypt died off, because they didn't obey what the LORD told them to do. The LORD had sworn that he wouldn't let them see the promised land—the land flowing with milk and honey that he had promised to give their ancestors.
This verse explains that an entire generation of Israelites died in the wilderness because of their disobedience, never getting to see the promised land God had sworn to give them.
📚 Historical Context
This refers to the consequences of Israel's rebellion at Kadesh-barnea, when they refused to enter the promised land after the negative report from ten of the twelve spies. As punishment, God decreed that generation would wander in the wilderness until they died, and only their children would inherit the land. The phrase 'land flowing with milk and honey' was a common description of Canaan's fertility and abundance.
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