A Thought on the Ma'apilim

BaMidbar chapter 14:28

אמר אלהם חי אני, נאם ה', אם לא כאשר דברתם באזני, כן אעשה לכם

This statement is basically Hashem making an oath that His word will be fulfilled, as if to say that if any of the men enter the Land of Israel, save Yehoshua and Kalev, it is as if to say that G-d's existence would be in question.

Therefore the Ma'apilim cannot succeed.  They are seemingly doing teshuvah and showing willingness to conquer the land, a mitzvah in itself.  But doing a mitzvah in order to deny G-d's existence is no mitzvah at all, and the efforts invested are devoid of Divine Assistance.

That is the message for today.  It is not enough to fight against the wicked because they are trying to kill us, making it ever so hard to create a Place Among the Nations in the New Middle East.  That is to say that our purpose in life, when not speaking about the wars, cannot be to create the Place Among the Nations in the New Middle East, but rather to fulfill G-d's Will.  When that happens, Divine Assistance shines upon us.  For when we know why we are here, we will also change the way we act (and not needlessly endanger our own lives), and we will be worthy such that the decree will be fulfilled, as it is written אם בחקותי תלכו (If you follow my statues).