“Shall we be consumed with dying?”
The full verse · Numbers 17:13 · KJV
Whosoever cometh any thing unto the of the shall : shall we be with ?
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Moses as mediator, though the fear extends toward God himself whose holiness has been dramatically demonstrated through recent judgments.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe Israelites express existential dread that God’s holiness makes any approach to him fatal, questioning whether the entire nation will be consumed. By framing their terror as a question rather than a statement, they invite Moses to address whether survival near God’s presence is even possible.
The Response
What Scripture recordsGod does not verbally respond to this question in the immediate text. Instead, Numbers 18 follows with detailed regulations establishing the Levitical priesthood’s role as mediators, bearing ‘iniquity connected with the sanctuary’ so that ‘there may be no more wrath on the people of Israel’ (Numbers 18:1, 5).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThe question ‘Are we all to perish?’ reveals Israel’s paralysis between God’s terrifying holiness and their need for his presence. The Hebrew construction uses הֲתַמְנוּ לִגְווֹעַ (hatamnu ligvo’a), literally ‘shall we finish by perishing?’, suggesting inevitable, complete consumption. What makes this a question rather than a mere lament is its implicit plea for Moses to explain how survival near God’s dwelling is possible. The double occurrence of the root גוע (to expire) in verse 13 creates rhetorical intensity, everyone who approaches dies; will we all therefore die? This question crystallizes the central theological tension of the Torah: God’s people need his presence to survive as a nation, yet his holiness makes that presence potentially fatal. The question demands and receives an answer in God’s establishment of the Levitical system, where designated mediators bear the burden of iniquity so the people can live near their God without being consumed.
Your fear of God’s holiness is healthy, but it shouldn’t drive you from him, it should drive you to Christ. The Israelites rightly recognized that sinful people cannot casually approach a holy God, a truth many today have forgotten in treating God as a cosmic buddy. Yet their terror missed what God was providing: a priesthood to mediate access. You now have something infinitely better, Jesus Christ, the great High Priest who has opened ‘a new and living way’ into God’s presence (Hebrews 10:19-20). When you feel unworthy to approach God, remember that your access depends not on your worthiness but on Christ’s finished work. The same holiness that should terrify you has been satisfied by his blood, turning the throne of judgment into a throne of grace where you are invited to ‘come boldly’ (Hebrews 4:16). Don’t let fear keep you distant from the Father who sacrificed his Son so you could draw near.
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Keep questioning
“Why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?”
“Whither shall we go up?”
“Therefore why should we die?”
“The people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?”