The answer
St. Basil says, “Whose bodies fell in the wilderness? (Heb. 3:17; cf. Num. 14:29, 32–33). Was it not those who desired to eat meat [Num. 11:33]? As long as they were content with manna and water from the rock, they conquered the Egyptians, and they travelled through the sea. In their tribes were none who fell behind (Ps. 105:37). But when they remembered the fleshpots and returned to Egypt in their hearts (see Ex. 16:3), they did not see the promised land.”416
Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty
Notes
416 St. Basil of Caesarea, On Fasting and Feasts 1.9 (PP 50:67–68).