Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 17:12-13

"And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. Every one that cometh near, that cometh near unto the tabernacle of Jehovah, dieth: shall we perish all of us?" — Numbers 17:12-13 (ASV)

And the children of Israel spoke to Moses... — The special manifestations of Divine power that the Israelites had witnessed stirred within them salutary emotions of awe and anxious apprehension. However, these experiences do not seem to have awakened in them any corresponding sense of gratitude, either for their deliverance from the plague or for the privileges they enjoyed because of the Divine presence among them. The true answer to their inquiry whether they were doomed to perish completely is contained in the following chapter, in which the priesthood of Christ is typically set forth as bearing the iniquity of the sanctuary, and thus making reconciliation for the sins and securing the acceptance of the imperfect service of His people.