Parshat Shelach 5786 - "במספר הימים אשר־תרתם את־הארץ"

This week parsha is פרשת שלח, where משה sends the מרגלים to scout out ארץ כנען - a mission which lasts for 40 days. However, upon their return, the spies attempt to rally עם ישראל against entering ארץ כנען, claiming that its inhabitants are too strong to be defeated. Their report sparks an uprising amongst the nation, who even begin to plan a return to Egypt. In response, HaShem declares that this generation will not enter ארץ כנען, and that בני ישראל will wander in the מדבר for 40 years, “במספר הימים אשר־תרתם את־הארץ - according to the number of days that you spied the land”. This naturally raises 2 questions: Why should the punishment correspond to the number of days that the spies scouted ארץ כנען, and what exactly is this penalty’s purpose?