The Lord commanded, “If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth”. However, the Lord gives protection to women living under their father’s house and to married women by allowing their father or husband to release them from a vow. Jesus will later go on to say, “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn. But I say to you, do not take an oath at all… And do not take an oath by your head, for you can not make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (Matthew 5:33-37). God knows we are prone to make vows we will not keep so He says keep it simple; be a man or woman of your word; yes means yes and no means no. Pretty soon in the story, during the Judges Era, we will meet a man named Jephthah who is going to make a very foolish vow to the Lord with a high cost, proving that the Lord takes seriously vows made to Him. 

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.’” The Midianites were joined with the Moabites in attempting to curse the Israelites in the wilderness with Balaam. The Midianites ultimately sent out their women along with the Moabite women to lead Israel into sexual sin and idolatry. So the Israelites kill all the Midianites, except for their virgin girls, and divide the spoils amongst themselves. “Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword.”

I know it is difficult to read about women and boys being killed, but remember, the women were the ones that seduced the Israelite men, and the Lord knows these boys could grow up and take revenge on His people. Also, God already warned the Israelites concerning the sexual sin and idolatry of the people around them, and He does not want the Israelites following their practices (Numbers 18). More battles and death are going to occur as the Israelites conquer the promised land. We must keep in mind that God is good and He knows the hearts and minds and future potential of everyone. The children of Israel will have to trust the Lord to protect them His way and to carry out His judgment on the wicked as He sees best, just as we have to trust Him too. 

Tomorrow some of the tribes are allocated their land, bringing us one more step closer to Jesus! (Numbers 30:1-31:54)

Today we meet the daughters of Zelophehad. They go before Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of all the congregation with a request to inherit the land of their deceased dad who had no sons. This is a bold move for these ladies and one done in faith. The daughters are asking for land they have not yet acquired, but they are trusting that the Lord will do what He said He will do and give the children of Israel the promised land. Moses, once again proving to be a wise leader, brings the request of the women before the Lord. And the Lord, once again proving to be fair, just, and gracious, honors the request of women of the congregation. The Lord not only honors the request from the daughters of Zelophehad, but He also makes a new rule for all the children of Israel, that the inheritance of a deceased father with no sons goes to the daughter. So stepping out boldly in faith paid off for the daughters of Zelophehad as well as others.

The Lord then tells Moses he can see the promised land but reminds him that he won’t enter it due to his rebellion – “For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” Moses, who is more concerned for the people than himself, responds – “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” 

Moses knows he is about to die, and he doesn’t want the people to be left without a good shepherd. Therefore, the Lord gives the Israelites a faithful leader, Joshua, who will bring them into the promised land. Joshua will encourage the Israelites to trust God, who is working His plan through them to bring the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. And when Jesus arrives on the scene He will say, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep… and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:11-16). Jesus is coming to lay down His life as a Good Shepherd does for His flock to provide a way in which we may enter green pastures of rest and eternal life – “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:7-19). 

After the inauguration of Joshua, Moses gives the daily, weekly, monthly, and annual laws of the sacrificial system and worship of the Lord to the new generation of the Israelites who are camped outside the promised land. Tomorrow the Israelites have some unfinished business to settle with the Midianites who used their women to make them stumble with idolatry and sexual sin. Keep reading. (Numbers 27:1-29:40)

Toward the end of this story we discover Balaam’s plan which entangled the Israelites in sexual sin and idolatry – “But I have a few things against you; you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14). Balaam knew he couldn’t curse the Israelites, so he came up with another plan to make them stumble by sending the women of Moab out to the Israelites’ camp. The women lured the men into idolatry and sexual sin. 

The children of Israel were clueless to all that the Lord was doing behind the scenes on their behalf. They had no knowledge that over and over and over again, the Lord was protecting them from being cursed by their enemies. So instead of trusting the Lord and walking by faith, the Israelites made a terrible decision based on their sight of the beautiful and manipulative women, which never goes well.

Therefore, “the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.” He said to the leaders, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.” Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson, shoves a javelin through a Midianite woman, Cozi, and an Israelite leader, Zimri, who were flaunting their harlotry in the sight of all the congregation in a tent near the tabernacle. Phinehas’ action ends the plague that the Lord sent upon the people and the Lord rewards Phinehas’ zeal with an everlasting priesthood to him and his descendants.

After the plague, the Lord instructs Moses and Aaron’s son Eleazar to take another census of the men age twenty and over who are eligible for war. The first census, in the beginning of the book of Numbers, totaled in 603,550 men. We see today, toward the end of the book of Numbers, about thirty eight years later, 601,730 men are counted. The Lord is faithful and has replaced the first generation of unbelieving Israelites, who did not take the promised land in the beginning of this wilderness journey, with a whole new generation who will take the promised land by faith. God is keeping His promise to Abraham that He would make a great nation out of his descendants and He would give them the land of Canaan – “Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8). 

Tomorrow the Lord replaces Moses with a new leader who will lead the people into the promised land. Keep reading. (Numbers 25:1-26:65)

Toward the end of this story we discover Balaam’s plan which entangled the Israelites in sexual sin and idolatry – “But I have a few things against you; you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14). Balaam knew he couldn’t curse the Israelites, so he came up with another plan to make them stumble by sending the women of Moab out to the Israelites’ camp. The women lured the men into idolatry and sexual sin. 

The children of Israel were clueless to all that the Lord was doing behind the scenes on their behalf. They had no knowledge that over and over and over again, the Lord was protecting them from being cursed by their enemies. So instead of trusting the Lord and walking by faith, the Israelites made a terrible decision based on their sight of the beautiful and manipulative women, which never goes well.

Therefore, “the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.” He said to the leaders, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.” Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson, shoves a javelin through a Midianite woman, Cozi, and an Israelite leader, Zimri, who were flaunting their harlotry in the sight of all the congregation in a tent near the tabernacle. Phinehas’ action ends the plague that the Lord sent upon the people and the Lord rewards Phinehas’ zeal with an everlasting priesthood to him and his descendants.

After the plague, the Lord instructs Moses and Aaron’s son Eleazar to take another census of the men age twenty and over who are eligible for war. The first census, in the beginning of the book of Numbers, totaled in 603,550 men. We see today, toward the end of the book of Numbers, about thirty eight years later, 601,730 men are counted. The Lord is faithful and has replaced the first generation of unbelieving Israelites, who did not take the promised land in the beginning of this wilderness journey, with a whole new generation who will take the promised land by faith. God is keeping His promise to Abraham that He would make a great nation out of his descendants and He would give them the land of Canaan – “Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8). 

Tomorrow the Lord replaces Moses with a new leader who will lead the people into the promised land. Keep reading. (Numbers 25:1-26:65)

The children of Israel are currently camped in the plains of Moab. Balak, the king of Moab, fears the Israelites so he joins forces with the Midianites, and together they send for the pagan prophet, Balaam, to get him to curse the Israelites. Now Balaam is a prophet who loves a profit (2 Peter 2:15-16). So he is eager for the job, and the Lord eventually tells Balaam he can go with them, but he can only say “the word which I speak to you – that you shall do.”

Balaam travels by donkey, and God uses the donkey to put Balaam in his place. See, God knows Balaam’s heart. God knows Balaam only cares about financial gain, but the Lord is going to use him for His glory and for the good of His people anyway. So the donkey speaks and rebukes Balaam for his spiritual blindness. Then the Lord opens Balaam’s eyes, and when Balaam sees the Angel of the Lord “he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.” God tells Balaam to go with the men, but He reminds him to only speak what the Lord speaks.

When Balaam comes to the city of Moab, King Balak takes Balaam up to the high places of Baal (a false god). There Balaam asks Balak to build seven altars to the Lord. However, instead of cursing the Israelites, Balaam blesses them. So Balak takes Balaam to two more locations hoping for a different outcome, but each time Balaam builds an altar and blesses the children of Israel according to the word of God.

Balak is infuriated that Balaam has blessed Israel. Therefore, he tells Balaam to go home without any payment because he did not curse the Israelites. Before Balaam leaves, he gives one last prophecy highlighting how the Lord will continue to bless Israel. He says, “A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel; and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult.” This prophecy is very similar to the blessing Jacob gave Judah in Genesis 49:10 – “The scepter shall not depart from Judah” pointing to the Messiah who is coming through the bloodline of Jacob’s son Judah and Judah’s descendant King David, who will one day rule over all the nations.

“So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way.” When Balaam returns home, he gets to thinking and comes up with an idea that will get him paid and make the children of Israel stumble. Tomorrow we will find out what that stumbling block is, so keep reading! (Numbers 22:1-24:25)

Today the people complain again because there is no water. God tells Moses and Aaron to take the rod, gather the congregation and “speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water.” Moses and Aaron take the rod and gather the congregation, but Moses out of anger says, “‘Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?’ Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.” 

The Lord is displeased with Moses’ and Aaron’s actions and responds by saying, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” So Moses disobeyed God by hitting the rock instead of speaking to the rock. Then Moses gave credit for the water to himself and Aaron when he said, “Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” As a punishment for their disobedience, neither of them will enter the promised land. We see that come true for Aaron as he dies in today’s reading, and his son Eleazar becomes the next high priest. 

The Lord will later say to Moses, “because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel. Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel” (Deuteronomy 32:51-52). The Lord is upset with Moses for misrepresenting Him and what He is doing through His Son, Jesus Christ the Rock. Jesus is coming to pour out living water, which is the Holy Spirit, on all who believe in Him. Later in the story, Paul will write a letter to the Corinthians reminding them of the failures of the Israelites in the wilderness and describing Jesus as the Rock – “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).

Moses already struck the rock once in Exodus 17:6 to provide water for the people just as Jesus will be struck once when He is crucified for the sins of the world. Then Jesus will rise from the dead, and forty days later He will ascend to the right hand of His Father in heaven. Ten days after the ascension to heaven, on the day of Pentecost, Jesus will pour out the Holy Spirit upon His people. However, before Jesus’ crucifixion, He will say to the worshipers at the Feast of Tabernacle – “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39). Some theologians believe that the Lord told Moses to speak to the rock instead of striking the rock again as a symbol of the everlasting prayers that will go up to Jesus our High Priest and Mediator.

After receiving water from a rock, the Israelites begin complaining again on their wilderness journey. Edom (descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother) refuses to let the Israelites cross through their land. Therefore, the Israelites turn and head in another direction where they encounter the Canaanites. The Canaanites attack them, but the Lord works on behalf of His people and defeats the Canaanites. However, the people grow weary and complain again about leaving Egypt and having no food or water. This time God sends fiery serpents to kill them, and Moses intercedes again for the people. The Lord instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. He says that anyone who looks at that serpent with a look of faith will live. This is foreshadowing the day that our Savior will be lifted up on a pole to shed His innocent blood for our sins so that anyone who looks upon Christ in faith will have victory over death.

The reading ends with the Lord giving the Israelites a great victory over their enemies Sihon and Og. This is such a huge defeat that later in the story a Canaanite harlot named Rahab will say, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (Joshua 2: 9-11). 

We will get to the story of Rahab soon, but next up is a talking donkey, so keep reading. (Numbers 19:1-21:35)

Korah, along with Dathan, Abiram, and two hundred and fifty men, challenge Moses and Aaron saying, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” Are Moses and Aaron exalting themselves? Doesn’t Moses keep asking the Lord why He made him lead these people? The Lord is the One to exalt, and He exalts the humble not the proud. We have already seen when someone is proud and tries to exalt himself that the Lord will humble him as He did with Miriam when He struck her with leprosy (Number 12:1-16). Moses, however, is “very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.” Therefore, the Lord is using him mightily as His faithful servant.

Moses responds saying, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.” So the Lord created a new thing “and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods… And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.” 

Now the entire congregation is complaining against Moses and Aaron for killing “the people of the Lord.” Were Moses and Aaron the ones who opened the earth and swallowed the people? No. It was God. God is just and He judges justly so we can trust that He knows who His people are and He knows the ones for whom He can open the earth and send to the pit. Therefore, the congregation’s complaint makes the Lord angry and He sends a plague. Moses has Aaron intercede for the people and the plague stops. However, fourteen thousand and seven hundred died in the plague. 

God then makes clear whom He appointed as leader with the budding rod contest between the leaders of each tribe. Aaron, representing the tribe of Levi, is the winner with the rod that sprouts buds and “produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.” Then God instructs Moses to place Aaron’s rod permanently before the Ark of the Covenant as a warning against the rebels and a testimony to God’s chosen leaders. The Lord reiterates that the priesthood was given to Aaron and his sons, and that all the tribe of Levi are to serve the tabernacle with them. We will find out when we get to the book of Hebrews that the children of Israel obeyed the Lord as the pot of manna from Exodus 16 and Aaron’s budding rod are both described as being in the ark of the covenant, which also contained the stone tablets of the covenant (Hebrews 9:3-5).

The reading ends with the Lord giving instructions for the support the Levites are to receive from the children of Israel. He also says to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in the land; nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.” During the Conquest Era, when the Israelites settle in the promised land, the Levites will not inherit land. However, they will be given cities among the people so they can minister to the communities fulfilling the blessing given by Jacob back in Genesis 49:7 when he said, “I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.” 

Tomorrow, Moses breaks faith with the Lord and lashes out in anger at the people, which is going to cost him greatly. Keep reading to see what happens when the leaders rebel against the Lord. (Numbers 16:1-18:32)

“So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’”

Did the Lord bring them out of Egypt and place them in the wilderness to kill them? No. The Lord brought them out of Egypt to save them and to do a work in them because He is doing a great work through them, bringing salvation to the world through His Son Jesus! God is training His people to trust Him and walk by faith not sight, without fear or their own thoughts about their circumstances. Joshua and Caleb understand walking by faith as they urge the people not to fear, to trust the Lord, and to take the land. Remember, the Lord already provided a great victory for the Israelites when Joshua led the people in battle against the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16). Joshua and Caleb knew the Lord gave them victory then, and they know that He will provide victory again. However, taking a stand alone for the Lord is not easy as we see here with Joshua and Caleb. After Joshua and Caleb spoke “the congregation said to stone them with stones.”

The Lord is displeased with the people’s lack of faith, but Moses intercedes for the people – “And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, ‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty.” Therefore, there are consequences as a result of the people’s rebellion. The Lord states that anyone who was twenty years old and older and saw all the miraculous signs He performed in Egypt and in the wilderness and still didn’t trust Him will die in the wilderness. The only ones of that generation who will enter the promised land are the two faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb. They will lead a whole new generation into Canaan after forty years of wandering in the wilderness, a year for each day the spies spied out the promised land. However, the people don’t like this punishment so the next day they go and try to take the land without the Lord. The Israelites learn the hard way that you will not succeed without God! As Psalms 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” Unless God is in it, man’s efforts are futile. 

Toward the end of the reading, we learn that the whole congregation stones to death a man for collecting sticks on the sabbath. I know this seems harsh, but we have to remember that it isn’t about what we think is fair or isn’t fair. It is about what He said, and we read in Exodus 31:14-15 the punishment for working on the sabbath is death. The Lord desires for His people to obey Him, and it is for their own good! God is teaching His people to obey His word in the wilderness. He even helps them by telling them to put tassels on their clothing so they will remember His commandments and not “follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own mind are inclined.”

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” God knows how bad it is. This is why He is sending His Son as the final sacrificial Lamb. The Lord is going to give to anyone who believes in His Son Jesus Christ a new heart and a new spirit  (Ezekiel 36:26). Also, remember that we aren’t saved based on works. We are saved based on our faith. God knows hearts, minds, and intents of each person. He knows which ones have faith in Him and which ones don’t, just like he knew the heart, mind, and intent of the man picking up sticks on the Sabbath. Our faith is what leads us to desire obedience (James 2:14-26). So we have to trust the Lord, knowing that His judgment is always just. 

Keep reading because shockingly enough there is more disobedience tomorrow. Will the Israelites ever learn to trust and obey the Lord?! (Numbers 14:1-15:41)

Today we see three different instances of people complaining and then the failure of the ten spies. 

First, people complain about the hardship of the wilderness journey. “So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.” Then Moses intercedes for the people and “the fire was quenched.” 

Second, the mixed multitude that came out of Egypt are tired of eating manna and desire meat. Their complaining provokes the Israelites to complain about the lack of meat. The people begin longing for the days when they ate “freely in Egypt.” The cravings of the flesh leads the Israelites to romanticize an Egypt that does not and did not exist. They were slaves in Egypt, and their baby boys were being killed. Plus the Lord pretty much annihilated Egypt with the ten plagues, so there is nothing for them to go back to in Egypt. As a result of all the drama, Moses is now asking the Lord to “please kill me here and now.” However, God doesn’t kill Moses. Instead He provides him with seventy men to share the burden of the people. Then the Lord says to the people that He will give them meat and “You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?’” The Lord is training the people to stop longing for what was in Egypt, the lesser things. The Lord wants His people to move forward with Him, trusting and obeying Him.

Third, Miriam and Aaron question Moses about his Ethiopian wife. It isn’t clear if this is Zipporah or if Moses took a second wife, but that isn’t the issue. The issue is their questioning of the Lord’s appointed leader, Moses, which angers the Lord. As a result, the Lord strikes Miriam with leprosy and she is sent out of the camp. Miriam’s and Aaron’s disobedience impact all those around them as the Israelites have to wait seven days until the Lord heals Miriam from her leprosy before they can journey further.

Lastly, we read about the twelve spies, one from each tribe, who spied out the land of Canaan. Ten out of twelve come back with a bad report and put fear in the hearts and minds of the people. Caleb steps forward telling the people they can overcome and take the land. But the other men who spied out the promised land respond saying, “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” 

Lack of faith leads to complaining and despair. Lack of faith exposes our pride, arrogance, and selfishness. Lack of faith impacts those around us. And lack of faith displeases the Lord – “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Tomorrow Joshua will step forward with Caleb to implore the people to trust the Lord and take the land. Will the people respond in faith and obey? Keep reading to find out. (Numbers 11:1-13:33)

The Lord gives laws regarding Nazirites. Any man or woman who wants to consecrate themselves to the Lord can become a Nazirite. This is voluntary and for a specific period of time. There are three people in the Bible who will be separated to the Lord by their parents at birth: Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist. Nazirites have to follow certain rules, including not cutting their hair. This rule will be significant in the life of Samson. We will read about Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist as the story continues to unfold.

Before the Israelites set out for their wilderness journeys, the priests say a beautiful blessing over the children of Israel – “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

“Israel left Sinai just less than a year after arriving there… From this point forward, Numbers spans just under forty years” (Note from the OYCB).

God establishes a system using trumpets “for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camp,” for sounding an alarm during time of war, and for a memorial during the appointed feasts. The trumpets are blown and the children of Israel “set out from the Wilderness of Sinai on their journeys; then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. So they started out for the first time according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses… So they departed from the mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was above them by day when they went out from the camp.”

The children of Israel set out in an orderly manner as God instructed and marched forward to take the promised land. However, tomorrow the people will complain again, Miriam and Aaron will challenge Moses, and there will be an epic fail with ten of the twelve spies who will spy out the promised land. Keep reading. (Numbers 6:1-27, Numbers 10:1-36)