Video Transcript: The Wilderness Years

We continue our examination of Israel's journey from slavery to freedom with a  look at Israel's wilderness years. Do you remember what had happened to this  point? God's people had been completely delivered from the power of Egypt  with Egypt's laws having been replaced by the liberating laws of Yahweh their  deliver. Not that God's laws were necessarily easy to follow. But they were given not to oppress the people, but to yield the greatest blessings to those who  obeyed them. Besides this, a bit of paradise had been recaptured in the  tabernacle that God had ordered to be constructed. It was situated you  remember, in the middle of Israel's encampment and overshadowed by glory  cloud as a powerful sign of Yahweh's continuing presence with his people.  Whenever the glory cloud lifted, the people would follow wherever it lead, and  they happily anticipated their ultimate destination, the promised land of Canaan  to which God had ordered father Abraham so many years before, the people  were richly blessed, and they knew it. Their blessed state was summed up by  the words God had given Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites, the so  called High Priestly Blessing of Numbers 6:24-26. The Lord bless you and keep  you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you, and give you peace. With a blessing or presence and  blessing of God, Israel was now ready to move on toward the promised land  where they could make permanent homes and somehow, in further fulfillment of  God's promises to Abraham bring blessing to the entire world. But the next stage in Israel's journey from slavery to freedom would not be so happy. They would  spend years in the wilderness. Numbers 10:11-13 describes their departure from Sinai where they'd been camped for 11 months. On the 20th day, in the second  of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from above the  tabernacle of the testimony. And then the Israelites set out from the desert of  Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the desert  of Paran. They set out this time at the Lord's command through Moses. Verse  33, tells us they traveled for three days, the region of Sinai had been relatively  fertile, but the Israelites soon found themselves in a real desert. And it didn't  take long for them to begin to complain. It's a poor beginning for the people who  are called to be God's mighty army on route to their settlement in the Promised  Land. So you might well understand God's response. Numbers 11:1, when he  heard from his when he heard them, his anger was aroused, and then fire from  the Lord burned among them, and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.  Complaints turned to fear, but then to relief when the Lord answered Moses  prayer by stopping the fire of judgment. But it was not long before the  complaining began again. God was graciously providing a daily supply of manna for the people to eat, a provision that would continue until Israel had actually  entered Canaan, but the Israelites began to complain about the lack of variety in their diet. In Numbers 11:4-6. It talks about they'd be they started wailing, if only  we had meat to eat and so on. Moses was getting sick to death of these 

complainers. He told God, I cannot carry these people all by myself, the burden  is too heavy for me. In response, God put His Spirit on 70 of Israel's elders so  they can help Moses. And he even answered Israel's complaint about lack of  meat by sending quails that were piled up all around the camp of Israel to a  depth of three feet. But here to God gave the people a taste of his anger for their ingratitude. He struck them with a severe plague. Well, a few more days and  miles passed and then, and then in the next chapter of Numbers, we find that  Moses own sister and brother, Miriam and Aaron began to grumble. Their  complaint was that Moses had married a woman who was not a Hebrew she  was a Cushite. But they also expressed dissatisfaction that they were  subordinate to their younger brother, apparently failing to consider that was God  who had chosen Moses for his office. The Lord took this as a complaint against  Himself and became angry with Miriam and Aaron. He struck Miriam with  leprosy, which was healed only after Moses prayed for her and after she  endured seven days of uncleanness, outside of Israel camp. Even if you didn't  know the story, you might get the idea that the book of Numbers is turning out to be a record of how the people of Israel were an ungrateful people who seem to  be doing their best to mess up God's plans to install them in the Promised Land. Their time in the wilderness need not have been a spiritual wilderness as well.  But it seemed to be just that. The next test for Israel involve the return of 12  spies who had been sent to scout out the promised land in anticipation of their  coming campaign to invade it. The spies were gone 40 days and came back  with a report that confirmed the richness of the land, but concentrated on the  difficulty of taking it for themselves. This is in Numbers 13. The majority report  emphasized the large and well fortified cities and the giant stature and power of  the inhabitants of the land. It was a negative report. But two of the spies Caleb  and Joshua were not so negative. They spoke of the goodness of the land and  emphasized the ability of the Lord to give it to them. They finished with this God  approved appeal. Numbers 14:9. They said, do not rebel against the Lord, and  do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up.  Their protection is gone. But the Lord is with us Do not be afraid of them. And  yet, their speech of faith did not convince their fellow Israelites. In fact, the  people got so angry with Caleb and Joshua that they considered stoning them to death. And going back to Egypt. It was the worst rebellion yet and the series of  rebellions that had happened since Israel had left Sinai. Can you imagine it,  Egypt represented slavery, and death, and life without God. And here the people who had been saved from all that who had been cared for day after day,were  not? Now talking about leaving God. And going back to Egypt, it's as If all God's  work and planning from the time the first called Abraham till now, as if all his  work had been for nothing, because the people decided not to trust the Lord  who had brought them this far. The only other episode in Israel's journey from  Egypt that approached the severity of this offense against God was one 

involving the worship of the golden calf. In even that was not quite the same for  the people then had meant to use the calf to help them worship God. They were  wrong to do so of course, but at least they hadn't been totally turning against  God. It was worse here, because this desire to go back to Egypt was a rejection  of God's law, and God's leaders, and even God's very presence with them.  Indeed, it was nothing less than a rejection of Yahweh as the God of Israel, and  a vote to replace him with another god or gods. That people believe that the land was as good as God had promised it would be. But they were pessimistic about  God's ability to deliver it to them. They simply did not believe that the God who  brought them out of Egypt was able to fulfill His covenant promises. This  pessimism did not go without the without response. Caleb silenced the people.  And and said, again, we should certainly go up and take possession of the land  for we can do it. He was talking about the strength that the Lord had  demonstrated so far and about the strength that God had promised for the  future. But Caleb was silenced with more and even louder statements from the  other side in the rebellion group. And that's when God responded. Numbers  14:10-12. The glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting to the Israelites. And the Lord said to Moses, how long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me? In spite of all the miraculous signs I  have performed among them. I will strike them down with a plague and destroy  them. But I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they. It was a  second time that God had threatened to disinherit the people and start over with  Moses. But again, as he had done before, Moses prayed for them concluding  with these words, in accordance with your great love. forgive the sin of these  people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.  Well, Numbers goes on to tell us that the Lord replied, I have forgiven them as  you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live in as surely as the glory of the Lord  fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory, and the miraculous  signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert, but who disobeyed me and tested  me 10 times, not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their  forefathers, not one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. That  included all the adults of Israel 20 years old and up. All except Caleb, and  Joshua. What's more, the 10 unflavored unfaithful spies were struck down and  died of a plague. Seeing this, the rest of Israel was suitably impressed and  understandably sorry. They mourned bitterly and told Moses that they had  sinned and they would, they would they changed their mind, they would go up to the place the Lord had promised, but it was too late, as Moses told them, and  when some of them persisted in going anyway, without God's leading, they were attacked and defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites. And so, Israel came  under God's judgment for the next 40 years, one year for each day that the  spies had explored the land. Yet God did not abandon his people, but stayed  with them for all that time. Numbers goes on to describe the continuing 

discipline of God during that 40 year period. Even though the adults would never see Canaan, God cared for his people in the wilderness between Egypt and  Canaan. And he continued his lessons too for the sake of their children, so they  would not be as disobedient as their parents had been. And Numbers 16 and 17 Describe further challenges by certain Israelites to the leaders that God had  appointed over Israel. This is a story of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who were  ringleaders of a group of 250 prominent men of Israel. Number 16:3, they came  as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, You have gone too  far. The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them.  Why do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly? They should have  known better Korah was a Levite with high duties in the service of God, but he  wanted to be a priest, and Dathan and Abiram were Reubenites, who had their  own issues with Moses, when Moses in turn summoned them to appear before  him. They told him, We will not come. Isn't it enough that you have brought us  out of a land flowing with milk and honey and left us to die in the desert? To kill  us in the desert? And now you also want to lord it over us? Do you notice in their insolent response they referred to Egypt by the very description God had given  to the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey, how soon they had  forgotten both the slavery of Egypt and the rebellion that a condemned them to  wander in the desert for 40 years. Moses was deeply dismayed by this charge,  for he knew that God wouldn't stand for it. Moses proposed a trial by fire to see  which men the Lord would accept as his leaders. And so all of Korah's followers  put fire in their censers and stood at the entrance to the tabernacle. And  immediately, Numbers tells us the Lord said to Moses, verse 20, and 21,  separate yourselves from this assembly, so I can put an end to them at once, by  this assembly, God meant all of Israel. But Moses and Aaron fell on their faces  before God and pled that he not destroy all his people for the sake of Korah,  Dathan, and Abiram and those allied with them. So God told the people to move  away from the rebels. And then Moses said, This is how you will know verse 28,  that the Lord has sent me to do these things, and that it was not my idea. If  these men die a natural death, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord  brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and everything that belongs to them, and they go alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt. And that's  just what happened. Korah. Dathan, and Abiram and their households died in  the earthquake that followed, and their 250 followers died right after by fire that  came out from the Lord. And when the people complained that Moses had killed  the Lord's people, God sent a plague that killed 1000s Before it was stopped by  Aaron standing with this censer between the living and the dead. Is it any  wonder that this generation of Israelites was referred to often in subsequent  history is a hard hearted and rebellious generation. Not that they were so much  worse than their descendants or any of us for that matter? Because it's too often

the case that people are very forgetful about all the blessings of God and very  prone to complain against him when something doesn't go their way, but both  ingratitude, as well as outright rebellion, are fully deserving of the judgment of  God. We can be thankful therefore that for the sake of Jesus, God postpones his 

judgment and continues to be merciful to sinners. There are other incidents  described in Numbers as well. For example, the rebellion described in chapter  21, which brought a judgment of venomous snakes. Until at God's command,  Moses made a snake out of bronze and put it up on a pole for the people to look at and be healed. You'll remember that Jesus later referred to this incident in  John 3, saying just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of  Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.  Moses himself also came under God's judgment when, when on one occasion  when he was angry with the people, he disobeyed the command of God and  struck the rock to provide Israelites with water, instead of just speaking to it. That was the incident that disqualified Moses from entering the promised land. The  closest he ever got was a mountain top view from across the Jordan River.  Beside the various rebellions by which the Israelites brought themselves under  the judgment of God, the pagan nations that Israel encountered also contributed their share of problems for the Israelites. I'll conclude with the problems caused  by just one of these nations a nation that would long be a thorn in the side of  God's people, Moab. That nation was terrified by the numbers and proximity of  the Israelites. And so the king of Moab hired a mercenary Balaam, who is an  internationally known prophet who shared the pagan belief that the God of Israel was like any other idol god who might be manipulated by acts of magic or  sorcery. But from early on when Balaam first encountered the one true God in  visions, and in the story of his journey on a donkey, who talked, told in Numbers  22. From early on, Balaam began to learn that dealing with the one true God  was fundamentally different from anything he'd ever known. When Balaam later  attempted to curse Israel, something he had been hired to do by the king of  Moab, he found his mouth unable to express the curses he wanted to  pronounce, instead, to his astonishment, from his lips came blessings on Israel  and curses on her enemies, the very people who had hired him. In Balaam's  fourth attempt to curse God's people, these are among the words that came out  of his mouth, Numbers 24:17, I see him but not now. I'd be hold him, but not  near. A star will come out of Jacob, a scepter will arise out of Israel, He will  crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth, that prophecy  of a star out of Jacob and a sceptre out of Israel was perhaps fulfilled initially, in  a sense in King David, but ultimately, it was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, for Moab  was another representative just as Israel had been as Egypt had been of evil,  and Satan. And this conflict was another chapter in the ongoing enmity between  Satan and humanity that had been prophesied in Genesis 3:15. This also helps  explain The severe reaction in Numbers 25 of Phinehas, a priest and grandson 

of Aaron when he found an Israelite man and a Midianite woman engaged in  immorality. Phinehas ran a spear through them both. He saw their action with  God's eyes not merely as a personal business as two hot blooded young  people. But as an example of the spiritual seduction of God's people, by a  representative of Satan. So these are some of the stories of Israel in the  wilderness stories that show both the unfaithfulness of God's people and the  faithfulness of God. As though the immediate enjoyment of God's great blessing  for his people always depends on their faithfulness. The ultimate realization of  God's blessing is sure because God won't go back on his word. So Numbers  reaffirms the ongoing purposes of God. Despite his judgments against rebellion.  God was still determined to bring Israel into their own homeland, just as he had  promised the patriarchs.