Story 53: Is'ra-el's Thirty-Eight Years Of Wandering In The Wilderness lll

   On the day after this incident there was another revolt among the people, and complaints were made that Mo'ses had slain Ko'rah and his followers. For this uprising the LORD sent a plague upon the people, and it was only through the intervention of Mo'ses and Aa'ron that multitudes were not taken by death.
   Soon after these events came the miracle in which Aa'ron's staff budded, blossomed, and bore ripened almonds. This took place as a token of the Divine choice of Aa'ron to be the High Priest, and his sons to assist in the priestly duties. Mo'ses directed each of the princes of the twelve tribes to place the staff of his tribe in the Tabernacle, and Aa'ron was told to place his staff with the others. Then Mo'ses announced that the LORD would visit him in the sanctuary, and would make plain His choice for the priesthood. On the next morning Mo'ses entered the Tabernacle and saw a very strange sight. Aa'ron's staff was covered with green buds, full blossoms, and ripened almonds, while the others staffs were Just as they had been the night before. When Mo'ses presented all these staffs before Is'ra-el the people were convinced that the LORD had chosen Aa'ron and his family for the priesthood. Then followed a series of instructions concerning the duties of the priesthood, and additional rules regarding certain sacrifices to be made by Is'ra-el.
   Thus the thirty-eight years of wandering in the wilderness are covered in several chapters of the Book of Num'bers. As this period neared its close, the last of the 600,000 men who had refused to enter Ca'naan when they were at Ka'desh-Bar'ne-a the first time had died, and they all had been buried in various parts of the A-ra'bi-an desert. The young men who had been under twenty years of age at that time, and others who had been born during the early years of wandering, were now the men of Is'ra-el. They had been brought up under strict religious instruction, and were trained as soldiers.
   The time had come when Is'ra-el, a new Is'ra-el, was to pitch camp again on the borders of the Promised Land. Soon the children of Is'ra-el are to enter Ca'naan and begin its occupation.