Story 54: Is'ra-el At Ka'desh-Bar'ne-a A Second Time; The Death Of Mir'i-am; The Sin Of Mo'ses In Striking The Rock ll

   The LORD was greatly displeased by the conduct of Mo'ses and Aa'ron. Mo'ses had fallen short of God's command by his silence before the rock, and had gone beyond his orders by striking it. As a fitting punishment for such disobedience the LORD declared that neither Mo'ses nor Aa'ron should be permitted to lead Is'ra-el into Ca'naan.
   What a striking example of human weakness! Mo'ses, who was one of the holiest men who ever lived, gave way to anger in the presence of the LORD. At a time when all his thoughts should have been directed to the solemn duty to which the LORD had called him, Mo'ses could not forget the unjust complaints of the people. For this reason he sinned against God by failing to do what the LORD had ordered, and in performing an evil deed which brought shame to him in the presence of all Is'ra-el.
   As an everlasting warning to all future generations the name of the place where Mo'ses and Aa'ron sinned was changed from Ka'desh-Bar'ne-a to Mer'i-bah-Ka'desh, which means "place of strife," or "place of bitterness." This name would also serve as a living memorial to the sin of Is'ra-el in rejecting the command which God had given thirty-eight years before, and as a constant warning against similar sins.
   This incident also illustrates the need for guarding the strong points of character; for at the very point where one feels secure and considers vigilance unnecessary, the evil one sometimes makes his most subtle attacks. Mo'ses, noted for meekness, becomes petulant; A'bra-ham, celebrated for his faith in God, twice grievously sinned because of doubts; E'li'jah, famed for fearlessness, fled in panic before the vengeance of Jez'e-bel.

Story 54: Is'ra-el At Ka'desh-Bar'ne-a A Second Time; The Death Od Mir'i-am; The Sin Of Mo'ses In Striking The Rock l

   After thirty-eight years of wandering in the wilderness, the children of Is'ra-el came once more to Ka'desh-Bar'ne-a, and once again sorrow befell them. In the first month of the fortieth year after the departure from E'gypt, death came to Mir'i-am, the sister of Mo'ses and Aa'ron. She was then about one hundred and thirty years old; her life had been long and full of interesting events. In her early years she had carefully watched over the life of her infant brother. During the years which followed, while Mo'ses was growing up in the palace of the E'gyp-tian king, she cherished in her heart the hope that some day her people would be delivered from bondage in E'gypt. When Mo'ses fled into Mid'i-an, and while he was lost to his people for forty years, she reflected upon the strange providences of God.
   When Mo'ses and her older brother Aa'ron were chosen to lead in the deliverance of her oppressed people, Mir'i-am aided them in every possible way. She was honored as a prophetess, and known as a sweet singer in Is'ra-el.
   At one time she became jealous of Mo'ses, envying him for all the honors conferred upon him by the LORD. She persuaded Aa'ron to join her in making false charges against Mo'ses, but was punished for this evil deed by a stroke of leprosy. Mo'ses quickly forgave her, and his prayers caused the leprosy to be removed, but her name does not appear again in the history of Is'ra-el until the account of her death.
   Even in obscurity, however, Mir'i-am continued to serve God and her people, and when she died the whole congregation of Is'ra-el assembled in her honor. For thirty days there was a great mourning among the Is'ra-el-ites, then Mir'i-am was buried just outside the Promised Land for which she had longed all the days of her life.
   When the season of mourning was over, the Is'ra-el-ites began to complain of their unhappy lot, for there was not enough water to meet their needs. It was under these trying circumstances that Mo'ses and Aa'ron committed the sin for which they were not permitted to live to lead Is'ra-el into the Promised Land.
   The LORD directed Mo'ses to take Aa'ron, and to call the Is'ra-el-ites together by a great cliff in that vicinity. He told him to speak to the rock, promising that in answer to his voice sufficient water would burst forth to meet all the needs of the Is'ra-el-ites and their herds and flocks.
   Once before, during the early days of Is'ra-el's sojourn in the wilderness, he had smitten a rock in the vicinity of Si'nai; a stream of water burst forth, and continued to flow as long as the Is'ra-el-ites were encamped at Si'nai. Now, after forty years in the wilderness, he was told again to speak to a rock for a similar blessing.
   When all the people of Is'ra-el had gathered before him, Mo'ses reproached them bitterly, showing a spirit of impatience and anger. His patience had been worn out by the constant murmuring of the people.
   Instead of speaking quietly to the rock, as the LORD had commanded, Mo'ses walked up to it and struck two violent blows with a rod. At once a great stream of water began to flow from the rock.

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.

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

   Another incident mentioned in the record of these thirty-eight years in the wilderness was the rebellion which Ko'rah led against Mo'ses and Aa'ron.
   Ko'rah was a member of the tribe of Le'vi, a distant relative of Mo'ses and Aa'ron, and a Le-vit'i-cal officer who took part in the services at the Tabernacle. He stirred up a rebellion against Mo'ses as the leader of the people, and against Aa'ron as the High Priest. Ko'rah was joined by Da'than and A-bi'ram, two prominent members of the tribe of Reu'ben, and another man from this tribe, whose name was On, seems to have dropped out after a short time.
   The three leaders of the revolt were presently joint by two hundred and fifty princes of other tribes. The rebels declared that Mo'ses and Aa'ron had forced their way into the positions which they held, that they were harsh and overbearing toward the people, and that they were practicing deceit and fraud in the name of the LORD. It was further declared by the plotters that there should be no civil head over Is'ra-el, and that the order of the priesthood should be overthrown.
   At heart, however, Ko'rah wished to be a priest, and his rebellion grew out of jealousy and selfish ambitions; though claiming to represent the people, he had no real interest in their welfare. His crime was all the more grievous because of the position which he held. As a Le'vite, he was set apart from the general congregation of Is'ra-el; his office was one of honor and responsibility. He performed certain holy duties in the Tabernacle services, stood before the congregation to minister unto them, and was given a place of distinction by the LORD. For all these reasons his rebellion was inexcusable.
   When the news of Ko'rah's rebellion was brought to Mo'ses he went at once to God in prayer, seeking to compose his own spirit, and to secure Divine help in meeting this trying hour. Then he made a bold, but fair, proposal for settling the demands made by Ko'rah and his followers. He directed that Ko'rah and all his company take censers in hand and march before the Tabernacle on the following day. The censers were to be filled with the coals of fire and incense which under the laws of Is'ra-el could be carried only by the priests. If Ko'rah and his companions were justified in their demands, then their services would be accepted by the LORD; if they were in the wrong, then a proper punishment would be inflicted by God.
   On the next day Ko'rah and his company gathered before the Tabernacle for the test appointed by Mo'ses, But Da'than and A-bi'ram were not present. They had left the day before, while Mo'ses was speaking to Ko'rah. In so doing, they defied the authority of Mo'ses as the Divinely appointed leader of Is'ra-el, and reviled him in a most insulting manner. Then Mo'ses was moved by righteous indignation, and prayed that the LORD would justify him by bringing a just penalty upon the evil-doers. Suddenly the ground gave way under the plotters as they stood in the door of their tent, and they were instantly buried alive.
   Then Mo'ses prayed for the judgment of God concerning Ko'rah and the two hundred and fifty princes who followed him. As they marched before the Tabernacle with burning incense in the sacred vessels, a miraculous fire from the LORD suddenly consumed them all. In order that Aa'ron might be found innocent before the people, Mo'ses had ordered him to march with Ko'rah and his company. But the consuming fire which destroyed the rebels did not harm the anointed High Priest of God.
   By this stern judgment upon the rebels, the LORD made clear the upright character of Mo'ses and Aa'ron. He then directed Mo'ses to have the priest E-le-a'zar take the censers from the burning hands of the men who had been consumed, and to beat them into broad plates for a covering of the altar. This was a perpetual sign to Is'ra-el that no one outside the family of Aa'ron should ever assume the office of the priesthood.
  

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

   After Mo'ses told the Is'ra-el-ites that they were doomed to forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and that nearly all of them would die before the chosen race would finally occupy the Promised Land, they rebelled against the decree, and proposed to go at once into Ca'naan. They uttered words of confession for their sin, but with no evidence of genuine repentance; even while confessing their sins they persisted in them. They were determined to do exactly what God had told them not to do. When He said, "Go up into Ca'naan," they replied, "We will return to E'gypt." When He said, "Return to the wilderness," they said, "We will now go into Ca'naan."
   In reply to their proposal to enter Ca'naan, Mo'ses told them that the LORD would not go with them; that if they persisted in this fool-hardy course, the Am'a-lek-ites and Ca'naan-ites would defeat them with great slaughter. But they stubbornly insisted on making war against the heathen tribes of Ca'naan, even though Mo'ses would not go with them, and the Ark of the Covenant remained in camp. They were disgracefully beaten; many were slain, and the others returnt to weep before the LORD.
   After this unhappy event, the Is'ra-el-ites remained in Ka'desh for many days. Then they journeyed, as the LORD had commanded, into the wilderness toward the Red Sea. For nearly thirty-eight years they wandered over the deserts of the A-ra'bi-an Peninsula. Little worthy of record took place during this dark period in Is'ra-el's history. Some new regulations were given by Mo'ses, and the laws already given were enforced. It was no doubt for the benefit of the younger generation that these special messages from God were revealed by Mo'ses, and it also served as a proof of the continuance of the LORD'S Covenant with those who would later occupy the Promised Land.
   Among the happenings recorded during these thirty-eight years is the violation of the Sab'bath by a man who gathered wood on that day, and who was punished by stoning. We are not told just when this took place, but we know that the Sab'bath had been set apart by the LORD after the six days of Creation, and that it had been consecrated in the religion of Is'ra-el.
   The Sab'bath was consecrated to God, dedicated to His honor, and its violation was a direct reproach upon Him. It was also a memorial of Is'ra-el's deliverance from E'gypt, so those who violated the Sab'bath were guilty of sin in the eyes of both God and man. In setting apart the Sab'bath days, the LORD intended to serve the well-being of His people by providing a season for rest and spiritual culture.
   The punishment of the man who violated the Sab'bath took place in an orderly and legal manner. He was arrested in the very act of doing wrong, was brought before the elders for trial, was held in custody until the manner of his execution was determined by Divine instructions, and was then slain as directed by the LORD.
   It is evident that the entire procedure was intended as a solemn warning to Is'ra-el against violating the LORD'S day by doing anything which was forbidden in the Law. The Sab'bath was made for man, and man cannot do without it. Worship for the soul and rest for the body are two of the deepest needs of humanity. The Sab'bath was made Holy for the Glory of God, and the violation of it dishonors Him.
  

Story 52: Is'ra-el At Ka'desh-Bar'ne-a; Spies Are Sent Into Ca'naan lll

   The results of the timid report made by the unbelieving explorers of Ca'naan were most distressing. The people of Is'ra-el were made fearful and angry, and expressed their dismay in a great tumult of shouting and lament. Rioting broke out in the camps of Is'ra-el, and the people were further distracted from peace and quiet by rumors and plots of every nature. In a fit of unjust murmuring against Mo'ses and Aa'ron, they cried that it would have been better to perish in E'gypt or in the wilderness than to die with their wives and children at the hands of the Ca'naan-ites.
   The wild, unreasoning crowds even went so far as to blaspheme the name of God, and to accuse Him of deceit in bringing them out of the land of E'gypt. With daring impudence and base ingratitude they turnt against their great Benefactor and His servants.
   Mo'ses and Aa'ron were much grieved by the disgraceful conduct of the Is'ra-el-ites, but remained calm and patient. They tried to urge the people to refrain from such foolish actions, and to obey the command of God; they finally threw themselves prostrate before the people in prayer to God.
   Josh'u-a and Ca'leb sought again to calm the fears of the people, and for their faithfulness were threatened with death by stoning. These devoted leaders tried to convince the Is'ra-el-ites that in the following the directions of God they would be assured of His presence and power, and of certain victory over the inhabitants of the land of Ca'naan. All their efforts, however, were in vain.
   In His righteous indignation over the blasphemy and lack of faith of Is'ra-el, and because they continued to be rebellious, the LORD declared to Mo'ses that He would destroy the whole nation by a plague, and would raise up another people for the occupation of Ca'naan from the family of Mo'ses alone. But Mo'ses thought more of Is'ra-el than of his own honor and glory, and pleaded with God to spare the people. He declared that the heathens back in E'gypt and those in Ca'naan would say in scorn that God was not able to establish His people in the land which He had promised to give them.
   The earnest request of Mo'ses was granted by the LORD, but with certain conditions. The children of Is'ra-el were to wander in the wilderness for forty years before occupying the Promised Land, the 600,000 men over the age of twenty who had refused to enter Ca'naan when the LORD commanded should die without ever entering it, and the land would finally be given to the new generation to be born in the wilderness. Only Josh'u-a and Ca'leb were to be spared from this Divine Decree.
   The people's sins of rebellion and blasphemy were pardoned in answer to the prayers of Mo'ses, but the privilege of occupying the Promised Land was denied for all time to those who had refused it after hearing the report of the spies. God's Covenant with Is'ra-el was preserved, but its blessings in respect to Ca'naan were reserved for a new generation. Is'ra-el was turnt away from the very doors of the Promised Land, and for forty years lived wandering life in the wilderness of the A-ra'bi-an Peninsula. We shall learn more about this in our next story.

Story 52: Is'ra-el At Ka'desh-Bar'ne-a; Spies Are Sent Into Ca'naan ll

   In the valley of Esh'col, which was about two miles north of He'bron, and was noted for its grapes of superior size and quality, they gathered some fruit to take back to their people at Ka'desh. Here they found great clusters of grapes, some weighing from twenty to forty-five pounds. They carried some of these back home with them, and the largest were so heavy that they had to be hung on poles and carried over the shoulders of two men.
   And so the twelve spies had two different reports to make when they returnt to Ka'desh. Ten of them said, "It is a good land, a land of plentiful grass, of superb fruits, of glorious valleys and plains and hills and mountains, a land greatly to be desired; but it is held by fierce enemies which we cannot overcome." To them, the strong cities could not be taken, nor the giant warriors defeated in battle. They said, "The land is so fertile and fruitful that it is filled with warlike tribes which constantly destroy one another, and we shall be destroyed along with the weakest of them."
   This report was filled with the spirit of cowardice and unbelief. The ten spies who made it forgot the strength of the 600,000 soldiers of Is'ra-el, and the Supreme Power of God. There was no place in their faltering hearts for the memory of how Pha'raoh's army had been destroyed in the Red Sea, of Josh'u-a's victory over the Am'a-lek-ites, or of the continued presence of God with them in all their difficulties.
   Ca'leb and Josh'u-a made a different report than the other spies. They said, "All that these men have said about the excellence of the land is true, and it is also true that there are strong cities and fierce warriors to be overcome, but we are well able to take the land." They admitted that there were giants in the land, but chided the ten faint-hearted spies for regarding the Is'ra-el-ites as mere "grasshoppers" before them. "Why," they said, "anointed with the Power of God, and with the unseen hosts of Heaven to fight on our side, we shall be the "giants," and the people of Ca'naan will be the "grasshoppers."
   In a stirring appeal to the Is'ra-el-ites, Ca'lab said, "Let us go up at once and possess the land." He urged quick, bold action, insisting that all Is'ra-el act together with the assurance of faith in their hearts. His hope of victory was based upon certainty of God's promises, and the knowledge of His all-conquering power.
   What a striking contrast between moral courage and moral cowardice is presented in the reports and conducts of these two groups! Overcome by moral cowardice, the ten spies trembled with fear before facing the enemy, exaggerated the strength of their foes, minimized their own abilities, and were willing to give up without striking a blow. Ca'leb and Josh'u-a, on the other hand, had the courage to face self-denial and hardship boldly, and to declare their faith in the power of right.