Blogging Bible Study: Desert Digging -- Final Years of Wandering

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

As I mentioned last week, there really isn't a lot of description of the forty years the Israelites wandered in the desert; Korah's Rebellion happened at some point, and eventually they wandered around to a place with a familiar name...

In the first month, the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh.  There Miriam died and was buried.  (Ex. 20:1)

According to the Bible Atlas I have handy, that is indeed the location that is called Kadesh Barnea in other scripture...like Numbers 14.  I don't know how I have missed all these years that Moses' big faux pas also  happened at Kadesh, but, well, there it is.

Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron.  They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD!  Why did you bring the LORD's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here?  Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place?  It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.  And there is no water to drink!"   (20:2 - 5)

Grumble count: 8

Of course, this is the incident in which Moses lost his temper.  God told him to assemble the people and speak to the rock, and water would come out of it.   But it didn't go down that way.

He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, why must we bring you water out of this rock?"  Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff.  Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.  (20:10-11)

Frankly, I am amazed that Moses had managed to keep his cool this long.  Every time up to this point, when he had been accused, or the people rebelled or complained...he either took it up with God or fell on his face in intercession.   But this time, Moses gave his emotions their freedom, and he resentfully added his own flourish of pounding the rock for emphasis.  God, in his care and mercy, still released the water.  But Moses had committed a grave error. (Hm. Didn't mean that pun, but it works, so....)

Moses and Aaron were now included with the rest of their generation and forbidden to enter the Promised Land.  They got no special allowances.  With that, the Israelites moved again, detouring around Edom because the Edomites refused to grant them passage through their land.  Aaron died on Mount Hor and was succeeded as High Priest by his son Eleazar.  From Mount Hor, they traveled southeast, around Edom, and, well, it happend again.

They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom.  But the people grew impatient along the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up of of Egypt to die in the desert!  There is no bread! There is  no water!  And we detest this miserable food!"  (21:4-5)

Grumble count: 9

And again, it cost them....

Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. (21:6)

But...as the judgment was falling, the Israelites did something they did NOT do the previous eight times they complained and suffered the consequences.  This time, they confessed their error:

The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you.  Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us."  So Moses prayed for the people.  (V.7)

This was a very interesting response from the people. It was the FIRST time they had owned their complaint as sin...and as we continue to follow them through the desert to the Jordan, you will see that it is the LAST time they complain.

But God, in response to Moses' prayers, instructed Moses to create a bronze serpent, put it on a pole and display it before the people; telling him that anyone who looked at the bronze serpent would live.

Moses did so, and anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed. (vs. 8 - 9).

But...with their repentance and end to complaining, something else happened.  When they left that place (apparently they took the snake-on-a-pole with them; it turns up again much later in Israel's history), they were no longer wandering...they were moving.  They  began conquering territory.  They were headed for the plains of Moab...on the east side of the Jordan River.  The years in the desert were drawing to a close.