Numbers 9: The Israelites obvserved the Passover on the 14th day of the 1st month in their calendar, which would be in our springtime. This would be the 1st month of the 2nd year after leaving Egypt. They had stayed at Sinai for a full year. There was a cloud over the tabernacle where God wanted them to camp. When the cloud moved, they moved. At night it looked like a cloud of fire over the tabernacle. This continued for the 40 years in the wilderness.
Numbers 10: They are told about blowing the trumpets to convene the people or the leaders at the tabernacle. Also the trumpets were blown as a warning of danger. In the 2nd year after leaving Egypt, 2nd month, 20th day the cloud lifted from the tabernacle and moved and Israel followed it. Of course, the tabernacle had to be taken down and reassembled each time they moved. The Levites took care of that.
Numbers 11: The people complained at Taberah and God killed some of them with fire. As always, Moses interceded for the people and the fire died out. The non-Israelite “rabble” and the Israelites complained again, wanting meat, complaining that all they had was the manna. They made it sound like they had wonderful food in Egypt. This evoked an emotional response from Moses. He complained to God about his burden of “carrying” these people. He told God that if things didn’t change that he just wished God would kill him. God then told Moses to choose 70 men to help him lead the people and then God put His Spirit on the 70 and they prophesied. Two men remained in the camp apart from the rest of the 70, but these 2 also prophesied. A man complained about those 2 men but Moses rebuked the man. God then sent quail for the people, covering an area of a day’s journey square and 3 feet deep, no doubt millions of quail. The people gorged on the quail and God sent a plague on them to punish them for their greed and many died. The place was named Kibroth-hattaavah, “graves of greed”.
Numbers 12: Miriam and Aaron, Moses’ brother and sister, criticize Moses b/c of his marriage to a Cushite woman. But the real reason for their criticism was that they envied the authority that God had given Moses. God struck Miriam with leprosy. Why did He not srike Aaron with leprosy?. Maybe Miriam was the main one criticizing Moses. Moses asked God to heal her and He did. Ineresting comment: 12:3 Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.” Moses wrote Numbers so did Moses write this? Perhaps this was added by someone else.
Numbers 13: Moses sent 12 men to spy out the land of Canaan. They found bountiful fruit and brought some of it back. 10 of the spies gave a negative report, saying that there were many fortified cities and even some giants in the land and that Israel could not possible conquer the land of Canaan. Only Joshua and Caleb said that, with God’s help, they could conquer the land.
More to follow.
