He cursed them with forty years of wilderness wandering until the unbelieving generation died off, never stepping foot in the Promised Land. Then the cloud went away from the tabernacle. God Doesn’t Keep Us in the Desert Forever Forty years sounds like a long time. They were traveling a little less than two years. Moses sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan. The time at Sinai was not idle. The harsh truth is that most Jews find it easier and more comfortable to live under foreign rule than to have to build their own self-governing society and nation. There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” 6 So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died. Nehemiah 9:21 points out that when the Israelites wandered for 40 years, they lacked nothing. It is striking that many of the great men named at the beginning of Numbers are no longer there at the end of the book. It was not Moses’ status that was at stake here. The failings of Israel in the wilderness were caused by their misconception of what they would find in the desert. God (Yahweh)—the creator of heaven and earth, who chose Israel as his special nation and dwells in their midst.Moses—the prophet and human leader of the nation of Israel. Therefore, it was not merely Moses and his leadership that were the core issues in this dispute, but the very definition of Judaism: Is it revealed and Godly or man-made and invented? Jesus was angry at the Israelites. Moses’ final words to the Jewish people are words of love and blessing. The Torah nowhere describes the demise of Balak; it only deals with the death of Balaam. Amalek was defeated by Joshua and Moses, but the mere fact that such an attack occurred so soon after the events of the exodus had a disheartening effect upon the people. Copyright © JewishHistory.com & The Destiny Foundation. Like one domino falling after another, rebellion broke out in the camp directly following the failure of the spies. … He has already warned the people of his dark visions about their future and has advised them of the terrible costs that will be exacted from them in their long exile. Exodus 15:22–23. EXODUS 16:2-3- 2. Jesus forgave them. The way to our promised land is not always easy, in fact, it rarely is. The Second Complaint: no food! Balaam, on the other hand, is suave, cunning, full of sweet words and blessings, but no less inimical to the existence of the Jewish people. Suddenly, everything collapses. For almost 38 years they were in Kadesh Barnea and for almost 1 year they were at Mount Sinai. God’s provisions included all the necessary sustenance (both food and water) Israel would need during their 40 year sojourn through the wilderness. Although Korah couched his motivation in idealistic-ideological terms — that all of the people are holy and worthy and Moses had no right to rule over them in a single-handed fashion (Numbers 16:3) – his real motivation was personal vendetta against those who had failed to appoint him to the high office he thought he deserved. 38 years and 17 campsites later, they returned to Kadesh. They did not have faith in God. But it’s worth it. It is the children of the generation that left Egypt who will take on the task of nation-building. They were sorry they had left Egypt. But behind that veneer of sincerity and good intentions lays the real villain of the story – the greedy, frustrated, amoral Jew-hater. For the end of Balaam is in fact the end of Balak as well. I find it true and a new revelation of Biblical truth. Jesus sent them manna. God said they must live in the wilderness for forty years. Moses, who is the supreme realist, nevertheless emphasizes that blessings overcome curses and that eventually goodness triumphs over evil. The Israelites lived at Mount Sinai for a year. Soon they were complaining. Whereas Balak seems to be safely ignored by heaven, not so Balaam. They thought they could not capture the land of Canaan. A case in point is the fact that the clothes and shoes of the Israelites did not wear out in the 40 years of desert wandering because God saw to it (Deuteronomy 8:4; Nehemiah 9:21). The Israelites followed Moses. “Wilderness wandering” refers to the plight of the Israelites due to their disobedience and unbelief. This was the Jewish heartland for centuries. Then the cloud went away from the tabernacle. Moses and the Israelites traveled for three days. They lived in big cities with walls around them. They were subject to attack by those who … Read 5 Lessons We Can Learn from the Israelites' Wandering Years - Your Daily Bible Verse - July 1 from today's daily devotional. They told Moses they wanted water. Every way station and desert oasis is recorded to serve as a reminder that the future of the Jewish people lies only in the Land of Israel. They remained camped in this area for two years. They could not drink it. They were not happy. The tree made the water taste good. The desert was a harsh learning place for the Jewish people. When Moses was 120 years old, God told him to go to a mountain. The Israelites spent the 12th month (Adar – Feb-Mar) of the 40th year grieving the death of Moses for 30 days, as was their custom. During this time, God Almighty did draw close to them . They wanted to go back to Egypt. They were thirsty. It was the land God had promised the Israelites. The existence of the Jewish people itself is somehow seen as a lethal threat to him and Moab. Of the 300 days after arrival at Mount Sinai, the first 95 days Numbers 13–14 describes the punishment of the generation of the wilderness. The time of Wandering in the Wilderness lasted 40 years. The Israelites came to the land of Canaan. There was no water to drink. To many of those Israelites who came out of Egypt, the promise of deliverance had proven false. The people got tired of eating manna. But now Jews have moved on again to other shores. The paradigm of Jewish history in exile is that Jews arrive at a new destination, settle, help develop that country, begin to feel at home and attempt to assimilate into the majority culture and society. The true reason for that is because Korah wished to convert Judaism to a man-made “democratic” faith, not its original and true source as a faith revealed to humans from on high, a faith and life system ordained in Heaven and revealed to humans. Sinai in … The end result of the rebellion was that the Earth miraculously opened and swallowed up Korah and his followers, dragging them down into bottomless pit of no return (as, historically, has been the fate of man-made “Judaisms” over the centuries). The Book of Deuteronomy, which consists of the final lectures of Moses during his last month on Earth, is the most human of all of the five books of the Torah. They would die in the wilderness. Think about the metrics of their dire situation: FOOD: God’s people had to be fed daily. Moses hit a rock two times with his rod. He had them build a Tabernacle (temporary dwelling place) so that He could dwell among them. Answer: “Wilderness wandering” refers to the plight of the Israelites due to their disobedience and unbelief. The older Israelites did not have faith in God. Balak is the hateful enemy, the bully and seeming aggressor. Unfortunately, this road trip goes south quickly. Numbers 11-21 contains seven narratives about Israel’s rebellion as they journey through the wilderness. Moses, the most humble of all humans, reacted in an uncharacteristically harsh manner. This means they didn’t lack food. Jesus Christ told Moses how to get water. The question arises why Moses, who was able to convince Israel to leave Egypt, march through the desert, accept the yoke of the Torah, reject the Golden Calf, build the Tabernacle, etc. A mighty and unforeseen wind uproots them after centuries of living there and they move on to new shores. Apparently there is no human force possessed by the Jewish people that can safely counteract Balaam’s venom. King James Bible: In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. However, its lessons were absorbed and translated into Jewish individual and public life, and thus have proven to be of eternal value. Were Israelites tired of the “evening meal of quail” or did God stop sending it? With his defeat and elimination, the situation can return to a manageable normalcy. Both Balak and Balaam are recurring characters in the Jewish story throughout the ages and present in our current world. They had never been slaves; had never known the taskmaster’s whip. (In Exodus 16:3 the Israelites complained that they did not have enough to eat.) was unable to convince his generation about the importance of the Land of Israel. Very moving article as I am just re-reading the beginning of the Bible. The Israelites traveled on. He told Moses to take the Israelites back into the wilderness. The Book of Numbers concludes detailing all the places the Jews stayed from the time they left Egypt to the end of their 40 years in the desert. The laws of geometry teach us that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The priests carried the ark of the covenant in front of them. Moses lived in the wilderness for neither several days nor a couple of years, but for as long as 40 years. The Encampment Layout of the Tribes of Israel was set up according to groups of tribes placed together on each of the camp's four sides (Numbers 2). To the Israelites who were in their teens, they didn’t reach the Promised Land until they had turned 50 or 60 years old. We must remember that Scripture is never in error. The lesson was learned and Moses’ leadership was never questioned again. In their long exile there is almost no place in the world they have not visited, settled and eventually moved from. Question: "Why was Israel cursed with forty years of wilderness wandering?" However, almost immediately, the people of Israel, faced with the problems of the real world, turned sullen and rebellious. Pretty soon the people ran out of the food they‟d brought from Egypt and they began to worry again. The 40-year wilderness wandering by Moses and the Israelites must be one of the biggest miracles in the Bible, yet we take it for granted. The Wilderness of Sinai was the last stop of the Exodus where Israel camped for 11 months and 5 days: a. Israel arrived at the final camp in front of Mt. Food, water and shelter were all lacking. There are no more Jews in numbers sufficient to speak of in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, etc. Its very future was at risk. Food, water and shelter were all lacking. He undoubtedly had unquestioned trust in their piety and wisdom, and expected them to return with an enthusiastic assessment of the Land of Israel. But because we are plagued by minds that are broken due to living in a sin-cursed world, we can never perfectly understand everything. Let’s look at the passages in question.Many commentators over the years have tried to explain these differences with various ideas. Korah — a leader of the tribe of Levi, one of the bearers of the Holy Ark, the wealthiest man in Israel, and a close relative of Moses and Aaron — aroused others to mutiny and appoint him leader. Chapter 9: Abraham and the Sacrifice of Isaac, Chapter 18: The Israelites in the Wilderness, Chapter 22: Forty Years in the Wilderness, Chapter 34: Elijah and the Priests of Baal, Chapter 37: The Prophet Elisha: Three Miracles, Chapter 41: Daniel and the King’s Dream, Chapter 42: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, Chapter 47: The Prophets Tell about Jesus, “Chapter 22: Forty Years in the Wilderness,” Old Testament Stories (1980), 87–90, “Chapter 22,” Old Testament Stories, 87–90. The Israelites listened to the spies. Nearly 3,500 years ago, the Lord delivered His people from Egyptian … He’s the chief spokesperson for God to his people, and vice versa.Aaron—Moses’ brother, and the high priest of Israel.Eleazar—Aaron’s son, who takes his place when Aaron dies.Balaam—A diviner for hire from far away. The fourth book of the Torah, The Book of Numbers, is devoted to the narrative of the experiences of the Jewish people during their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness of Sinai. Then God took Moses. Balaam organizes boycotts, and speaks in the name of skewed justice and human rights. Though we don’t know how he made it through those years, there is no doubt that God had always led and helped him. Balak is brutal, direct and minces no words. Forty Years in the Wilderness The Israelites lived at Mount Sinai for a year. Water came out of the rock. And the children of Israel said unto them. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: 3. Israel was sentenced to 40 years in the Wilderness Journey at Kadesh/Rithmah. The Israelites followed the cloud into the wilderness. When Pharaoh … The spiritual aspect expressed by Balaam vs. the phsical aspect expressed by Balak is a new thought for me. Israel was not wandering for 40 years in the desert. 3. Jews are inveterate travelers. The Bronze Serpent … 5 and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? The Israelites in the Wilderness. In the end, God turns Balaam’s curses into blessings. The future is still within our grasp to improve and succeed. It was the understanding and true meaning of Judaism. Then the first month (Nisan – Mar-Apr) of their 41st year is when they e ntered the Promised Land (Joshua 4:19.) The actual trip should have taken 11 days. Deuteronomy 32:49–52; 34:1–7; Alma 45:19. Jesus sent some quails for them. Additionally, how long did the Israelites travel from Egypt to Canaan? The Israelites complained for the same reasons we all do. In the first three months, the children of Israel left Egypt and went to Horeb in the wilderness of Sinai. Deut 1:3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them, That is still a lot of travelling for 600,000 men plus women and children and animals. He told Moses he would not help them anymore. Without God’s interference, so to speak, Balaam’s true wishes could have been fulfilled. However, it is Balaam who carries the key to the ultimate resolution of the situation. There is no mention that the “evening meal of meat” (quail) mentioned in Exodus 16:12 ever stopped. The Israelites wandered for approximately 40 years in the wilderness. ‍The Reubenite Line – The infamous pair of Reubenites, Dothan and Abiram, who rebelled against Moses’ authority during the wilderness wanderings, were the grandsons of Palu (Num 26:8–9), who in turn is mentioned in Gen 46:9 as one of the 70 migrants to Egypt. Positions of power take their toll on their holders. Even when God performed miracles to take care of those needs their mood of foreboding and pessimism was not easily dispelled. The exile mentality of the Jewish people, formed already in Egyptian bondage over three millennia ago, remains part of Jewish DNA even today. One day the Israelites were very thirsty. Why did Israel have to eat strange food called manna during … But even though God’s timeline may not align with ours, he doesn’t keep us in the desert forever. God was teaching Israel to rely on him. The spies came back. Victories and triumphs inevitably are followed by letdowns, frustrations and disappointments. The people drank the water. It seems, however, that God had other plans for our ancestors. Its wildest dreams of success and achievement had been fulfilled and realized. The exultation of Israel at seeing its hated oppressors destroyed at its feet knew no bounds. The 40 years in the desert was both harsh and necessary for the Jewish people to become who they would be. The Torah is not intended as a history book. However, almost immediately, the people of Israel, faced with the problems of the real world, turned sullen and rebellious. But he would not let them go into the promised land. Be encouraged and … The Israelites were afraid. The manna stayed fresh so long as the people gathered it up according to His instructions, and water came out of a rock for them (Numbers 20:11). Their lack of belief in God’s word and promises brought forth the wrath of God. They did not like the wilderness. Another major incident in the desert was the attempt of a Moabite king Balak to hire a non-Jewish prophet, Balaam, to curse the Jewish people (Numbers 22-24). And Moses was powerless to tell the people to reject the negative report. But some of the spies were afraid of the people of Canaan. It tasted bad. That honor and opportunity would be given to the next generation. Exodus 16:12-15 shows that God did this in the form of manna and quail. They wanted some meat. The Israelites went back into the wilderness. Balak threatens physical extermination, openly stating his aims and threats. After Moses sends twelve spies to scout out the land and bring back pertinent information, they return with tales of the great power of the natives there, and the Israelites are scared and refuse to enter the land. They brought many kinds of fruit. Nearly 3,500 years ago, the Lord delivered His people from Egyptian bondage as described in Exodus, chapters 1–12. So we must let Scripture shed light on itself. I find the thoughts expressed here true and meaningful. After the ancient Israelites left Egypt and came out of slavery, God commanded Moses to have them set up their Wilderness Camp in a specific way. They eventually backed up their report with personal agendas, woeful predictions and demagogic pronouncements. The wilderness through which Israel traveled on their way to the Promised Land was a hard place. Their children would grow up and go into the promised land. 2. Moses asked God to forgive them. They were angry at Moses. In Exodus 15:25, God gave the Israelites clean water to drink. On that basic core issue of Judaism, Moses saw no room for compromise or tolerance. (Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai). Back into the promised land both harsh and necessary for the Jewish people that how long were the israelites in the wilderness safely counteract Balaam ’ whip! 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