There the Israelites sang this song:
?Spring up, O well!”
Overjoyed at the abundance of fresh water, they couldn’t help but sing.
Sing out, O people of God. Sing it out, and pray it too.
A loan (Numbers 20)
“The time has come for Aaron to join his ancestors in death.”
Life is not a gift, but rather a loan that must be paid back.
Eternal life is a gift.
A myriad of rules (Numbers 19)
“If someone touches a human bone or a grave, that person will be defiled for seven days.”
There seem to have been a myriad of rules and regulations the Israelites had to follow. It would seem to have been impossible to go through a single day without one or the other of them being applicable.
But maybe in large part that was the reason behind the rules and regulations. They were not to go through a day without remembering whose they were, and whom they served.
At the same time (Numbers 18)
“If you follow these instructions, the Lord’s anger will never again blaze against the people of Israel.”
The Lord is holy and merciful at the same time. He hates sin and rebellion, but He is compassionate toward the sinner who repents.
Aaron’s staff budded (Numbers 17)
“This should put an end to their complaints against me, and prevent any further deaths.”
Aaron’s staff budded, blossomed and produced ripe almonds – overnight! This miracle was to show the Israelites once again (and for all) that Aaron and his descendants were the ones chosen to serve as priests.
And, because the Lord is merciful, this was done also to prevent any further deaths.
Korah (Numbers 16)
Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their familes were swallowed alive, as it were, by the earth itself, as the ground split apart underneath them.
God’s judgment is terrible.
That same passionate statement (Numbers 15)
“I brought you out of the land of Egypt so that I might be your God!”
Here again is that same passionate statement – “…that I might be your God.”
The last straw (Numbers 14)
“But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, not one of these people will ever enter that land.”
The decision was final. When ten of the twelve spies went against the advice of Joshua and Caleb and incited the crowd to pick up stones to stone them, it was the last straw.
Like a new pair of glasses (Numbers 13)
“But the people living there are powerful.”
A strong faith in the living God is like a new pair of glasses. You can see things clearly. It was poor spiritual vision that caused the men to see the people in front of them as bigger and more powerful than the living God who was under, above and all around them.
That is why (Numbers 12)
“Aaron and his sister criticized Moses, and challenged his authority. Moses, who was a humble man (the most humble man on earth!), did not go on the defensive. The Lord intervened for him. Miriam was struck with leprosy and was driven from the camp for seven days.
The Lord reminded Aaron and Miriam of the special, close relationship He had with Moses. No doubt that is why Moses was so humble.
