The Great Story - Week 06: The Wandering People (Num 01-27)

“All that the Lord has spoken we will do” is what they said. God was on their side. He had sent a prophet to them and he had led them out of captivity. The Egyptians were destroyed when they attempted to pursue. Hungry in the desert, the Lord had fed them. God had given them His holy ordinances and the people knew that God was dwelling in the tabernacle and leading them wherever they went. How is it that when everything seems to be going so well that sin enters the picture and begins to corrupt?

The Israelites were tired of the free food that God supplied every day. They yearned for the meat and produce that was available while they still in captivity. Forgetting all the hardships they endured in Egypt, they desired to be out of the wilderness and return to their life as slaves just so they could eat some different food. They questioned whether Moses was the one that God actually chose to lead them or even whether he was fit to lead. They doubted God when they saw the might of the people living in the Promised Land. A lack of faith in Israel characterizes much of the book of Numbers.

God had a plan for Israel. If Israel would have followed the commands of God, they would have been blessed endlessly. Instead judgment befell them and they spent an additional forty years wandering the desert. Even Moses had a lapse that forced him to stay outside of the Promised Land. Submission, Trust, and Obedience are the things that God demanded, but the Israelites were a stiff-necked people. Sometimes judgment is necessary before repentance can begin.

Week 06 of The Great Story tells of the predicaments that Israel got themselves in to during their forty years in the desert. The cycle of sin, judgment, and repentance continues throughout the book of Numbers. Listen and Learn from the missteps of the Israelites.

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