Tag Archives: obedience

Three Hundred Men

65 – Three Hundred Men

Judges 7:1 – 8:35

Gideon gathered a troop of 32,000 men. He took them and camped south of the Midianites. The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men with you. If I give the Midianites to you now, Israel will say, ‘We won this victory by our own power.’ Tell them, ‘If you’re afraid, go home.’ ” 

Gideon said this to the people, and 22,000 people left, leaving 10,000 men.

The Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water. Watch carefully. Notice those who use their hands to bring the water to their mouth. Separate them from those who kneel down and drink like a dog.”

There were 300 men who drank, using their hands. The Lord said, “I’ll give you victory over the Midianites using these 300 men. Send the rest of them home.” So Gideon sent them home. 

Those who were left made camp above where the Midianites were in the valley. The people of Midian were like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were like the sand by the sea.

That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Sneak into the Midianite camp. If you’re afraid, take your servant with you. Listen to what the soldiers say.” So Gideon took his servant and went into the Midianite camp.

He heard a man telling a friend about a dream. He said, “I saw a loaf of bread rolling into our camp. It struck a tent and totally destroyed it.”

His friend answered: “I know what it means. That loaf of bread is the sword of Gideon the Israelite. God has handed the entire Midianite camp over to him.”

Gideon returned to Israel’s camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord has given the Midianites to you.” He divided the 300 men into three companies of 100. He gave each man a trumpet and a jar with a torch inside it.

He said, “Watch me and follow my lead. When we’re all at the edge of their camp, our group will blow our trumpets. You’re to do the same. Everyone shout, ‘The sword of the Lord and Gideon!’ ”

Then he placed them on three sides of the camp. When they were all in place, Gideon’s group blew their trumpets and broke the jars. The other two groups did the same. They held their torches in their left hands, their trumpets in their right hands, and shouted, “The sword of the Lord and Gideon!” 

This totally shocked the Midianite army! They panicked and started to run, yelling as they ran. Gideon’s men blew their 300 trumpets. With this, the Midianite soldiers drew their swords and started killing one another. 

Gideon then sent for the rest of the men of Israel. Together they ran after the Midianites as they tried to leave Israel. God gave a great victory that day over Midian, and they were no longer a threat to Israel. 

After the battle, the people wanted to make Gideon their king, but he refused. He simply went back to live at his house. Then Israel was at peace for forty years.

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Omar telling this story at Gideon’s spring (Ein Harod) in the Jezreel Valley, from the March 2019 BibleTelling Seminar in Israel

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Cave of Gideon’s spring, Ein Harod in the Jezreel Valley, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

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Gideon’s Fleece

64 – Gideon’s Fleece

Judges 6:1-40

For seven years, the Midianites came into Israel like a swarm of locusts. They moved across the land, taking everything off it—all the crops and farm animals. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat. The people became desperate and had to find places to hide in mountain caves.

A man named Gideon was also hiding from the Midianites. He had to thresh his wheat in a wine vat instead of an open threshing floor. The Angel of the Lord came and sat under an oak tree nearby. He said, “The Lord is with you, oh mighty warrior.”

Gideon said, “Oh my Lord! If God is with us, why is he allowing all these bad things to happen to us? Where are all the wonderful miracles our fathers told us about? God is no longer fighting for us.”

The Angel said, “I’m sending you to deliver Israel from the Midianites.”

Gideon was shocked. “Lord, how can I deliver Israel? I’m a nobody.”

The Lord said, “Yes, but I’ll be with you, and you’ll have victory.”

Gideon said, “Lord, I need a sign that you’re really talking to me. Please, stay here while I prepare a sacrifice.”

The Lord said. “I will stay here until you return.”

Gideon rushed off and prepared a sacrifice for him. When it was ready, he put it on a rock. The Angel of the Lord reached over and touched the sacrifice with the tip of his staff. Fire came up from the rock and burnt it up. And then the Lord vanished.

Gideon yelled, “Lord God! I’m about to die! I’ve seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!”

The Lord said, “Don’t be afraid. You’re not going to die. Do what I say. Your father has an altar of Baal. Tear it down and build an altar to God. Then offer a burnt offering to the Lord.”

Gideon obeyed, but he did it at night. He was afraid of his family and the men who lived in his city.

In the morning, people found Baal’s altar torn down. They saw the altar to the Lord built in its place, and the ashes of the burnt offering on top of it. Soon they learned Gideon had done this.

The men of the city went to his father’s house and said, “Give us your son! We’ll kill him because he tore down Baal’s altar.”

Gideon’s father said to them, “Show me the man who is defending Baal. He’ll be dead by morning! If Baal is really a god, let him defend himself.”

Once again the Midianites came into Israel and camped in a valley. The Spirit of the Lord filled Gideon, and he sent out messages for people to come, ready to fight.

Then Gideon prayed, “Lord, give me a sign.” He then put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor and said to God, “I’ll know you’ll deliver us if the morning dew is only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry.”

He got up early in the morning and found that the fleece was soaking wet, but the ground was dry.

Gideon said, “Lord, don’t be angry with me. Allow me one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry, and the dew be all over the ground.” In the morning, the fleece was dry, and dew was all over the ground.

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Job’s Three Friends

61 – Job’s Three Friends

Job 1:1 – 42:17

Job was a great man of high integrity who feared God and stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He was a rich man with many servants. His livestock included a large number of sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys.

One day, Satan went to the Lord when all of the angels were there. The Lord said, “So, where have you been?”

“Oh, walking here and there around the earth.

The Lord said, “Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one else on earth like him. He has high integrity and stays away from evil.”

Satan said, “Well, of course he does. He’s found that being righteous is a good deal. You protect him and everything he owns. You bless him and give him whatever he wants. But try taking away all his possessions. Then watch what happens. He’ll curse you to your face.”

The Lord said, “We’ll see. I give you permission to take everything he owns, but you can’t touch him personally.”

Soon afterwards, a servant ran up to Job and said, “Some thugs came and took all your oxen and donkeys. They tried to kill all the servants, and only I escaped. I immediately came to tell you what happened.”

While he was still talking, another servant ran up and said, “A huge storm blew in. Lightning struck and killed all your sheep and servants. Only I lived through it, so I ran here to tell you what happened.”

While he was still talking, another servant ran up. “An army came and took all your camels and killed the servants. I escaped and came to tell you what happened.”

While he was still talking, another servant ran up. “Your sons and daughters were eating together, when suddenly a tornado hit the house and they all died. I’m the only one to live through it. So I came here to tell you what happened.”

Job fell down with grief. He tore his clothes and shaved his head. He then bowed his head and said, “I came into this world naked. I’ll leave this life naked. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In spite of all that happened, Job didn’t sin or blame God.

Once again, Satan went to the Lord when all of the angels were there. The Lord said, “So, where have you been?”

“Oh, walking here and there around the earth.

The Lord said, “Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one else on earth like him. He has high integrity and stays away from evil, even after I permitted you, without any reason, to destroy all he had.”

“Oh, but you didn’t allow me to touch his skin. A man will do anything to save his life. Hit his flesh and bones, and he will curse you to your face.”

The Lord said, “We’ll see. I give you permission to strike him, but you can’t take his life.”

Soon afterwards, Job was covered with boils, from head to toe. He sat down in ashes and took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself. His wife said, “How can you go through all this and still keep your integrity? Curse God and die!”

He said, “You’re talking foolishness! I’m willing to accept whatever God gives me, good or bad.” And so, with all of this, Job didn’t sin or blame God.

Three friends of Job heard about what had happened, and went to visit him. They couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw him sitting there. They yelled and threw dust in their hair. All three sat down next to Job and didn’t say anything for seven days.

Finally Job cried out, “I wish I’d never been born!”

His friends then tried to help him understand what was happening to him. One friend explained that righteous people don’t suffer like this, only sinners do. Job agreed with him, but he didn’t know of anything he had done to deserve this.

His second friend was a bit more bold. He said, “Job, you’re a hypocrite! You need to confess your sin, and then God will be merciful.”

Job again held to his innocence. He said, “I remember seeing the righteous suffering, while evildoers were prospering.”

His third friend was the most bold of all. He said, “Job, you’re a liar! You’re a sinful man and deserve God’s judgment.” Now Job became passionate about his innocence.

A young man came along with a different perspective. He wanted to encourage Job. He said “God meant this suffering to be educational. Yes, the Lord is trying to correct your sin, but he’s also restoring you to righteousness.”

Suddenly, God talked to Job. He said, “My ways are far above what you can understand. My purpose for suffering is an individual matter for each person. Job, listen. I always know what is going on with you, and I’m always with you. I simply want you to come to the end of yourself and totally trust in me.”

The Lord then turned to Job’s friends. “I’m angry with you. All of your advice is false. Only Job spoke the truth.” God told them to make a burnt sacrifice and ask Job to pray for them.

God then restored to Job double of all that he had before. He got twice as many sheep and camels. He got twice as many oxen, and donkeys. God also gave him seven more sons and three more daughters.

Job lived to be an old man. He died at the age of 140 after living a full life.

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Achan

58 – Achan

Joshua 7:1 – 8:35

Before conquering Jericho, Joshua had made it clear to the people, “Be careful! Don’t take anything that is set aside for the Lord, or you will be set aside for destruction.”

One of the soldiers that went into Jericho that day was a man named Achan. There he saw a bag of silver coins, a bar of gold, and a beautiful coat from Babylon. He took them and hid them inside his tent. This angered the Lord. 

After the victory at Jericho, Joshua sent scouts to spy out a city called Ai. They came back and said, “There are only a few people at Ai. We won’t need to send our full force there, possibly only two or three thousand men.

So Joshua sent 3,000 men to conquer Ai. To their surprise, the men of the city won the battle! They killed thirty-six Israelites and chased away the rest of them.

The people were horrified at this defeat. Joshua tore his clothes. He and the elders fell down before the Ark of God with their faces to the ground. They put dust on their heads and stayed there all day.

Joshua said, “Oh Lord! Why did you bring us across the river? The Canaanites will hear about this defeat. They’ll surround us and wipe us off the earth. Then what will happen to your great name?”

The Lord said, “Get off the ground and stand up! Israel lost today because there’s sin in the camp. They disobeyed my command and took what was to be set apart. As long as you have those things, you’ll lose every battle because I’ll no longer be with you.”

The next morning, Joshua had all of Israel stand before him. Each tribe passed in front of him. The Lord selected the tribe of Judah. All the clans of Judah passed in front of him. The Lord selected one of them. All the families of that clan passed in front of him. The Lord selected one of them. From that family, Achan was selected.

Joshua said to him, “Son, what have you done. Don’t hide anything from me.”

Achan broke down and said, “It’s true. I sinned against the Lord. I saw a bag of silver coins, a bar of gold, and a beautiful coat from Babylon. I wanted them, so I took them and hid them in my tent.”

Joshua sent men to Achan’s tent to get the things he took. He then spread them out before the Lord and all of Israel.

The people then gathered everything that belonged to Achan; his sons and daughters, his livestock, his tent, and the things he took from Jericho. They stoned them until they were dead, and then burnt their bodies. They put a pile of stones on top of their ashes.

The Lord was no longer angry with his people. So he said to Joshua, “Take your entire army and attack Ai. I’ve given them to you. Once you conquer them, the people may keep whatever they find there.”

Joshua sent a group of men out at night. He said, “Go behind the city and hide.” He gave them exact instructions of what to do.

The next morning, he sent a troop to fight Ai. The men of the city saw them coming and went out to fight them. In the heat of battle, Israel started to run away, as they had done before. The men of Ai chased after them, leaving the city unprotected.

Once the men were away from the city, the Israelite soldiers came out of hiding and went into Ai and set it on fire. The men of Ai turned and saw their city on fire. They realized they were now between two parts of the Israelite army. They tried to escape, but couldn’t. All of them were killed in the battle.

The people were allowed to keep everything they found in the city, including the livestock. Then they destroyed the city.

After all of this, the people sacrificed to the Lord. Afterwards, Joshua read the entire Law to all the people, including the men, the women and the children.

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Jericho

57 – Jericho

Joshua 5:13-6:27

While the people were still at Gilgal, Joshua looked toward Jericho and saw a man standing nearby with a sword in his hand. Joshua walked toward him and asked, “Are you for us, or for our enemies?”

The man said, “I am captain of the Lord’s army. I’ve just arrived.” 

Joshua fell down and worshiped. The captain said, “Take off your shoes because you’re on holy ground.” 

The Lord said to Joshua, “I’ve given you Jericho, its king, and its army.” He then gave exact orders on how Jericho was to be conquered.

When the day arrived, Joshua arranged the people. He had part of the army take the lead. Behind them, he put seven priests who were to blow ram’s-horn trumpets. The Ark of God was behind them. The rest of the army followed the Ark. Joshua told the people, “Don’t say one word as you march around the city.”

As they marched around the city, the priests blew the trumpets, but the people were silent. Once they had circled the city, they returned to their camp and spent the night.

They did the same thing the second day and the third. They repeated this march around the city for six days. 

Early on the seventh day, Joshua told the people to follow the same procedure, except on this day they were to circle the city seven times. He said, “After we have marched around the city seven times, I will tell you to shout. The Lord will then give you the city. All the people and animals in the city are to die, except Rahab and her family.

“You’re to burn everything, except the gold, silver, and things made of bronze and iron. These are to be set aside for the Lord. Be careful! Don’t take anything that is set aside for the Lord, or you will be set aside for destruction.”

So that day the people marched quietly around the city seven times while the priests blew the trumpets.  After the seventh time, everyone stopped. 

Suddenly the priests blew the trumpets one more time and Joshua yelled, “Shout!” The people shouted, and the walls of the city fell down in front of them. The army of Israel marched straight into the city and destroyed it. The two spies that Rahab had protected immediately went to her house. They brought her and her family out of the city alive. Everyone else in the city was killed and everything was burned, except the gold, silver, and things made of bronze and iron.

Joshua then proclaimed a curse on the city of Jericho. He said, “Any man who rebuilds this city will lose both his firstborn son and his youngest son.”

So the Lord was with Joshua and his fame spread throughout the land. 

Rahab and her family were put in a safe place outside of the camp of Israel. Eventually she married an Israelite from the tribe of Judah. In time, they had a son named Boaz.

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Tel Jericho (aerial view from the southeast), from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

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Crossing Jordan

56 – Crossing Jordan

Joshua 3:7 – 5:12

In the morning, God said to Joshua, “Today, I will exalt you in the eyes of the people—so they’ll know I’m with you just like I was with Moses.”

Joshua told the priests, “Take the Ark of God, and go to the Jordan River.” So the priests carried the Ark of God to the river, which was at flood stage.  When they came to the water’s edge, they kept going until the water covered their feet.  

Suddenly the river stopped! A wall of water formed ten miles upstream.  The rest of it flowed down to the sea. Seeing this, the priests walked to the middle of the riverbed and stood on dry ground. Then the people started moving across the river.

Joshua then said to the twelve men Israel had selected, “Each of you pick up a large stone from where the priests are standing. Put it on your shoulders and take it to the other side of the river.” Joshua then took another twelve stones and built a monument in the middle of the river, next to where the priests were standing.

The people looked at Joshua, and he was exalted in their eyes. They knew God was with him just like he had been with Moses. 

When they had all crossed the river, Joshua said to the priests, “Come up from the middle of the riverbed.” As soon as the priests were on the banks of the river, the waters crashed down the riverbed and returned to its flooded condition, as it had been before.

Joshua took the people to a place called Gilgal, where they set up camp. Then he had them build a memorial with the twelve stones. He said, “In the future, children will see this monument and ask, ‘why are these stones here?’ Their parents will tell them about this day, when God stopped the Jordan River so his people could cross over on dry ground. All the nations of the earth will know that the hand of God, the Lord of all the earth, is powerful.” 

The people of Canaan heard how God stopped the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross over on dry ground. Terror spread throughout the cities of the land.

Joshua told all the men of Israel they had to be circumcised. This hadn’t been done for the entire 40 years the people had been in the wilderness. 

Soon after this, the people celebrated Passover. The very next day, the manna stopped appearing and it never came back. From that day on, the people were to eat the food from the land of Canaan.

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Jordan River by Bethany beyond Jordan, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

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Balaam’s Prophecy

53 – Balaam’s Prophecy

Numbers 22:36 – 25:18 31:7-16

When Balaam arrived in Moab, King Balak said, “What took you so long? I said I’d make you a rich man. Didn’t you believe me?” 

Balaam said, “I’m here now, but understand. I can only say what God tells me to say.”
 
So Balak took Balaam onto a high cliff overlooking the entire camp of Israel. Balaam had the king build altars to the Lord, and they sacrificed to Him. Balaam told the king to stay there while he went higher up the mountain to see what God wanted him to say. God gave him a message. So he went back to where King Balak and the elders of Moab were waiting.  

Balaam looked out over the people and said, “King Balak sent for me. He said, ‘Come and curse Jacob. Come and denounce Israel.’ But how can I curse those who God doesn’t curse. How can I denounce those who God doesn’t denounce? I stand on these cliffs and look out over these people. There is no other nation like them. Oh, that I had a privilege of dying like these righteous people die.” 

King Balak was shocked. “I brought you here to curse these people—not to bless them!” 

Balaam said, “I made it clear. I can only say what God tells me to say.” 

Balak said, “Come with me to a different spot. From there you will only see part of the people. Maybe you’ll be able to curse them.” They went to the second spot, and again they built altars and sacrificed to the Lord. 

Balaam told the king, “Stay here while I go talk to God.” The Lord met with Balaam and gave him words to say. He went back and said, “Oh, King Balak, listen carefully to what I am about to say. God isn’t like people. He doesn’t change his mind. He told me to bless the people because the Lord lives among them. He’s their king, and they’re happy about that. He brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand. So there isn’t a curse for them. They’ll be known for the great things God has done for them.” 

The king said, “If you can’t curse them, at least stop giving them a blessing.” Again the king took Balaam to a place where he could see the people. He said, “Try one more time and see if there is a curse for these people. 

Balaam once again had an altar built and they sacrificed to the Lord. But he didn’t go up the mountain. As he looked across the valley, the Spirit of God came upon him. “Oh, the tents of Israel are beautiful. They’re like a garden that has been planted by God. Whoever blesses these people will be blessed. Whoever curses these people will be cursed.” 

Balak was furious. “I’ve brought you here to curse these people. Now go home! The Lord has robbed you of the riches I was going to give you.” 

Balaam said, “I have one more message. Someone is coming. I can’t see who it is. He is like a heavenly star. He’ll be the King of Israel. He’ll have victory over all of his enemies.” 

With that, Balaam left, and King Balak went back to his place. Later, Balaam went to the king and said, “I can’t curse these people, but you can cause God to curse them.” And he gave him a plan. 

Shortly after that, the women of Moab went down to the camp of Israel. They had sex with the men, and then invited them to a festival for their idols. The men went, and soon they were worshipping the idols. 

God was furious! He sent a plague and 24,000 people died. One of the Israelites brought a Midianite woman to his family tent. They walked right past Moses and the elders of Israel. The son of the high priest took a spear and went into the tent. He thrust the spear through them both, killing them on the spot. 

With that, God stopped the plague. The Lord then told Moses, “Take your army. Go, kill the Moabites and the Midianites because of what they have done.” The Israeli army went out and defeated both nations. Among the dead was the body of Balaam because of the advice he had given Balak.

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Speak to the Rock

51 – Speak to the Rock

Numbers 20:1 – 21:35

The Israelites traveled to a place where there was no water. The people went to Moses and said, “We wish we would have died with our brothers under God’s hand. You brought us here with many promises, but we don’t see any farms, fig trees, or vineyards. On top of that, there’s no water for us or our livestock.” 

The Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together and stand in front of them with your staff. Speak to the rock, and it will give you water. There will be enough for the people and their livestock.” 

So Moses stood in front of the people. He said, “You’re a bunch of rebels. Do I have to provide you water from this rock?” With that, he hit the rock two times with his staff. Water came gushing out, and everyone had enough. 

But the Lord wasn’t pleased with Moses and Aaron. He said, “You didn’t trust my power. These people saw you disrespect my command. Therefore, you won’t take these people into the land I promised them.” 

As the people of Israel moved on, they came to the border of Edom. Moses sent a message to their king asking permission to pass through their land. He assured the king that they wouldn’t disturb anything, and they would pay for any water they drank. 

The king refused to let them pass through the land. He even sent his army to their borders and threatened war if the Israelites crossed into their land. So Moses turned away. 

Shortly after that, the Lord said to Moses, “Aaron is about to die. Therefore take the high priest’s garments off of him and put them on Eleazar, his son.” 

Moses did this, and Aaron died soon afterwards. The people of Israel mourned his death for thirty days. 

As the Israelites moved around Edom, the people started to complain again. They said, “We didn’t have to come here to die. We could’ve done that in Egypt. We have no water, and we hate this awful food!” 

So the Lord sent poisonous snakes into the camp. People were bitten, and many died. They rushed to Moses and said, “We’ve sinned! We shouldn’t have spoken against you and the Lord. Please talk to God and ask him to take away these snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people. 

The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake out of bronze and put it on a pole. People will be healed from their snake bites if they look at the bronze snake.” 

As the people of Israel traveled they came to the border of the Amorites. They sent a message to the king asking if they could travel through his land. They assured him that they would not take anything and would do no harm. 

The king of the Amorites refused. Instead, he took his army and attacked Israel. So the people of Israel fought them and totally defeated them. They took over all their cities and lived in them. They controlled all the land right up to the Ammonite border.

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Korah’s Rebellion

50 – Korah’s Rebellion

Numbers 16:1 – 17:13

As Israel went back into the wilderness, four men decided to set things straight concerning Moses and Aaron. The leader was Korah, from the tribe of Levi. They formed a group of two hundred fifty prominent men and went to Moses. They said, “You’ve taken your authority too far. We’re a holy nation. The Lord is with all of us. Things don’t have to always go through you.” 

Moses said to Korah, “I know what this is about. The Levites have been chosen to do the Lord’s service. Now you want the priesthood as well. God has chosen the family of Aaron, so you are in rebellion against God. Tomorrow, all of us will stand before the Lord holding censers filled with fire and incense. The Lord will choose who he wants to lead the people.” 

Two of the organizers said, “We’re not coming! You’ve brought us back into the wilderness to die. Now you’re telling us what to do like a king. So, we won’t be there!”

This made Moses angry. He said to the Lord, “I’ve never mistreated these people. I haven’t taken anything from them. Yet, they hate me.”

The next day, Moses, Aaron, and all two hundred fifty men stood before the Lord with their censers filled with fire and incense. The entire congregation was there to watch. 

The glory of the Lord appeared, and God said to Moses and Aaron, “Step out of the way. I’m going to destroy the entire congregation.” 

Moses fell down and begged, “Oh, God, don’t punish everyone for what a few people have done.” God said, “Tell the people to move away from the tents of the men who refused to come to this meeting.” So everyone moved away from those tents. The two men came out and stood next to the door of their tents, along with their wives, children, and babies. Korah went and stood with them. 

Moses spoke to the congregation. “If these men grow old and die a natural death, then you’ll know that the Lord didn’t send me to do these things. But if something unusual happens to them, you’ll know they were speaking against God.”

Suddenly, the earth opened, and these men and their families fell into the hole. The ground closed up around them as if the earth swallowed them. People screamed and ran thinking they might be swallowed as well. Then fire came and killed all two hundred fifty men who were holding censers with incense. 

The Lord said to Moses, “Collect all two hundred fifty censors from among the men’s ashes. Hammer them into plating and use it to overlay the altar. This will remind the people that the priesthood is only for Aaron and his descendants.” 

Even with all of this, the people were still talking about the priesthood the next day. A crowd gathered around Moses and Aaron to talk about the people who died. They said, “You killed God’s people.” 

Moses turned and saw that God’s anger was hot against the crowd. He said to Aaron, “Quick, go get a censer and fill it with incense and fire. Run among the people and make atonement for their sins. God’s anger is flowing out, and he’s striking them with a plague.” As Aaron did this, he saw that the plague had started. He made atonement for the people, standing between the dead and those who were alive. The plague stopped, but 14,700 died that day.

To solve the issue of the priesthood, the Lord said to Moses, “Have each tribe bring a walking stick. 

Put Aaron’s name on Levi’s walking stick. Place them in the Tabernacle. I’ll make one of them sprout. This will make the people stop complaining about you!” 

Moses followed the Lord’s instructions. The next day, not only had Aaron’s walking stick sprouted, it formed buds, blossomed, and produced almonds! The people saw this and were amazed. From that day, they didn’t even want to go near the Tabernacle, in case they would die. Aaron’s staff was put back into the Tabernacle for safekeeping.

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Twelve Spies

49 – Twelve Spies

Numbers 13:1 – 14:45

When the Israelites arrived at the border of Canaan, God said to Moses, “Send twelve men to search out the land.” So Moses selected one man from each tribe of Israel. He told them to go into the land and bring back information about the people and their cities. He also told them to bring back some of the fruit that was growing in the land. 

The men stayed in Canaan for forty days. When they came back, two of them were carrying a large cluster of grapes on a pole between them.

When the men gave their report, ten of the men said, “It’s true, the land is great and flows with milk and honey. But, the people are big and powerful and live in cities with high walls.” 

The other two men were Caleb and Joshua. They gave a different report. They said, “We must go up and take this land. We can do it!” 

The other ten yelled, “No, we can’t attack these people! They are stronger than we are. We felt like grasshoppers next to them!”

The Israelites were afraid when they heard this report. They turned against Moses and said, “Did God bring us here to be killed? We could’ve died in Egypt! The men of this land will kill us and make slaves of our wives and children. We’re going to select a new leader and go back to Egypt.” 

Joshua and Caleb ran out in front of the people and tore their clothes. They cried out, “This land is very good, and the Lord is about to give it to us! Don’t rebel against him because you’re afraid. The Lord is with us. We’ll swallow up these people!” 

The people of Israel attacked Joshua and Caleb, but suddenly the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tabernacle. God said to Moses, “How long will these people refuse to believe in me? They saw the wonders I did in Egypt. They saw the many miracles I did among them. Yet they still test me. 

“Therefore these people won’t see the land I promised their fathers. I’m sending them back into the wilderness, and they’ll stay there for forty years until they’re all dead. Everyone who is twenty years old or older will not see the land, except for my servants Caleb and Joshua. They’ll go into Canaan because they followed me without hesitation. Since these people worried about their children, I’ll take their children into the land of Canaan, and give it to them.” 

Moses told the Israelites what the Lord had said, and they broke down and cried. The ten men who brought back a bad report were suddenly stuck by a plague and died. Early the next morning the people said, “We now realize we’ve sinned. We’ll go into the land as the Lord commanded.” 

Moses said, “No! The Lord is sending you back into the wilderness. Don’t disobey him again. If you go into the land, you’ll be defeated because God is not going with you.” 

Nevertheless, they went into Canaan against God’s will. And just like Moses said, they were defeated in battle. Many were killed and the rest came back in disgrace. 

So the people of Israel turned back into the wilderness where they remained for the next forty years. All of the adults who came out of Egypt would die there. Still, the Lord was with them and met their needs. Their clothes and shoes didn’t get old, and God provided their daily food.

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Story Telling by Phyllis Hostmeyer
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