Key word: Wanderings
Numbers records the sad consequences of Israel’s consistent rebellion against the Lord. It is called Numbers because of the census taken of the Exodus generation (1:46), and one taken of the Conquest generation 38 years later (26:51). The numbers are essentially the same because virtually everyone who left Egypt died in the wilderness even though it would have taken only a few weeks to travel from Egypt to Canaan, it took 40 years because of theirsin. By 14:22, Moses records that the people grumbled and rebelled so often (10 times already) that the Lord doomed them to perish in the wilderness (14:29). Only Joshua and Caleb of those over 20, were allowed to enter the Promised Land.
1 Corinthians 10:11 said all these failures were written down for our instruction. Yet in the midst of all this defiance the Lord desired to bless His people as reflected in Aaron’s great prayer of benediction for them (6:24-26).
Key verse: Numbers 6:24 – “The Lord bless you, and keep you.”
