Joshua The Wilderness Journey ~ Part 1 Various Passages W HAT THE CHILDREN MOST REMEMBERED the little children, the young ones stumbling behind their elders was the strange silence of the night of their running. No one spoke. Mothers and fathers walked swiftly with strained faces and many backward glances. They walked in the midst of an endless multitude of people; and though there were the sounds of a thousand sandals grinding sand and the stretch of leather, the huff of large cattle, the bleating of tired sheep, yet there was not a human voice to comfort them. So the children went forward, big-eyed and frightened. Even when dawn began to streak the eastern sky, people continued grimly hurrying, hurrying. They did not stop. But sunlight and the warmth of the morning seemed to change things. Here and there the children heard soft talking. A little early whispering. Then giggling. The young women were giggling. Suddenly a man let out a bark of laughter and immediately shut up. But then another man started to laugh and could not stop. He covered his mouth, but the laughter came out of his nose. His shoulders were shaking. The people who saw him began to grin. Then they chuckled; then they, too, broke into outright laughter. They roared with laughter. They laughed till the tears ran down their cheeks. They covered their stomachs and gasped for air and howled as if they were hurting. Like flocks of wild birds the laughter rose up and flew from family to family, from tribe to tribe throughout the entire congregation of Israel and this, finally, is what caused the people to stop running: laughter. They made the round desert ring with the sound of their joy. And all the little children laughed along, though they didn t know why. They gathered kisses from mothers made beautiful by the mystery of this happiness, and from their fathers they received winks and pokes and mighty hugs. So they remembered that the long night of silence had been followed by a day of laughter, loud, united, sweet, and free and ever thereafter the children wished that such a day would come again. As they grew older they longed for one more day of a pure and infant innocence. It never came again. 1 I A Wilderness Journey A. Examining Exodus 1. Where s the Water 2. Where s the Beef 3. Here s the Law 4. Here s the Tabernacle 5. A Rebellious People 6. A Rebellious Family Introduction: We finished the book of Exodus a while back. Consequently, before starting Joshua, I want to touch on the highlights, or in some cases lowlights, of the Wilderness Journey. This will allow us to move from the release from Egyptian slavery to joining Joshua as he prepares to move Israel into Canaan. So we ll be stopping along the way as we travel 1 Wangerin Jr., Walter; The Book of God: The Bible as a Novel, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996, p. 98-99.
through the Pentateuch. One source I used in setting up the introductory material is Old Testament Essentials: Creation, Conquest, Exile and Return. 2 The first time we actually see Israel as a whole we find her fleeing pharaoh s army. The people are panic stricken. Yes they d seen God work miracles. But they had pretty much lived on the sidelines. So we shouldn t be too surprised that they are panicking. Ands as frightened people are wont to do, they turned on Moses. They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness (Exodus 14:11 12 ESV). A. Examining Exodus: Israel survived the sea and is now facing the wilderness. You d think traveling from Exodus to Canaan wouldn t be all that hard. The traveling time, without a stop at Mount Sinai, would have been a couple of weeks. Unfortunately it took 40 years. Of course even then men wouldn t ask directions. So let s take a look at the events which slowed down the progress. Keep in mind, just like the believers walk, the journey had ups and downs. But Israel s underlying problem was a spiritual, attitudinal one. It reflected an inability to trust God even when He was blessing them. We too, when we experience trials, can ask God; What have you done for me in the last five minutes. So before we re too hard on the Israelites we need to remember we too struggle even though we re indwelt by the Holy Spirit, they weren t. 1. Where s the Water?: Only three days ago God had saved Israel from Pharaoh s army. He had parted the Red Sea. The nation walked through the waters on dry land. And as the army was in the midst of the sea God closed it over the army. But now Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer. Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water (Exodus 15:22 27 ESV), 2 Longman III, Tremper Old Testament Essentials: Creation, Conquest, Exile and Return, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2014 ) 2 (
The people are thirsty, seriously thirsty. Again they start complaining and grumbling. To add insult to injury when they do find water they can t drink it because its polluted. But God blesses them by providing the way to cleanse the water. God uses this incident as a teaching opportunity. He blesses the people and then He calls them to walk in obedience to Him. They are to walk in a way that brings Him glory. And with obedience comes the promise of blessing. 2. Where s the Beef?: So the nation has seen God part the Red Sea. They were thirsty and God provided water. Now they re angry. And of course they go directly to God. Right? No, not right. Once again they complain. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. (Exodus 16:2 3 ESV) God heard the people grumbling. He saw their lack of faith. But again He used the situation as a learning experience for the people. He gave them a quail dinner. And beginning the next morning God began to provide Manna. The rules were simple. Six days a week the people would receive enough for a day. If they took more than they needed it would rot and stink, as some discovered. And prior to the Sabbath they d receive enough for two days so they wouldn t have to work on the Sabbath day. Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11 ESV). What is most important to see though is that all this is HIStory. Because the Manna in the wilderness was bread of heaven for Israel. And this bread is a picture of the bread we all need to partake of. Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, Sir, give us this bread always. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst (John 6:32 35 ESV). 3. Here s the Law: So like all God s children the Israelites struggle with trust, faith, obedience and walking in God s ways. They were products of 400 years in Egypt where idolatry was the norm. That being the case they would struggle with idolatry in one form or another throughout history. We too struggle with being sucked in by our environment. We are so surrounded by the absence of standards in a fallen world we don t always recognize when we re being impacted by them. ) 3 (
be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. keep alert with all perseverance (Ephesians 6:10 12, 18 ESV) So the nation arrived at Mount Sinai. It was here that God was to provide the nation with His Law. Whereas God had been dealing with the people according to His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob now He gives them the Law. Now they people knew where they stood and of course they knew they would be obedient to God s commands. So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do (Exodus 19:7 8 ESV). Much of the latter part of Exodus is taken up with the Law and the details of the Tabernacle. 4. Here s the Tabernacle: And of course God knew the people would fail at keeping the Law. For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near (Hebrews 10:1 ESV). Accordingly God gave specific plans for the building of the Tabernacle and setting up the sacrificial system. But the point of all this was to first show our inability to keep the Law and that the sacrificial system pointed to the final sacrifice, Christ. you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Acts 7:53; Hebrews 9:11 14 ESV). 5. A Rebellious People: And as to prove the point. Moses had been up on the mountain for a while talking to God. Apparently, the people have gotten restless, sitting there at the foot of the mountain. They acted as if Moses had disappeared and left them stranded. Without him they wanted a visible representation of God. They felt they had a need for a more real god to worship. And with the years of being in Egypt it was almost inevitable they decided on an idol. But of course to add insult to injury it was Aaron who consented, condoned and then led the people in this mess. Remember it wasn t God s intent that Moses have an assistant. ) 4 (
Moses said to the Lord, Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue. Then the Lord said to him, Who has made man s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak. But he said, Oh, my Lord, please send someone else. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him (Exodus 4:10 16 ESV) And Aaron certainly could talk alright Moses said to Aaron, What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. So I said to them, Let any who have gold take it off. So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf. (Exodus 32:21 24 ESV). And the end result was that three thousand died at the hands of the tribe of Levi. And the promise of a nation of priests came to an end with Levi becoming the priestly tribe due to its obedience and the sin of the nation. And so Exodus ends, Leviticus provides details of the Law, the offerings and the sacrifices. But for the action we move from Exodus to Numbers. And you d have thought the people would have got it by now. But three days out of Sinai they start complaining again. (Numbers 11) Now we all grumble at times, but the problem here isn t just that they are dissatisfied with their circumstances. The real issue is a serious disrespect of the Lord. Allen notes: Instead of Now the people complained, the Masoretic text could also be translated, Now the people became truly murmurous, an offense to Yahweh s ears. 3 Allen introduces the following chapters in this way. We now begin an entirely new and unexpected account in the experience of the people of the first generation. They had been prepared by Moses, at the instruction of the Lord, to be a holy people on a march of triumph bound for the Promised Land. But by the third day of the march, the people faltered; the holy people became sullied with contempt for the Lord. Chapters 11-20 present a dismal record of their acts of ingratitude and of God s consequent judgments on his ungrateful people. Within these chapters are innumerable instances of his continuing grace. The reader of these texts goes astray if he or she focuses solely on God s wrath or on the constant provocations to his anger by his meandering 3 Allen, Ronald B., The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Numbers, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990. ) 5 (
people. The more impressive feature in this text is God s continuing mercy against continuing, obdurate rebellion. 4 So God drops some fire on the camp and the people shut up. Wrong. Instead they complain about the cuisine. They d been living on Manna for some time. But they were tired of it. Now they wanted meat. Oh and by the way, this latest problem was started by the rabble, those who came with Israel out of Egypt but were a mixed group, not Jews. Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at. (Numbers 11:4 6 ESV). God was providing food daily but that wasn t adequate. They wanted what they wanted. And not too surprisingly God was not happy with them. You want meat. I ll give you meat. say to the people, Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt. Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, Why did we come out of Egypt (Num. 11:18 20 ESV). 6. A Rebellious Family: Now, in Chapter 12, it wasn t bad enough that the people were rebelling against Moses and of course that meant against God. But now his bother and sister get into the act. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also? (Numbers 12:1 2 ESV) Ah, the blessings of family. I hear so many people grieving over how they ve been betrayed by their family. But Keep in mind that Jesus gets it And Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, He is out of his mind. (Mark 6:4; 3:21 ESV) Because this event hits so close to home with so many let me finish up by focusing on the sad situation Moses finds himself. Then we ll continue on with looking at events occurring in the wilderness journey on the way to meeting up with Joshua next time. 4 Ibid. ) 6 (
If I were Miriam and Aaron I d be real nervous about now. God suddenly steps in, coming to Moses defense. He calls the three to meet Him at the Tabernacle. This is definitely a good news bad news kind of deal. He wants both Miriam and Aaron to understand that His relationship with Moses is unique. The form here is again poetic. God speaks through dreams to the average prophet. But with Moses God chooses to speak face to face. Allen translates the poem this way. Hear my words: If there is one of your prophets I am Yahweh! I may speak to him by means of vision, or I may talk to him by means of a prophetic dream. But not so with my servant Moses; in all my household he is reliable. Face to face I speak with him, in personal presence and not in riddles; he gazes on the semblance of Yahweh. Why then are you not terrified, to speak against my servant, against Moses? 5 Note the warning words. Why are you not terrified? If they weren t before now they sure had better be. The fact we are God s children shouldn t allow us to be self confident. In Hebrews we see that God disciplines those who are his own. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons (Hebrews 12:5 8 ESV). And God does this by bringing His judgment down on Miriam. As the Pillar of Cloud departs, Miriam stands exposed as a leper. First, it should be noted since Miriam is judged and Aaron seems to escape unscathed, this would seem to support the impression that Miriam is the primary mover behind this attack on Moses. Second, God s judgment is ironic. Miriam has complained that Moses is in the spotlight and she and Aaron are on the back burner. Now she will no longer even be able to participate in the Lord s service. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell. And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did (Numbers 5:1 4 ESV). Miriam has lost everything that matters to her, that is except one thing, her brothers Aaron and Moses. Finally Aaron speaks up. He makes a plea for his sister to his brother. He asks Moses to pray for Miriam s healing. For it was Moses secondarily and God whom they sinned against. And he believed, with cause the Moses intervention would save his sister. 5 Ibid. ) 7 (
Aaron is now functioning as a High Priest. First, he confesses his own sin. Whether he actually actively supported Miriam, he certainly supported her in his silence. And so he confesses his sin. Having dealt with his own sin, he pleads for Miriam, just as he would plead for the sins of the people. But consider, Moses is depressed. He s been struggling with the rejection and attacks of the people. Then the very ones to whom he should have been able to turn had stabbed him in the back. One certainly couldn t have blamed him if had told both Aaron and Miriam to take a hike. Nevertheless, there is no hesitation. Moses immediately goes to the Lord and pleads for his sister. God responds to Moses request and heals Miriam. But there are two lessons to be taught. First, Miriam needs to understand the consequences of her actions. But the people also need to be reminded that Moses is God s spokesman, and to attack Moses is to attack God. So Miriam is put outside the camp for a week. Moses is the example here though. When the need occurs he rises to the occasion. He is able to forgive and he is able to move beyond his own pain and struggles. Though his sister and brother turned against him at the worst possible time, he is able to forgive them both and to intervene for his sister. This is a lesson that will serve him well as he has to continually intervene for the Israelites. To model Christ to others we too need to be able to forgive as we are forgiven. We are to forgive even those who have hurt us the most. Then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive (Matthew 18:21 22; Colossians 3:13 ESV). The call to love is the call to forgive. The response to being forgiven is to forgive others. Whereas Miriam and Aaron demonstrated jealousy and paid the price, Moses demonstrated forgiveness and serves as the example to us of what God desires from us. Avoid Jealousy Let there be no room in all your house for jealousy either to sit or to stand. It is a leprous abomination. Your brother s success, O sisters, is your success! His victories will be your victories. While Moses, the brother, led the vocal music after the crossing of the Red Sea, Miriam, the sister, with two glittering sheets of brass uplifted and glistening in the sun, led the instrumental music, clapping the cymbals till the last frightened neigh of pursuing cavalry horse was smothered in the water, and the last Egyptian helmet went under. TALMAGE. 6 6 McClure, editor, J. B., Pearls from Many Seas, The Master Christian Library, AGES Software, Albany, OR, Version 7.0 1998. ) 8 (
Joshua The Wilderness Journey ~ Part 1 Various Passages I A Wilderness Journey A. Examining Exodus 1. Where s the Water 4. Here s the Tabernacle 2. Where s the Beef 5. A Rebellious People 3. Here s the Law 6. A Rebellious Family Introduction: (Exodus 14:11 12) A. Examining Exodus: 1. Where s the Water?: (Exodus 15:22 27) 2. Where s the Beef?: (Exodus 16:2 3; Matthew 6:11; John 6:32 35) 3. Here s the Law: (Ephesians 6:10 12, 18; Exodus 19:7 8)
4. Here s the Tabernacle: (Hebrews 10:1, 9:11 14) 5. A Rebellious People: (Exodus 4:10 16, 32:21 24; Numbers 11:4 6, 11:18 20) 6. A Rebellious Family: (Numbers 12:1 2; Mark 6:4; 3:21; Hebrews 12:5 8; Numbers 5:1 4; Matthew 18:21 22; Colossians 3:13) Personal Application: Is there someone you haven t forgiven? Is this hard to do? Ask the Lord to help you forgive if this is something you have still to do. Prayer for the Week: Father, thank You for Your forgiveness. Give me the desire and the Spirit to forgive where I haven t done so. In Jesus name, amen.