KNUTSFORD METHODIST CHURCH

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Egyptian face profile Memoirs of Moses
Part 8 - Failure!
Back to the Wilderness

We had reached the borders of the promised land after many trials and difficulties, and now all we had to do was go in and conquer it. I did not think that would be difficult, because when we fought the Amalekites some prisoners told us of an invading army sweeping through Canaan to Egypt. This meant that the Canaanites would be much weakened. Also, and more important than anything else, we had Yahweh on our side, and after all the power He had shown there should be no problem. However He suggested that I send out spies first. So I chose one good man from each tribe, 12 in all, to survey the land. Among them I included Joshua, my personal assistant, and Caleb, who had always been supporting; two people I could trust above all.
After a few days the spies returned. The first thing we noticed was that two of them had a pole over their shoulders supporting the biggest bunch of grapes anyone had ever seen. This, they said, was typical of the fruitfulness of the country. Their report of the country was glowing until they came to the point of how well it was defended. Then they talked about cities with strong walls, and huge men called Anakites (also called the Nephilim). These were a race of giants who lived in that land. (Editors note; the Goliath who was killed by David was one of these men). At this the people became afraid, and refused to attack the land, only Aaron, Joshua and Caleb were in favour of attack.
I tried to reason with the people that Yahweh would ensure victory, but the mood turned ugly. The mob threatened to stone us and elect new leaders who would take them back to safety in Egypt. Then the cloud of Yahweh's presence appeared outside my little tent of meeting at the edge of the camp, and I went into the tent to see what He wanted. He was very angry. He suggested that He should destroy all the people except Aaron, Joshua, Caleb and myself and our families then build a new nation on those four families. This idea appalled me. Besides what would the Canaanites think of our God? They would boast that He could overcome the weak gods of Egypt but their gods were too powerful for Him. At this Yahweh relented a little, but condemned the people to wander in the wilderness until all the fighting men who had refused to enter Canaan were dead. Only Joshua and Caleb would survive to receive His promise.
The people then changed their minds (again!), no doubt remembering how tough it had been since they had left Egypt, and the army promptly marched into Canaan near a hill top city called Salem. The Canaanite and Amalekites had by this time raise their army, and the Israelites were soundly beaten. They came back with their tails between their legs. That was the end of that rebellion, and we sadly turned away from the promised land to follow the cloud of Yahweh's presence back into the wilderness....
For the next nearly 40 years we camped in the wilderness south of the promised land, moving form place to place as Yahweh guided. He never failed to take us where there was pasture for the flocks, and also never failed to supply Manna every morning wherever we were. Initially the Israelites were very subdued after their defeat, and slowly they came to realise that they had to rely on Yahweh and not on their own reasoning. Even so a few incidents of rebellion occurred.
During this period also Yahweh gave us some more laws, generally as a result of experiences in which questions were raised about what was right and what was wrong. One new law, which I feel will one day become very important to our descendents, was the ritual of the sacrifice of a red heifer for the purification of the water for ritual washing and anointing of priests. This was a remarkable requirement as our cattle did not normally produce red calves, but just occasionally one did appear.
One terrible incident occurred over which I had much grief. A Levite called Korah, led a group of Levites to incite a rebellion against me and Aaron. I argued with them and challenged them to bring their firepans with a fire in them, and some incense before Yahweh outside the Tabernacle. Korah and about 250 others came but two, Dothan and Abiram, refused, even though I entreated them specifically. Yahweh appeared as a dazzling light in front of us all and threatened to destroy all the Israelites, but Aaron and I pleaded with Him not to do so.
I remembered the story of Abraham pleading for Sodom, and how Yahweh agreed not to destroy the city if 10 righteous men were there. I asked Yahweh if he would destroy the whole tribe for one rebel. He took my point but insisted He should punish the offenders. I was then ordered to challenge the people as to who was judging. If the offenders died a natural death then they had done no wrong, but if something incredible happened to destroy them then they were judged by Yahweh. I told the people to stand away from the tents of Dothan and Adiram as a precaution. It happened that I used as illustration the idea that the earth would open up and swallow the offenders, and was somewhat stunned when it did just that. The rest of the people fled, except the 250 rebels including Korah who were struck down by what seemed like a bolt of fire from heaven and burned to death. The fire pans of the burnt men were beaten into a covering for the alter.
Next day the people had gathered their wits and started to grumble at Aaron and me, saying we had killed the rebels. Again Yahweh appeared as a dazzling light and threatened to destroy the people, and again Aaron and I pleaded for them. He then warned me to tell Aaron, as high priest, to prepare a purification ritual to re-purify the people. Before Aaron had got the ritual ready some sort of plague hit the camp and people started dropping dead where they stood. Aaron rushed into the camp and performed the ritual which resulted in the plague ceasing.
Finally, Yahweh confirmed that Aaron was His choice as High Priest by calling all the leaders to bring their staffs of authority and place them beside Aaron's outside the Tabernacle. I got them to set a watch to ensure there was no cheating. Next morning Aaron's rod was covered in leaves, flowers and fruit whereas the others were unchanged. The people could not argue who was the chosen priest. I had Aaron's rod put into the Ark of the Covenant as a perpetual reminder of God's choice, and also at Yahweh's command I ordained that the high priest must always be a descendant of Aaron.
There were no more rebellions after that display of Yahweh's displeasure and power, but there was one other incident I should recall. It was my big mistake! We had arrived at Kadesh in the desert of Zin. There Miriam, who was the oldest among us, died, and we buried her there. This was a tragedy for me but an even greater one was to follow. We had run out of water again, and the people were blaming me - again.
So I went to prayer as usual, and Yahweh indicated a huge rock nearby and told me to tell it to produce water for us. Without really thinking, I walked up to the rock and hit it with my staff as I had done on a previous occasion. Nothing happened so I hit it again. This time water gushed out, and I walked away thinking Yahweh had not let us down. Imagine my surprise when I felt the call to pray and Yahweh proceeded to reprimand me. He said, "I told you to SPEAK to the rock not to hit it." I was thunderstruck, and even more so when he said that as punishment I would not be allowed to lead the Israelites into the promised land. This was a bitter pill after all the years I had led the Israelites. He also said that both my brother Aaron and sister Miriam would also die before we got there.
I pondered this incident for a long time, because it seemed so odd. Why did Yahweh tell me to speak and not to strike? Eventually I concluded that He was leading me to a deeper level of faith and authority, and that in falling short I had probably made its more difficult to conquer the promised land. Everyone's failings had effects on other people.
After this incident Yahweh started to move us closer to the promised land and into confrontation with other nations.
To be continued...
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	Memoirs of Moses Part 8 - Failure! Back to the Wilderness
We had reached the borders of the promised land after many trials and difficulties, and now all we had to do was go in and conquer it. I did not think that would be difficult, because when we fought the Amalekites some prisoners told us of an invading army sweeping through Canaan to Egypt. This meant that the Canaanites would be much weakened. Also, and more important than anything else, we had Yahweh on our side, and after all the power He had shown there should be no problem. However He suggested that I send out spies first. So I chose one good man from each tribe, 12 in all, to survey the land. Among them I included Joshua, my personal assistant, and Caleb, who had always been supporting; two people I could trust above all. After a few days the spies returned. The first thing we noticed was that two of them had a pole over their shoulders supporting the biggest bunch of grapes anyone had ever seen. This, they said, was typical of the fruitfulness of the country. Their report of the country was glowing until they came to the point of how well it was defended. Then they talked about cities with strong walls, and huge men called Anakites (also called the Nephilim). These were a race of giants who lived in that land. (Editors note; the Goliath who was killed by David was one of these men). At this the people became afraid, and refused to attack the land, only Aaron, Joshua and Caleb were in favour of attack. I tried to reason with the people that Yahweh would ensure victory, but the mood turned ugly. The mob threatened to stone us and elect new leaders who would take them back to safety in Egypt. Then the cloud of Yahweh's presence appeared outside my little tent of meeting at the edge of the camp, and I went into the tent to see what He wanted. He was very angry. He suggested that He should destroy all the people except Aaron, Joshua, Caleb and myself and our families then build a new nation on those four families. This idea appalled me. Besides what would the Canaanites think of our God? They would boast that He could overcome the weak gods of Egypt but their gods were too powerful for Him. At this Yahweh relented a little, but condemned the people to wander in the wilderness until all the fighting men who had refused to enter Canaan were dead. Only Joshua and Caleb would survive to receive His promise. The people then changed their minds (again!), no doubt remembering how tough it had been since they had left Egypt, and the army promptly marched into Canaan near a hill top city called Salem. The Canaanite and Amalekites had by this time raise their army, and the Israelites were soundly beaten. They came back with their tails between their legs. That was the end of that rebellion, and we sadly turned away from the promised land to follow the cloud of Yahweh's presence back into the wilderness.... For the next nearly 40 years we camped in the wilderness south of the promised land, moving form place to place as Yahweh guided. He never failed to take us where there was pasture for the flocks, and also never failed to supply Manna every morning wherever we were. Initially the Israelites were very subdued after their defeat, and slowly they came to realise that they had to rely on Yahweh and not on their own reasoning. Even so a few incidents of rebellion occurred. During this period also Yahweh gave us some more laws, generally as a result of experiences in which questions were raised about what was right and what was wrong. One new law, which I feel will one day become very important to our descendents, was the ritual of the sacrifice of a red heifer for the purification of the water for ritual washing and anointing of priests. This was a remarkable requirement as our cattle did not normally produce red calves, but just occasionally one did appear. One terrible incident occurred over which I had much grief. A Levite called Korah, led a group of Levites to incite a rebellion against me and Aaron. I argued with them and challenged them to bring their firepans with a fire in them, and some incense before Yahweh outside the Tabernacle. Korah and about 250 others came but two, Dothan and Abiram, refused, even though I entreated them specifically. Yahweh appeared as a dazzling light in front of us all and threatened to destroy all the Israelites, but Aaron and I pleaded with Him not to do so. I remembered the story of Abraham pleading for Sodom, and how Yahweh agreed not to destroy the city if 10 righteous men were there. I asked Yahweh if he would destroy the whole tribe for one rebel. He took my point but insisted He should punish the offenders. I was then ordered to challenge the people as to who was judging. If the offenders died a natural death then they had done no wrong, but if something incredible happened to destroy them then they were judged by Yahweh. I told the people to stand away from the tents of Dothan and Adiram as a precaution. It happened that I used as illustration the idea that the earth would open up and swallow the offenders, and was somewhat stunned when it did just that. The rest of the people fled, except the 250 rebels including Korah who were struck down by what seemed like a bolt of fire from heaven and burned to death. The fire pans of the burnt men were beaten into a covering for the alter. Next day the people had gathered their wits and started to grumble at Aaron and me, saying we had killed the rebels. Again Yahweh appeared as a dazzling light and threatened to destroy the people, and again Aaron and I pleaded for them. He then warned me to tell Aaron, as high priest, to prepare a purification ritual to re-purify the people. Before Aaron had got the ritual ready some sort of plague hit the camp and people started dropping dead where they stood. Aaron rushed into the camp and performed the ritual which resulted in the plague ceasing. Finally, Yahweh confirmed that Aaron was His choice as High Priest by calling all the leaders to bring their staffs of authority and place them beside Aaron's outside the Tabernacle. I got them to set a watch to ensure there was no cheating. Next morning Aaron's rod was covered in leaves, flowers and fruit whereas the others were unchanged. The people could not argue who was the chosen priest. I had Aaron's rod put into the Ark of the Covenant as a perpetual reminder of God's choice, and also at Yahweh's command I ordained that the high priest must always be a descendant of Aaron. There were no more rebellions after that display of Yahweh's displeasure and power, but there was one other incident I should recall. It was my big mistake! We had arrived at Kadesh in the desert of Zin. There Miriam, who was the oldest among us, died, and we buried her there. This was a tragedy for me but an even greater one was to follow. We had run out of water again, and the people were blaming me - again. So I went to prayer as usual, and Yahweh indicated a huge rock nearby and told me to tell it to produce water for us. Without really thinking, I walked up to the rock and hit it with my staff as I had done on a previous occasion. Nothing happened so I hit it again. This time water gushed out, and I walked away thinking Yahweh had not let us down. Imagine my surprise when I felt the call to pray and Yahweh proceeded to reprimand me. He said, "I told you to SPEAK to the rock not to hit it." I was thunderstruck, and even more so when he said that as punishment I would not be allowed to lead the Israelites into the promised land. This was a bitter pill after all the years I had led the Israelites. He also said that both my brother Aaron and sister Miriam would also die before we got there. I pondered this incident for a long time, because it seemed so odd. Why did Yahweh tell me to speak and not to strike? Eventually I concluded that He was leading me to a deeper level of faith and authority, and that in falling short I had probably made its more difficult to conquer the promised land. Everyone's failings had effects on other people. After this incident Yahweh started to move us closer to the promised land and into confrontation with other nations. To be continued... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *