A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

ecause of the same kind of unbelief that left a generation outside of the land of promise.
Negatively, the New Testament points to Israel in the wilderness as an example of what the
believer should not do.
THE PREPARATIONS AT SINAI
(Num. 1:1-10:10)
As Israel prepared to march to Kadesh Barnea, God commanded Moses, “Take a census
of all the congregation of the Children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses,
according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above-all
who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies” (Num.
1:2-3). It was determined there were 603,550 men of war in the camp. Because of their rebellion,
all but Joshua and Caleb would die before the nation entered the land. They would refuse to go in
and fight, in part because they thought of themselves as outnumbered against the enemy, but the
army that would eventually fight and win the battles would be smaller by 1,820 men (cf. 26:51).
Much time was spent in counting the people and taking inventory of the tabernacle treasures
before Israel began her march to Kadesh Barnea. This national census and inventory was a
reminder to the people of that day and that God is an orderly God by nature.
THE WANDERING OF ISRAEL
(Num. 10:11-25:18)
According to God’s perfect timing, Israel should have been ready to march from Sinai
right into the Promised Land by the time the census was complete, but even as they left the
mountain of God, the murmuring began. Three days into the journey to Kadesh Barnea, the
people began complaining, raising the ire of God. God responded by sending a fire which “consumed
some in the outskirts of the camp” (Num. 11:1). In their suffering, the people cried unto
Moses who prayed on their behalf, and “the fire was quenched” (v. 2). Moses called the place
Taberah meaning “a burning” to remind the people of the consequence of their sin, but rather
than causing the people to increase their trust in God, the fire caused some of the people to
remember the old barbeque pits they had in Egypt.
One of the problems in the camp of Israel was what the Scriptures describe as “the mixed
multitude.” These were non Jews who had thought it a good idea to leave Egypt with the
Israelites during the Exodus, but though they had left Egypt physically, they had never come to
the place where they were prepared to give up the luxuries associated with their former life in
Egypt. And one of those luxuries was meat.
God responded to the murmuring of the mixed multitude by giving them exactly what
they wanted. He caused a wind to blow a flock of quail in from the sea. So large was the flock
which fell by the camp of Israel, that everyone who wanted quail had plenty to eat. “He who