Week 9... Numbers, Desert, and COMPLAINING!!!

   YAY!!! Sorry guys... it's taper week!  No meet this weekend.  : (  I'm super excited for Regions though!

   We got to study the first half of Numbers this week!  The first ten chapters are a census of the able men in each tribe and detailed instructions from God on packing and setting up.  Moses got to have two silver trumpets to tell the people what to do! : )  I'd say the most important idea in this section is the fact that God was more than able to be commander of the camp, so to speak.  He decided when the Israelites left camp and when they set up.  Also, his way of comforting the Israelites with his presence was with the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night, either over the tabernacle or leading the Israelites while they were moving.  

   The second quarter of Numbers is a continuation of where the end of Exodus left off.  They pack up and leave Mount Sinai, travelling to Kadesh-barnea.  Moses sent twelve spies to go into the promised land... and you probably know the rest.  As soon as they heard that the all the adults twenty and older would have to die before they could go into the Promised Land, they were like, "Oh yeah!  We changed our minds... we'll follow you into the Promised Land, Moses!"  Well, you could imagine what Moses thought! He told them, "Do you want to disobey God further and inflict more wrath upon yourselves?" So the Israelites packed up and left, wandering the desert for 40 years.  Before leaving though... because they stayed there for a while... they complained about not having a variety of food.  God sent them quail, but as soon as they started eating it, they got a plague that killed them instantly.  A little while later, Aaron and Miriam got jealous of Moses and complained to God.  As a result, Miriam got leprosy and had to stay outside the camp for seven days.  A little while AFTER THAT, Korah and some other tribal leaders complained against Moses as well!  They were eventually swallowed up alive by the earth... the leaders AND their families.  God also sent another plague that killed almost 15,000 people. That's where we stopped for the week... sorry to leave you hanging!  However, the MOST IMPORTANT thing I learned was how seriously God takes the selection of leaders and how much he hates complaining.  We could all learn a lesson from these stories.         

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