The other spies’ conclusion was that a conquest of the land was impossible In unbelief, all the people went along with the pessimistic report and rebelled against the Lord and His promises of deliverance They cried out, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt” (14:4) Judgment by God was inevitable: death and disinheritance (14:11-12) Everyone who murmured against Jehovah would die in the wilderness in the course of forty years Only Caleb and Joshua, along with the children of the murmuring Israelites, would enter Canaan at the end of the forty years (15:1—19:22) The next thirty-seven years or more were transitional years in the history of the nation of Israel (When the commencement and closing days of the wilderness experiences D DESERT WANDERINGS are included, the total time period was forty years.) Read 15:1—19:22 The history of Numbers records very few events of these transitional years, for in a real sense they were years of void; one generation of Israel’s sacred history was quickly dying o , and its rising youth as yet had no history at all But though the period lacked in events, it did not lack in its significance as a transitional period Geographically The people neither advanced nor retreated geographically; rather, they wandered aimlessly about the wilderness and desert areas, between Kadesh and the Red Sea (14:25), consuming the years of God’s calendar of judgment Some of the names of the camping places are listed in 33:19-36 When the judgment years came to a close, the nation returned to Kadesh (20:1), ready then to advance toward Canaan Population The thirty-seven years produced the major population change The 600,000 warriors met their appointed death over the space of the years, some by violent causes (16:49), and were buried in the wilderness—daily reminders of God’s great judgment Children and youth under twenty years of age grew up, were married, and reared children; and by the end of the wandering years, a new generation of the seed of Abraham had appeared Spiritually In a spiritual sense, new seeds of hope were sown, the original covenant and promise rea rmed, and preparation for entering God’s land renewed For this spiritual ministry among the people, God still had His servants, Moses, Aaron, Aaron’s sons, the Levites, Joshua, and Caleb The next chapters of Numbers put into focus the major spiritual issues of these transitional years (22:2—36:13) The Israelites had now arrived at the gate to the promised land, Geographically, that gate is located in 22:1 as by “the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.” For the Israelites, God would keep the gate closed until the day of entrance arrived The delay was for the accomplishment of God’s sovereign business at this crucial junction in the history of the Israelites In the midst of new problems, the people would experience God’s hand of vindication and judgment (22:2—25:18) For preparation for life in the new land, a new census must be taken, a new leader identi ed to succeed Moses, and the Law of God nalized (chaps 26-30) (Actually, Deuteronomy contains the bulk of legislation given to the people at this time) E AT THE GATE TO THE LAND ... as by ? ?the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.” For the Israelites, God would keep the gate closed until the day of entrance arrived The delay was for the accomplishment of God’s... sons, the Levites, Joshua, and Caleb The next chapters of Numbers put into focus the major spiritual issues of these transitional years (22:2—36:13) The Israelites had now arrived at the gate to the. .. Population The thirty-seven years produced the major population change The 600,000 warriors met their appointed death over the space of the years, some by violent causes (16:49), and were buried in the