The Story Chapter 6: Wandering

Prayer Requests

Recap

What happened last week?

God leads the Israelites to Mount Sinai, where He meets with Moses and provides them with the Law. But while Moses is with God, the Israelites rebel against God, and His anger burns against them. Moses convinces the Lord to have mercy on them, but God vows to punish them by striking Israel with a plague. Despite their rebellion, God continues to lead His people.

Intro Video

Key Events

The cloud of the Lord began to move from the tabernacle near Mount Sinai

The Israelites complain about their situation, angering God

They want meat to eat

God feeds them nonstop meat for a whole month.

He also struck them with a plague

Possibly related to eating unsanitary meat in the desert?

Miriam and Aaron speak badly about their brother Moses, because God has also spoken through them

God rebukes them saying: “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” .

Where is Jesus?

He strikes Miriam with leprosy, but Moses pleads on their behalf

“Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” .

Moses sends spies into the land of Canaan, which God promised to them

The spies report that the land is fertile, but filled with fearsome men.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Only Caleb, out of the 12 spies, believes they can take the land that the Lord has promised.

The Israelites are again rebellious, threatening to stone Moses and Aaron

God decides that none of the unfaithful Israelites will get to enter the promised land, only Caleb, Joshua son of Nun, and the younger Israelites will get to conquer it.

The Israelites wander for 40 years.

Moses asks God to provide water, and God instructs him to speak to a rock that water may come forth.

Moses, in his anger, instead strikes the rock to bring forth water.

For this lack of faith, Moses is told that he too will not enter the promised land.

Aaron dies in the desert.

The Israelites conquer the land of Arad by the power of God, and soon after start complaining again.

God responds by sending snakes into their camp.

Moses asks for God’s forgiveness, and He tells Moses how to build a bronze snake that will protect the people.

Israel conquers the Amorites when Sihon will not let them pass.

But the Israelites are now settled among pagans, and many Israelite men are seduced by pagan women.

These rebellious people are put to death.

It is now time for Israel to enter the promised land, which means it is time for Moses to die. He passes his leadership to Joshua, son of Nun, and gives one last speech to the Israelites, which includes :

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Where is Jesus?

Moses continually interceded with God on behalf of the Israelites, and Jesus now does for us

Romans 8:34 ESV

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

1 John 2:1–2 ESV

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Discussion

How could the Israelites feel so forsaken by God when they had God’s visible presence with them in the cloud?

Do we ever feel forsaken by God?

How can we feel so forsaken by God when we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us?

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