The Living Bible (51 page)

Numbers
20

The people of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin in April
*
and camped at Kadesh, where Miriam died and was buried.
²
 There was not enough water to drink at that place, so the people again rebelled against Moses and Aaron. A great mob formed,
³
 and they held a protest meeting.

    
“Would that we too had died with our dear brothers the Lord killed!” they shouted at Moses.
⁴
 “You have deliberately brought us into this wilderness to get rid of us, along with our flocks and herds.
⁵
 Why did you ever make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this evil place? Where is the fertile land of wonderful crops—the figs, vines, and pomegranates you told us about? Why, there isn’t even water enough to drink!”

    
⁶
 Moses and Aaron turned away and went to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where they fell face downward before the Lord; and the glory of Jehovah appeared to them.

    
⁷
 And he said to Moses,
⁸
 “Get Aaron’s rod;
*
then you and Aaron must summon the people. As they watch, speak to that rock over there and tell it to pour out its water! You will give them water from a rock, enough for all the people and all their cattle!”

    
⁹
 So Moses did as instructed. He took the rod from the place where it was kept before the Lord;
¹⁰
 then Moses and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock; and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring you water from this rock?”

    
¹¹
 Then Moses lifted the rod and struck the rock twice, and water gushed out; and the people and their cattle drank.

    
¹²
 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe me
*
and did not sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel, you shall not bring them into the land I have promised them!”

    
¹³
 This place was named Meribah (meaning “Rebel Waters”), because it was where the people of Israel fought against Jehovah, and where he showed himself to be holy before them.

    
¹⁴
 While Moses was at Kadesh he sent messengers to the king of Edom: “We are the descendants of your brother, Israel,”
*
he declared. “You know our sad history,
¹⁵
 how our ancestors went down to visit Egypt and stayed there so long, and became slaves of the Egyptians.
¹⁶
 But when we cried to the Lord he heard us and sent an Angel who brought us out of Egypt, and now we are here at Kadesh, encamped on the borders of your land.
¹⁷
 Please let us pass through your country. We will be careful not to go through your planted fields, nor through your vineyards; we won’t even drink water from your wells, but will stay on the main road and not leave it until we have crossed your border on the other side.”

    
¹⁸
 But the king of Edom said, “Stay out! If you attempt to enter my land, I will meet you with an army!”

    
¹⁹
 “But, sir,” protested the Israeli ambassadors, “we will stay on the main road and will not even drink your water unless we pay whatever you demand for it. We only want to pass through and nothing else.”

    
²⁰
 But the king of Edom was adamant. “Stay out!” he warned, and, mobilizing his army, he marched to the frontier with a great force.
^21-22
 Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel turned back and journeyed from Kadesh to Mount Hor.

    
²³
 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at the border of the land of Edom,
²⁴
 “The time has come for Aaron to die—for he shall not enter the land I have given the people of Israel, for the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Meribah.
²⁵
 Now take Aaron and his son Eleazar and lead them up onto Mount Hor.
²⁶
 There you shall remove Aaron’s priestly garments from him and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall die there.”

    
²⁷
 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. The three
*
of them went up together into Mount Hor as all the people watched.
²⁸
 When they reached the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on his son Eleazar; and Aaron died on the top of the mountain. Moses and Eleazar returned,
²⁹
 and when the people were informed of Aaron’s death, they mourned for him for thirty days.

Numbers
21

When the king of Arad heard that the Israelis were approaching (for they were traveling the same route as the spies), he mobilized his army and attacked Israel, taking some of the men as prisoners.
²
 Then the people of Israel vowed to the Lord that if he would help them conquer the king of Arad and his people, they would completely annihilate all the cities of that area.
³
 The Lord heeded their request and defeated the Canaanites; and the Israelis completely destroyed them and their cities. The name of the region was thereafter called Hormah (meaning “Utterly Destroyed”).

    
⁴
 Then the people of Israel returned to Mount Hor, and from there continued southward along the road to the Red Sea in order to go around the land of Edom. The people were very discouraged;
⁵
 they began to murmur against God and to complain against Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they whined. “There is nothing to eat here, and nothing to drink, and we hate this insipid manna.”

    
⁶
 So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them to punish them, and many of them were bitten and died.

    
⁷
 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against Jehovah and against you. Pray to him to take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.

    
⁸
 Then the Lord told him, “Make a bronze replica
*
of one of these snakes and attach it to the top of a pole; anyone who is bitten shall live if he simply looks at it!”

    
⁹
 So Moses made the replica, and whenever anyone who had been bitten looked at the bronze snake, he recovered!

    
¹⁰
 Israel journeyed next to Oboth and camped there.
¹¹
 Then they went on to Iyeabarim, in the wilderness, a short distance east of Moab,
¹²
 and from there they traveled to the valley of the brook Zared and set up camp.
¹³
 Then they moved to the far side of the Arnon River, near the borders of the Amorites. (The Arnon River is the boundary line between the Moabites and the Amorites.
¹⁴
 This fact is mentioned in
The Book of the Wars of Jehovah,
where it is stated that the valley of the Arnon River and the city of Waheb
¹⁵
 lie between the Amorites and the people of Moab.)

    
¹⁶
 Then Israel traveled to Beer (meaning “A Well”). This is the place where the Lord told Moses, “Summon the people, and I will give them water.”
^17-18
 What happened is described in this song the people sang:

    
Spring up, O well!

    
Sing of the water!

    
This is a well

    
The leaders dug.

    
It was hollowed

    
With their staves

    
And shovels.

    
Then they left the desert and proceeded on through Mattanah,
¹⁹
 Nahaliel, and Bamoth;
²⁰
 then to the valley in the plateau of Moab, which overlooks the desert with Mount Pisgah in the distance.

    
²¹
 Israel now sent ambassadors to King Sihon of the Amorites.

    
²²
 “Let us travel through your land,” they requested. “We will not leave the road until we have passed beyond your borders. We won’t trample your fields or touch your vineyards or drink your water.”

    
²³
 But King Sihon refused. Instead he mobilized his army and attacked Israel in the wilderness, battling them at Jahaz.
²⁴
 But Israel slaughtered them and occupied their land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, as far as the borders of the Ammonites; but they were stopped there by the rugged terrain.
*

    
^25-26
 So Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and lived in them, including the city of Heshbon, which had been King Sihon’s capital.
^27-30
 The ancient poets had referred to King Sihon in this poem:

    
Come to Heshbon,

    
King Sihon’s capital,

    
For a fire has flamed forth

    
And devoured

    
The city of Ar in Moab,

    
On the heights of the Arnon River.

    
Woe to Moab!

    
You are finished,

    
O people of Chemosh;

    
Your sons have fled,

    
And your daughters are captured

    
By King Sihon of the Amorites.

    
He has destroyed

    
The little children

    
And the men and women

    
As far as Dibon, Nophah, and Medeba.

    
^31-32
 While Israel was there in the Amorite country, Moses sent spies to look over the Jazer area; he followed up with an armed attack, capturing all of the towns and driving out the Amorites.
³³
 They next turned their attention to the city of Bashan, but King Og of Bashan met them with his army at Edrei.
³⁴
 The Lord told Moses not to fear—that the enemy was already conquered! “The same thing will happen to King Og as happened to King Sihon at Heshbon,” the Lord assured him.
³⁵
 And sure enough, Israel was victorious and killed King Og, his sons, and his subjects, so that not a single survivor remained; and Israel occupied the land.