seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Numbers 14:10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”
What an amazing site this must have been!
Imagine, these 2+ million people had, until a few weeks ago, been slaves of the Egyptians. Remember, they had been raised and worked as slaves in a culture that had a God for everything..... even the pharaoh thought of himself as a god. All their lives they had been told what to do and what to think. Now they were on there own. In the human mind, that's a powerful place to be. They really thought they could control their own fate.
Now 10 out of 12 of the explorers were talking bad about Canaan. They said there were giants to be slain in order for them to take over Canaan.
Those 2+ million people forgot that they had already been through two wars with God in control. They forgot how He destroyed the Egyptian Army. They forgot how He helped them defeat the Amalekites..
Stupid Humans.... Now they are thinking of murdering Moses and Aaron. They probably would slaughter anyone who sided with Moses and Aaron.
Then.... a huge storm arrived. That's how God would have filled the tent of meeting.... like a huge dark cloud and since He was angry.... I bet it was worse than a tornado out of a hurricane!
This is from the easy English site.
But when God spoke, he did not speak to the people. Instead, he spoke to his servant Moses about the people’s wicked behaviour. He was very angry because they did not trust him.
God had already done so many wonderful things to help the Israelites. He had allowed 10 bad things to happen in the country called Egypt. This was so that the king would let the Israelites leave. God had made the Red Sea separate into two parts, so that the Israelites could walk through it. He had provided food and water for them in the desert. But still they did not believe that he had power to give to them the Promised Land.
God wanted to destroy Israel suddenly. In other words, he intended to let a disease kill all the Israelites. He had already allowed the Egyptians’ first-born sons to die in a similar manner. God wanted to make a new nation from Moses’ family. This was the second time that God had wanted to do this (see Exodus 32:10). The people in this new nation, like Moses and Aaron, would trust and obey God.
But Moses did not want God to start a new nation with his family. He was a really humble man! Instead, he worried that the people in Egypt and the other nations might say bad things about God. These other nations knew that the Israelites were special to God. God spoke to the Israelites. He looked after them. If God killed all the Israelites, the other nations would not know the real reason. So they might say that God was not powerful enough. He could not do what he had promised. He could not lead his people into the Promised Land.
Moses was not worried about what the other nations might say about him, or the Israelites. He was worried that they might insult God.
God had already done so many wonderful things to help the Israelites. He had allowed 10 bad things to happen in the country called Egypt. This was so that the king would let the Israelites leave. God had made the Red Sea separate into two parts, so that the Israelites could walk through it. He had provided food and water for them in the desert. But still they did not believe that he had power to give to them the Promised Land.
God wanted to destroy Israel suddenly. In other words, he intended to let a disease kill all the Israelites. He had already allowed the Egyptians’ first-born sons to die in a similar manner. God wanted to make a new nation from Moses’ family. This was the second time that God had wanted to do this (see Exodus 32:10). The people in this new nation, like Moses and Aaron, would trust and obey God.
But Moses did not want God to start a new nation with his family. He was a really humble man! Instead, he worried that the people in Egypt and the other nations might say bad things about God. These other nations knew that the Israelites were special to God. God spoke to the Israelites. He looked after them. If God killed all the Israelites, the other nations would not know the real reason. So they might say that God was not powerful enough. He could not do what he had promised. He could not lead his people into the Promised Land.
Moses was not worried about what the other nations might say about him, or the Israelites. He was worried that they might insult God.
So can you hear what God said to them? "How long do I have to tolerate you stupid humans?"
