Chapter I

_KADESH-BARNEA AND THE MISSION OF THE SPIES._
NUMB. X.–XIV. B.C. 1490.

THE period of the encampment of the Israelites at Sinai had now occupied upwards of a year. The Covenant had been concluded, the Law had been given, the Tabernacle had been erected, the priests had been consecrated, and Jehovah dwelt in the midst of His chosen people. It was now time to think of marching onwards towards Canaan. As, however, the occupation of that country must of necessity be preceded by its conquest, an organization of the Israelitish forces was the first duty. Accordingly, a census was taken of all who were fit for war, or about twenty years old, and the result gave a total of 603,550 fighting men (Num. i. 46), to whom if we add the Levites, the women, and the children, we may conclude that the host numbered altogether between two and three millions. The first anniversary of the Passover was then duly celebrated, and on the twentieth day of the second month in the second year, the Pillar of Cloud moved from off the Tabernacle, and this signal for departure having been given, the order of the march was marshalled.

First, borne by the Kohathites, went the Ark of the Covenant, the lid of which was the throne of Jehovah, and was overspread by the Cloudy Pillar (Num. x. 33). Then followed the tribe of Judah, the most numerous and the strongest of all the tribes, supported by Issachar and Zebulun, under the standard of a “Lion,” the ensign of Judah. Then followed the sons of Gershon and Merari, bearing the external portions of the Tabernacle, the coverings and hangings, the boards, the pillars, and the sockets. They were succeeded by the tribe of Reuben, flanked by Gad and Simeon, marching under the common standard of Reuben, a “Man’s Head.” Next came the rest of the Kohathites, bearing the sacred vessels of the Sanctuary. Then the tribe of Ephraim, flanked by Benjamin and Manasseh, under the standard of Ephraim, the figure of an “Ox;” and the long procession closed with the tribe of Dan, between Naphtali and Asher, with the standard of Dan, an “Eagle with a Serpent in its talons.”

These arrangements having been made, the Silver Trumpets sounded, the silence of the desert was broken by the shout, _Rise up, Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee before Thee_ (Num. x. 35; comp. Ps. lxviii. 1, 2), and the march began. At this time there was present in the camp HOBAB, by some supposed to have been the father-in-law, by others the brother-in-law of Moses. The Israelitish leader knew how invaluable would be the experience of one so well acquainted with every track and pass in the terrible wilderness they were now about to traverse, and he earnestly entreated him to continue with them, and share the goodness which the Lord would show to Israel (Num. x. 29). There seems little doubt that Hobab consented to accompany the people, and to be to them _instead of eyes_ amidst the dangers of the inhospitable desert[109].

In the course of three days the host entered on the sandy plain which parts the mountain-mass of Sinai from the table-land of the Tîh[110]. Having for more than a year enjoyed the pleasant encampment before the Mount of God, they no sooner entered on this arid tract, than they gave vent to their feelings of discontent. During the journey from the Red Sea to Sinai God had borne with similar manifestations of their weakness. But now that they had been brought into nearer and more visible relations with Him, having the Sanctuary in their midst, the Ark preceding them, and the Manna dropping upon them from day to day, their murmurings could not be thus passed over, but brought down instant rebuke and punishment. On this occasion the Divine displeasure was marked by the outbreak of a fire on the extreme outskirts of the encampment, which inflicted considerable damage, and was only removed by the intercession of Moses, who called the spot TABERAH, or _the burning_ (Num. xi. 1–3).

But this judgment had scarcely been removed when the same spirit of discontent broke out afresh. The _mixed multitude_, which had accompanied them from Egypt, and soon afterwards the Israelites themselves, began to complain of the Manna, _this light food_, as they called it, and lamented the loss of the fish, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, and other vegetables, they had enjoyed in the fertile valley of the Nile. So loud and general were their complainings, that Moses despaired of accomplishing the purport of his mission, and poured out his soul in prayer to God, begging for some relief from the burden of daily anxiety which weighed him down. In mercy towards His despairing servant, the Lord bade him select seventy elders, and bring them to the door of the Tabernacle, and promised to take of the spirit that was upon him and bestow a portion on them, that they might share with him the weight of responsibility. He also promised that on the morrow flesh, such as the people had pined after, should be given them, and that not for one day only but for a whole month, until it became even more loathsome to them than the celestial food they had so lately despised. In obedience to this command, the seventy elders were brought before the Tabernacle, and the Lord bestowed upon them a portion of the spirit that was upon the Israelitish leader, and _they prophesied, and did not cease_. Two of their number, ELDAD and MEDAD, though selected for this high office, either from accident or some other cause, did not accompany the rest to the appointed place, and though they remained in the camp, and at a distance from the Cloudy Pillar, became inspired with the same spirit. This striking incident was announced to Moses by Joshua, who, jealous for his master’s honour, thought that such prophesying ought to be prohibited. But Moses thought otherwise. _Enviest thou for my sake?_ he replied; _would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them_ (Num. xi. 24–30. Comp. Mk. ix. 38; Lk. ix. 49).

Shortly afterwards the second promise of the Lord was also fulfilled. A strong wind brought up a prodigious number of quails from the sea in the proximity of the Gulf of Akaba, which covered the ground to the extent of a day’s journey on either side of the camp. For two days and a night the people were busily occupied in collecting, and spreading the birds abroad, probably for the purpose of drying them. So they _did eat and were filled_; for _God gave them of their own desire, they were not estranged from their lust_ (Ps. lxxviii. 29, 30). But while the meat was still _between their teeth_, His _wrath fell upon them_, and He smote them with a severe plague, _and slew the mightiest of them, even the chosen ones of Israel_ (Ps. lxxviii. 31), and the spot where they were buried was named KIBROTH HATTAAVAH, the _graves of lust_.

From this ill-omened encampment the host proceeded in a north-easterly direction to _Hazeroth_, which is thought to have been the modern _Ain-el-Huderah_, and to have consisted of the unenclosed semi-permanent villages, in which the Bedouins are found to congregate[111]. Here a still severer trial awaited Moses. There arrived in the camp a Cushite or Ethiopian woman (Num. xii. 1) whom he had married, and who is identified by some with Zipporah, while others believe her to have been an Egyptian whom he had espoused previous to his flight from that country. Hitherto the position of Miriam had been one of great influence in the camp, and second only to that of Moses and Aaron (Comp. Micah vi. 4). To her the arrival of the stranger was most unwelcome, and she feared she would now be deposed from her high position as a “mother in Israel.” Having, therefore, induced Aaron to share her views, she openly turned against Moses and maintained that he was not the sole expositor of Jehovah’s will, that she and Aaron were of equal authority with him (Num. xii. 1–4).

With his wonted self-control Moses was content to endure these reproaches in silence. But the Lord interposed to defend the honour of His servant. The Pillar of Cloud suddenly appeared before the Tabernacle, and thither Aaron and Miriam were summoned together with Moses himself. There in words of stern rebuke the Lord denounced their hard speeches against His chosen servant. Very different was his position from that of an ordinary prophet, to whom the Divine will might be made known by vision or dream. _My servant Moses_, said Jehovah, _is faithful in all my house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently and not in dark speeches, and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold; wherefore, then, were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?_ With this vindication of the true position of the Hebrew leader the Cloud removed, and Aaron looked on Miriam, and behold! she had become leprous, _as white as snow_. Thereupon Moses interceded for her, and the Lord promised that the judgment should not be permanent, but as unclean she must remain without the camp for seven days, during which period the host remained at Hazeroth (Num. xii. 4–16).

The days of her purification being ended, the Israelites resumed their march, and striking northwards across the plateau of the Tîh, probably after several intermediate encampments, reached KADESH or KADESH-BARNEA (Num. xxxiii. 36). This spot, whether identified with the spring of _Ain-Kŭdes_, or with _Ain-esh-Shehabeh_ south of _Jebel-el-Mŭkhrah_, or with _Ain-el-Weibeh_ in the _Arabah_[112], was at the very gates of the Promised Land. It required but a strenuous and persevering effort to reach the final goal of their long journey. This effort Moses exhorted them to make (Deut. i. 20, 21), bidding them not be afraid, but go up boldly and possess the land, which the Lord God of their fathers had given them. On this the people proposed (Deut. i. 22) that spies should first be sent to ascertain the best route, and what cities ought first to be attacked. Moses consented to this proposal, and with the Divine concurrence selected twelve princes, one from each tribe, whom he exhorted to make a thorough search throughout the length and breadth of the land, and ascertain its character, its products, and its inhabitants (Deut. i. 23; Num. xiii. 1–20).

One of the select twelve was HOSHEA, the valiant attendant of Moses, whose name was now changed to JEHOSHUA or JOSHUA (_God the Saviour_), a title which well became the future leader of the Israelitish hosts. It was now _the time of the first ripe grapes_ (Num. xiii. 20), or the month of September[113]. Setting out from the wilderness of Paran, the spies traversed the land as far north as Rehob on the way to Hamath, in the valley of the Orontes, which divides the ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. Then they _ascended by the south_[114], and came to Hebron, where dwelt Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the gigantic sons of Anak. In a valley opening on this city, celebrated even now for its vineyards, they plucked pomegranates, and figs, and a bunch with one cluster of grapes of such enormous size that it required to be carried on a staff between two men, whence the valley was named ESHCOL, or the _Valley of the Cluster_. With these proofs of the fertility of the land, after an absence of forty days, the spies returned and presented themselves in the camp at Kadesh before the host assembled to hear their report.

The productiveness of the promised land, they said, was sufficiently attested by the fruits they had brought back. It was, indeed, _a good land, and flowed with milk and honey_. But the people, it could not be denied, were strong, and of great stature, and among them were the sons of Anak, before whom they themselves appeared as grasshoppers (Num. xiii. 33). They were proceeding to enumerate the chief tribes whom they had encountered, when Caleb, the Kenezite, of the tribe of Judah, one of their number, anxious to dispel the feelings of despondency with which their report was received, broke in with the advice that the people should make an immediate attack, and promised them speedy and certain success. But, save the valiant Joshua, he found no other to support his brave counsels; the rest of the spies dwelt only on the dangers of the expedition, and their despondency found but too faithful an echo in the hearts of the people, who burst forth into lamentation, openly murmured against Moses and Aaron for having brought them thither, and even proposed to appoint a captain to lead them back into Egypt. In vain Joshua and Caleb tried to calm the tumult, and to check the mutiny. The host would listen to nothing, and even threatened to stone them to death. But at this moment the Glory of Jehovah appeared before the Tabernacle in the sight of the whole people. Terrible though most just was His wrath at this signal proof of faithlessness, in spite of all the signs and wonders He had wrought in their midst. He threatened to destroy them utterly with pestilence, and make of Moses a nation greater and mightier than they. But, as before on Sinai, so now that unselfish leader stood heroically in the gap. He pleaded earnestly with the justly offended Jehovah; he represented the joy the rejection of the people would cause to the Egyptians and the nations of Canaan, who had all heard of _the mighty Hand and the stretched out Arm_, which had guided them through the wilderness. Finally, he appealed to the NAME which the Lord Himself had proclaimed on the top of Sinai[115], _the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth_, and implored the forgiveness of the people (Num. xiv. 11–19).

His prayer was heard. The Almighty assured him that the nation, as a nation, should be preserved, their name should not be utterly blotted out. But, save Joshua and Caleb, not one of that generation, which in spite of the wonders they had seen in Egypt and in the wilderness had refused to trust in God, should enter into the promised Land. For them, all hope of entry was cut off; every one, from twenty years old and upwards, should die; their carcases should lie bleaching in the wilderness (1 Cor. x. 5), while their children, whom they had deemed a certain prey to the Canaanites, should atone for their faithlessness by wandering forty years, a year for each day the spies had been engaged in searching out the land (Num. xiv. 33, 34). As an earnest of this judgment, the ten spies, who by their faithless despondency had been the primary cause of the mutiny, were struck with instant death, and the command was given to the rest of the host to _return into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea_. This announcement was received by the people with universal lamentation, and on the morrow they rose up, and in spite of the earnest exhortations of Moses (Deut. i. 42, 43), and the ominous circumstance that the Cloud had not removed from the Tabernacle, made a wild rush up the steep and difficult pass, probably _es-Sufah_, leading into the uplands of Southern Palestine, where they encountered the Amorites (Deut. i. 44), the _highlanders_ of the mountains, and their old enemies the Amalekites (Num. xiv. 45), by whom they were driven back, routed and discomfited as far as Hormah (Num. xiv. 20–45).