Numbers 10: 11-36 After spending 11 months at Mount Sinai, the Israelites and Moses are told to begin their journey towards the Promised Land.

As much as getting to the Promised Land is obviously the goal of the Israelites, there is noticeable anxiety from them when it comes time for the people to leave another place that’s familiar (Sinai) for one that’s uncertain (the Wilderness).

will test the bonds of that group: As every family or any group of travelers knows, going “on the road” together will test the bonds of that group: You will see the worst of each other. Patience and endurance will be tested. Hopefully… all will be well at the end.

Numbers 11: 1-3 1 “Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when He heard them His anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah [Burning], because fire from the Lord had burned among them.”

Mount Sinai and its stability. Numbers 11: 10-15 Moses has a “break down” conversation with God over the Israelites’ whining for quail & his general feelings of “burn out” as their leader. Moses, too, is missing Mount Sinai and its stability.

the 2 who remained inside the camp. Numbers 11: 16-30 God gives Moses instructions to delegate his leadership roles to 70 Elders and then pours out the Holy Spirit on the 68 who gathered at the Tabernacle… as well as the 2 who remained inside the camp.

Numbers 11: 31-34 As God had promised earlier on, He gave the Israelites what they “craved;” tons and tons of quail along with a plague, turning that area into a massive graveyard.

Numbers 12 Moses’ siblings (Miriam and Aaron) begin to speak badly about Moses’ wife and Moses; feeling they have as much a right to “rule” over the Israelites as Moses.

and Aaron out to answer for it. God immediately stops this insurrection and calls Miriam (the instigator) and Aaron out to answer for it. Miriam is struck with leprosy for a week, and exiled outside the camp for the duration… slowing the group’s journey.

“Traveling Truths” 1.) God sees the “road” in the wilderness. 2.) God is better than any other comfort. 3.) Lusts & cravings kill our progress. 4.) “God is generous with His grace, but thorough with His discipline.” – Andy Stanley