Thus far, we have established that the Book of Numbers reflects Sukkot and that YHWH designed Israel’s community, mirroring His heavenly hosts surrounding His enthronement upon the cherubim. YHWH’s cherubim throne sat upon the covenant tablets inside the Ark, and by it, YHWH led Israel through the wilderness. The whole movement to the Land had its roots in both the Abrahamic and Sinai covenants. The essence of the covenants was that the Creator would once again dwell with His image bearers as He did in Eden. He would be their God, and they would be His people, and He would dwell in their midst (Exo. 29:45-46; Eze. 37:27; Rev. 21:3). To dwell with a holy God meant the people, ha-am, must also be holy. Holiness, defined as separation from anything to do with death or what causes death, is the essence of God’s heart. Holiness is life. YHWH appeared above “the atonement-lid” of the Ark on the Day of Atonements, providing a way for Israel to be cleansed from all traces of lawlessness, resulting in a truly holy people God could dwell among.

Arranged in the beauty of perfection and dressed in laws of fidelity, Israel began their journey to the Land, bearing and following YHWH’s throne. Describing in detail Israel’s response to YHWH leading them to inherit the Land, the next fifteen chapters of Numbers divide their rebellions after the three-tiered squares of the camp’s holiness gradient, the tribes, the priesthood, and the sanctuary leadership. From national, priestly, and tribal and family leadership, Israel rebelled. Bad actors in the outskirts of the camp and the mixed multitude among Israel instigated the first two rebellions of Israel’s march. From Israel’s Yam Suph crossing to the ten spies’ bad report of the land, Israel rebelled ten times.¹ All of that generation died in the wilderness, the last in Numbers 25. Arising out of their failure, a new, second-generation transitions in, replacing the national (Moses with Joshua), priestly (Aaron with Eleazar), and tribal (new tribal and family heads) leadership. Thus, a new holy Israel is born in whom YHWH finds no iniquity. What happened with the old generation? Why did this happen? And why do we remember Israel’s example during the Feast of Tabernacles?

Living in the Presence of the holy God meant He heard, saw, and felt the people’s unbelief and rejection. He spoke with anger kindled and took action, destroying ra² in the re-creation process. Morales wrote, “Contrary to common perceptions, then, the wilderness rebellions in Numbers are seldom generic sins of grumbling, but focused on uprisings led by particular leaders with a designated role in the community; nor do they derive from tests on the part of God (as in Exo. 6), but are impulsive and willful revolts”³. At Taberah, when the people complained in the outskirts of the camp, YHWH heard. His anger arose, so a fire burned among them, consuming some. The mixed multitude among them lusted intensely for meat so that the families of Israel wept for the food of Egypt, despising YHWH’s manna, causing Moses to become exceedingly burdened with bearing them, so he cried out to YHWH for relief. YHWH responded to Moses by appointing seventy elders endowed with His Spirit to assist him in countering Israel’s ungrateful spirit of depravity permeating the camp. YHWH spoke to Moses, “Is YHWH’s power limited? Now you will see whether My word will befall you or not” (Num. 11:23). A wind went out from YHWH and brought quail from the sea to the outside of Israel’s camp. Israel greedily gathered them up and began devouring flesh. Because the people yielded to craving, YHWH’s anger went out against them and struck them with a very great plague, and they were buried in the “graves of greediness,” Kibroth Hattaavah. At Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses regarding his headship, and YHWH struck Miriam with leprosy and exiled her outside the camp for seven days. Israel’s repeated rebellions, prompting YHWH’s anger, convinced Moses that Israel was going to die. When the people believed the ten spies’ evil report and rebelled by refusing to enter the Land YHWH promised under the covenant, they confirmed their death. Instead of being willing to endure hardship for a time out of devotion to YHWH (the Nazarite vow), Israel’s eyes loathed the manna from heaven and lusted for the food of Egypt, preferring slavery to evil and death. Israel’s ungracious rebellions were a rejection of YHWH and Moses’ saving them from Egypt and shepherding them to the Land in covenant fulfillment.

Ultimately, Israel’s ten rebellions since leaving Egypt to refusing to enter the Land at Kadesh threatened YHWH’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Israel had not heeded YHWH’s word but, through yielding to cravings for flesh and pleasures, infused His holy camp with evil. Even with seventy elders anointed with the Spirit washing them with the water of His word, Israel was not deterred from destruction. YHWH’s fiery judgment was inevitable. Israel’s heart remained unaltered in arrogance and self-will, demanding and pursuing fleshly pleasures. Moses, helpless to humble Israel’s inner being, knew that humanity’s fate was at stake if fulfillment of YHWH’s covenant failed.

But YHWH knew “these people drew near to Him with their mouth and honored Him with their lips, but their heart was far from Him, and they worshiped Him lacking fruit, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Isa. 29:13). He sentenced that generation to die in the wilderness, in graves of lust. Still, simultaneously working a marvelous work among the people, YHWH birthed a new generation whose eyes had seen the death of those refusing to heed the voice of YHWH. And so, Paul knew to write in Romans, “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God… if indeed we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified together” (Rom. 8:13-14, 17). And to the Colossians, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience” (Col. 3:5-7).

Numbers 11-25 focuses on the people, “ha-am” of Israel, mentioned fifty-four times in these fifteen chapters out of fifty-six times for the entire book. The failure of Israel’s old generation is critical to the message of Sukkot: even though humans fail, God’s covenant faithfulness does not fail but persists with judgment and mercy. The fifteen chapters of Numbers 11-25 reveal human nature’s depravity in contrast to the just and merciful divine nature, explaining why human nature must die. At the same time, a new generation is built, rejoicing in the heart of a God unmatched in sovereignty over ra. After putting off the old nature and putting on the new human, we, the people of God, living according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, are renewed in knowledge to the image of Him who created us (1Pe. 3:18; Col. 3:9-10).

Takeaway: 
Morales concluded, “Numbers is both a compass and a map for the journey, revealing the glory of YHWH and the nature of humanity. ‘These things were written for our instruction,’ wrote Paul of Israel’s wilderness experience (1Co. 10:11), that we might learn the strength of YHWH’s arm, the absolute nature of his holiness and the tenderness of his boundless mercies; that we might forsake unbelief and grumbling, and follow him with simple dependence and songs of gladness”⁴.