YHWH had arranged the Camp of Israel specifically patterned after His heavenly abode so Israel could dwell safely with Him ruling from His sanctuary throne in their midst. YHWH’s intense holiness was frightening and dangerous to exiled humans contaminated with death. The work of atonements managed Israel’s impurities, and yet, YHWH’s camp boundaries were not to be crossed. The Levite camps formed a structural barrier around the sanctuary, and only the high priest and his sons could enter the sanctuary under stringent conditions. Israel’s rebellions all revolved around YHWH’s divinely designated camp configuration and appointed leadership within the outer and inner camps, threatening to collapse His city microcosm into chaos. Even with Moses and Aaron’s intercessions, YHWH appeared in judgment seven times¹ during the Numbers wilderness, for He was not pleased with most of them and destroyed them. These events warn us year after year at the Feast of Tabernacles so that we do not crave evil things as they did, not discerning the boundaries of YHWH’s profound holiness of His bodily Presence. This blog closely examines the human heart of revolt against YHWH’s awesome holiness and His judgments.

From the onset of the wilderness journey at Marah, YHWH cautioned Israel to listen carefully and obey His voice lest the plagues of Egypt fall upon them. Israel drank from the rock and ate the manna², symbolic of Christ, the flowing Spirit and the Word of God. Still, with hearts of stone, Israel rose up against YHWH and His life-preserving boundaries, refusing to distinguish light from dark, life from death, and holy from profane. Because Israel rejected YHWH’s holiness, He poured out His kindled wrath on them and consumed them with His fiery anger.

In Numbers 11:1-3, the people complain about Israel’s Camp order and the structured journey that reflected the heavenly’s, and YHWH heard it and was displeased, and His anger kindled. The fire of YHWH burned among them and consumed some of them in the outer camp. Then, the people cried out to Moses, and when He prayed to YHWH, the fire was quenched.

Close on the heels of the previous complaint, the people yielded to the mixed multitude’s forceful cravings (Num. 11:4-35). Symbolically, they rejected the bread from heaven and craved the food of Egypt, the underworld. Every family stood in the door of his tent weeping for flesh to eat, and YHWH’s anger was greatly kindled. Moses cried out for help from YHWH, and, coming down in a cloud, He gave the same spirit Moses had to seventy elders so that the people might be taught YHWH’s laws and statutes. YHWH sent out a wind, which brought quail from the sea to the camp. While Israel gulped the flesh, YHWH struck the people with a very great plague, and they were buried in graves of greediness for yielding to craving the food of enslavement to sin.

Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, slandering him over his choice in marriage, saying, “Has YHWH indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” YHWH came down in a pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the Tabernacle, calling Aaron and Miriam to Him. After rebuking them, YHWH’s anger was kindled, and Miriam became leprous and was exiled outside the camp for seven days (Num. 12:1-16).

In Numbers 14:1-38, the people of Israel again wept aloud because of the evil report the ten spies had given to them about the Land, saying, “The land devours those living in it.” They wished they had died in Egypt and began to formulate how to return to the land of Sheol from which YHWH had rescued them. Only Joshua and Caleb encouraged Israel not to be afraid and to consider YHWH’s powerful Presence, allowing Israel to swallow up the Land’s inhabitants. But the people talked about stoning them. YHWH’s glory appeared to all the Israelites, and YHWH spoke to Moses, “How long will these people treat Me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me, despite all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?” YHWH sentenced all those who were counted in the census and had grumbled against Him to wander forty years in the wilderness where they would die and never enter the Land they said would devour them. The ten men responsible for spreading a slanderous report were struck down and died of a plague before YHWH.

From Numbers 16:1-35, a group of 250 insolent leaders led by Korah, a son of Levi, and certain Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram, opposed Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have gone too far! All the congregation are holy, every one of them, and YHWH is among them. So why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of YHWH?” Being discontented with YHWH’s assigned place for them, they sought to subvert YHWH’s appointment of Moses and Aaron’s leadership, creating a surrogate priesthood, undoing the order of the heavenly hosts. When the 250 had assembled before the Tabernacle with their incense censers, YHWH’s glory appeared to the congregation. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram alive into Sheol, and fire came out from YHWH, consuming the 250 men, recalling the deaths of Nadab and Abihu.

The saga of rebellion continued in Numbers 16:41-50 when Israel’s camp gathered in opposition the next day, accusing Moses and Aaron of killing the people of YHWH. YHWH appeared in the cloud and the glory above the Tabernacle, telling Moses He would put an end to these people. The plague began, but Aaron took his censer with fire from the altar, put incense upon it, and ran into the camp, making atonement for them. The plague stopped, and 14,700 Israelites had died resisting YHWH’s holiness. Just before the Valley of Zered, that generation’s loathing of manna, YHWH’s sending fiery snakes, and Moses’ intercession by creating a bronze serpent finalized their demise (Num. 21:12; Deu. 2:14).

The two leaders of Israel’s generation who came out of Egypt also errored (Num. 20:1-13), provoked by the people’s complaints and blaming Moses for the lack of water to drink. The glory of YHWH appeared above the Tabernacle, and YHWH spoke to Moses, telling him to speak to the rock, and it would pour out its water. But Moses, not trusting in and honoring YHWH as holy in the sight of the Israelites, struck the rock twice with his staff. YHWH denied Moses and Aaron from entering the Land. Miriam died at Kadesh in the first month, and Aaron died on Mount Hor in the fifth month of the fortieth year. Moses died in the eleventh month of the fortieth year.

Takeaway:
The failure of Israel’s first generation, its leaders, its priests, and its people to inherit the land was a failure to grasp YHWH’s holiness. YHWH cannot change His core essence, lest He cease being God. Israel did not discern YHWH’s body, the Tabernacle with its law of holiness, but ate and drank in lust and brought judgment upon themselves. Human’s corrupt nature refuses to be altered but must die so that God can re-create us in His holiness, adapted to dwell with YHWH for eternity. Stabilized by the atonement foundation, Sukkot should soberly re-align us to holiness and its boundaries of life and death, holy and profane.

Fun Factors:
The number of Israelites twenty years old and above in the first census of Numbers was 603,550, 2 × 5² × 12071, marking the 12 tribes with the holiness square, 5² of Ezekiel’s temple vision, and 71, the jubilee fulfillment (7² + 1² = 50).

The number of Israelites twenty years old and above in the second census of Numbers was 601,730, 2³ × 5³ × 601, or (2³ × 5³)(5² + 24²) + (17² + 21²), numerical symbolism for the cube reality of YHWH’s holiness victory, the stamp of His wisdom upon His created nation of priests.