Organization is the name of the game for the the nation of Israel in Numbers 10. They have armies, tribal standards, a Law, Levites, and a tabernacle at the center of their encampment.
This is totally different from the way this group was when they left Egypt. In the early stages of the Exodus, they were faithless, scared, and borderline rebellious against Jehovah. In the desert, they’ve learned how to trust in God.
Most of their recent time has been spent at the base of Mount Sinai; finally, they leave their base of operations to head northeast towards the Wilderness of Paran. Eventually, they’ll head around the southern tip of the Dead Sea and cross the Jordan into Jericho, but for now, their location suggests a more southern entrance.
This encampment was only meant to be temporary. Three chapters later (Numbers 13), Israel will send twelve spies into Canaan to scout the terrain and inhabitants. Their negative report—and the Israelites’ blatant disrespect towards God—will force them to spend the next forty years in this wilderness.
Paran is not exactly where you would want to spend a large amount of time. It’s possible that the wilderness looked different 3,000 years ago, but as of now, it’s barren, dry, and almost inhospitable. It’s the same wilderness that Hagar went when she was cast out of Abraham’s house, and where she begged God to “not watch the child die” of hunger and thirst.
This wilderness represents a period of purification for the people of God—a self-imposed exile of sorts that prepares them for the tasks ahead. In Numbers 10, that preparation wasn’t supposed to take a long time. Clearly, forty more years were needed before they entered into Canaan.
David also recognized the value of a desert place like this. 1 Samuel 25:1 mentions him heading that direction to run from Saul, which is probably the farthest he’ll ever be from Jerusalem at any point in his life. After Paran, he heads to the land of the Philistines until Saul dies.
For both David and the Israelites, Paran represents a really low point in their lives. It’s marked by separation, despair, and trials.
But it’s also the last step before they enter their life’s work. Paran may be miserable, but it’s necessary to turn the peoples into the assets they will later become.
