By this point in Numbers, there’s not really much left to do outside of taking the land. The people are cleansed, the Tabernacle is built, and the camp is organized. The people are ready. It’s time to go.
Moses even includes a section at the end of Leviticus 10 called “the Song of the Ark,” about what he would say when the Ark moved or came to a stop. When the people set out, he would cry out “Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You.”
Not bad. That’s exactly what should happen before God’s people in the wilderness.
When the people settled down, he would ask God to dwell with them: “Return, O Lord, to the myriad thousands of Israel.”
This two-part call-to-action shows how God is used in conjunction with the people. As long as God is with them, nothing can overpower or threaten their safety.
It seems like not everyone got the message, though, because one verse later (Numbers 11:1), the people become “like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord.”
This is a loaded charge. In fact, the Hebrew on this verse describes this not as something they did, but something they were—as in, their personality was such that they complained to God every time something went wrong.
God’s response is swift. Within the same verse, He destroys some of those who were on the “outskirts of the camp.”
What that means is anyone’s guess. Some have speculated that the specific target was the house of Dan, who had already dipped into idolatry (which they would go full tilt into later). Others argue that since the “outskirts” may have included the “great crowd” that travelled with Israel, it was non-Israelites who negatively influenced God’s people.
It doesn’t really matter, though. The problem is that these people groaned against God, and they did so at a time when they should have had the most faith in Him. If this is their attitude now, it’s little wonder why they refused to enter Canaan two chapters later. Taking the promised land is real adversity, after all.
The whole scene proves that you can be as rah-rah as you want, and have all the right resources and leadership, but if your heart is not ready to face adversity in your walk with God, you’ll stumble right out of the gate.
It’s on us to prepare accordingly.
