As mentioned earlier, the book of Numbers covers two generations of the
journey of the children of Israel. The first generation led by Moses out of
Egypt rebelled against God and all died in the wilderness in unbelief. Then
there was the second generation who would camp at the edge of the promised land
ready to possess it at the end of this book. In many ways, Numbers 20 marks the
end of the forty years wandering of the first generation with the death of
Miriam and Aaron. And Numbers 21 seems to kick off the story of the second
generation although it would not only be until Numbers 26 that the entire first
generation would disappear. Until then there would still be some remnant of the
people lingering. The appropriate question to ask would be: what would this new
generation be like? Would they be as stubborn and rebellious as their parents?
Just as what would happen in true life, there would be similarities in some and
differences in other aspects.
Numbers
21 began by recording the victory of Israel’s second generation in a battle. It
was the Canaanites, led by their King Arad, who had started the fight by
attacking the Israelites and capturing some of them. The record of Israel’s
victory in this battle is significant. If something like this had happened with
the previous generation, it would have sent them panicking, grumbling, and
charging with accusations at Moses and God. But not so with this new
generation. They refused to flap and go on a nosedive. Instead, they
courageously made a vow to God saying, “If You will indeed hand over these
people to me, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” Verse 3
tells us that God heard their voice and turn the Canaanites to them. It is
heartening to see that they fulfilled their vows and destroyed the cities of
the Canaanites utterly. The place was significantly named Hormah.
What
is the significance of Hormah? We are told in Numbers 14:45 that this was the
site where the previous generation was defeated by the Amalekites and the
Canaanites. These opposing forces came down from the mountains and drove the
people of Israel as far as Hormah. They tried to enter the promised land in
their own strength when the Lord had already told them that they would never
set foot there for their unbelief. For more details read Numbers 14.
In
this second generation of Israel we glimpse a light. This first-fruit victory for
this second generation of Israelites underscores for us the importance of
having faith in God. What the first generation failed through unbelief, they
accomplished through faith. One verse to take with us in our spiritual journey is
Hebrews 11:6 that says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God. He
that comes to God must believe that He is, and He is the rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him.” Whatever our obstacle may be, trusting God helps us
to go beyond what our eyes can see. Have faith in God!
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