The Israelites end up camping at the base of Mount Sinai for about a whole year.
Afterwards, at God’s orders Moses leads the people to a place called Kadesh-Barnea, an oasis compared to the harsh desert conditions they had been living under for a good year or so.
Kadesh was located on the southern border of the land of Canaan, the territory the Lord had promised to give to the Israelites.
This was not an easy journey.
It took the Israelites 11 days traveling 150 miles over some very rough and rocky terrain.
In addition, the weather was scorching hot and dry and the people grumbled the whole time.
More than 15 months had passed since they had left Egypt and tempers were starting to flare.
The people had run out of patience and even Moses’ strongest supporter, his sister Miryam, started to grumble and questioned out loud if Moses even knew what the hell he was doing.
As a result of her contempt and disbelief, Miryam was instantly struck with leprosy.
There are a ton of takeaways we get from this lesson.
The first one is that on our journey to the Promised Land, while the Lord promises to meet our needs, things aren’t always going to be a freakin’ bed of roses.
There’s going to struggles, challenges and frustrations AND…
…we’re going to have to learn to get along with each other along the way.
Second, there are harsh consequences to pay for speaking out against the Lord’s chosen mediators as demonstrated by what happened with Miryam.
Third, it is obvious the Lord hates BMWs…those who “b#&tch, moan and whine.
God understands you may be going through hard times or may be feeling frustration.
He gets it.
It’s during times like these that it’s more important than ever to focus on and have gratitude for all of the good things the Lord has given us…
…while praying for the strength to have the faith to make it through the hard times no matter how bleak things may seem at the moment.
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