The Lord gave the 10 commandments to Moses for the newly delivered nation to follow to enable them to worship God properly.
To the ordinances of the Lord, the Israelites all answered with one voice: “We will do everything that the Lord has told us” (Exodus 24:3).
The next day, Moses built an altar at the foot of the mountain with 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel. Again, taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud. The people reiterated their willingness to obey. “All that the Lord has said, we will heed and do” (Exodus 24:7).
Rituals and sacrifices
The Lord instructed Moses that preparations have to be made before Aaron, the priest, enters the sanctuary. His vestments, offerings, rituals and atonement for all the “sinful defilements and faults of the Israelites” (Levites 16:16). Aaron and his sons were appointed priests, and the Levites were to guard the altars from desecration.
The Lord instructed Moses what was expected of Aaron and his sons as priests, what to tell the Israelites for the Lord to bless them.
“The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).
The journey
At the end of their encampment on Mount Sinai, a census was ordered by the Lord. It included all men aged 20, and excluded men from the Levi tribe who were tasked to maintain the tabernacle and the Israelites’ system of worship.
Moses was instructed to remind the Israelites on the different rules of conduct and the penalties: “Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: ‘Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God am holy’” (Levites 19:3).
Eleven months after the arrival on Mount Sinai and 19 days after the census, 601,730 Israelites walked toward Canaan, according to the Complete Guide to the Bible by the Reader’s Digest.
The Levites led the way with the Ark of the Covenant to the Promised Land about 300 miles away (Numbers 10:35).
The Israelites were provided by God with manna—flaky wafers with honey that fell with the dew from heaven—as food.
But the rebellious people complained about the hard travel and lack of meat. Distressed, Moses complained to God and was advised to select 70 tribal leaders to help manage the Israelites.
In Kadish, Barnea, the southern border of Canaan, Moses selected leaders from the 12 tribes to make a preliminary survey of Canaan. Another census was conducted, which yielded more Israelites—603,550.
Forty days after the survey, only Caleb was in favor of proceeding to Canaan. The others reported of fortified cities, and or fierce and veritable giants who will simply consider them as grasshoppers.
So the entire community grumbled and were mad at Moses and Aaron. They wanted to appoint a leader and go back to Egypt. “Why is the Lord bringing us into this land only to have us fall into the sword?” (Numbers 14:1-4).
Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb, who were with the 12, pleaded to stop the revolt and assured the Israelites that God will bring them safely to the Promised Land.
Angry for their unfaithfulness, as a “wicked community,” God spoke to Moses and Aaron to tell the people of His decree: “Here in the desert shall your dead bodies fall. Of all your men of 20 years or more, registered in the census, who grumbled against me, not one shall enter the land where I solemnly swore to settle you except Caleb and Joshua” (Numbers 14:30-34).
God sentenced the Israelites to wander for 40 years in the wilderness, one year for each day of the mission to Canaan.
Damo-Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and of Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons