Study Desk

So Moses spoke to the Israelites. Each of the leaders gave him a walking stick. There were twelve walking sticks. There was one stick from each leader of each tribe. One of the walking sticks belonged to Aaron.

So Moses brought out all the sticks from the Lord 's place. He showed the walking sticks to the Israelites. They all looked at the sticks, and each man took his own stick back.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Put Aaron's walking stick back in front of the Box that holds the Agreement. This will be a warning for these people who are always turning against me. This will stop their complaining against me so that I will not destroy them."

So Moses did what the Lord commanded him.

When the people gather a harvest, they bring all the first things to the Lord . So these things I will give to you. And everyone in your family who is clean may eat it.

"The Israelites will give one-tenth of everything they have. So I give that one-tenth to the Levites. This is their payment for the work that they do while they serve at the Meeting Tent.

Those who touch the body of someone who has died are unclean. If they stay unclean and then go to the Lord 's Holy Tent, they make it unclean. So they must be separated from the Israelites. Because the special water was not thrown on them, they remain unclean.

There was not enough water for the people at that place. So the people met together to complain against Moses and Aaron.

So Moses and Aaron left the crowd of people and went to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. They bowed down to the ground, and the Glory of the Lord appeared to them.

But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "You did not trust me enough to honor me and show the people that I am holy. You did not show the Israelites that the power to make the water came from me. So you will not lead the people into the land that I have given them."

The king of Edom refused to let the Israelites travel through his country, so the Israelites turned around and went another way.

All the Israelites learned that Aaron was dead. So everyone in Israel mourned for 30 days.

The Canaanite king of Arad lived in the Negev. He heard that the Israelites were coming on the road to Atharim, so the king went out and attacked the Israelites. Arad captured some of the people and made them prisoners.

The Lord listened to the Israelites and helped them defeat the Canaanites. They completely destroyed the Canaanites and their cities. So that place was named Hormah.

So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people. The snakes bit the people, and many of the Israelites died.

The people came to Moses and said, "We know that we sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord . Ask him to take away these snakes." So Moses prayed for them.

So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Then when a snake bit anyone, that person looked at the bronze snake on the pole and lived.

So the Israelites made their camp in the land of the Amorites.

So the Israelites defeated Og and his army. They killed him, his sons, and all his army. Then the Israelites took all his land.

Balak son of Zippor saw everything the Israelites had done to the Amorites. The king of Moab was very frightened of the Israelites because there were so many of them. He was very afraid.