So often the true stories of the Bible are more exciting than any novel we can ever read. The whole book is a story of God’s faithfulness and mans waywardness. We find Moses leading a whole nation out into the desert, where having escaped Pharaoh’s army in a miraculous way, they face starvation.Their ever-faithful God provides manna and quail which is further evidence of His love and care. Then when Moses is with God receiving the Ten Commandments, the people believe Moses has deserted them and make the Golden Calf.
Their faithlessness does not diminish as they approach the Promised Land. In spite of the beautiful branch of grapes on their shoulders, ten of the spies declare the land undefeatable and as punishment they spend another 40 years wandering in the wilderness and a failure to enter the Promised Land which God had promised them. They even had a change of heart and tried to conquer the land without God’s blessing. When they were struck down with the plague I wonder if it was a pandemic. Also I wonder how they would have felt waiting for the last dissenter to die before they could enter the land.
Time and time again the Israelites forgot God’s promises, His love and His care. I wonder if that has a familiar ring to it today.