Numbers 20 The King Says No
The people are in their final year of their wandering. They ask to go through Edom but the king says, No. They will have to find another way to enter the Promised Land.
We are not given much information about the 40 years Israel spent wandering in the wilderness. In Numbers 33 we do see a list of the places they stopped. I was trying to find Kadesh in there twice, but it isn’t there. It must be listed under another name.
With a little investigation, we see that the event we are witnessing today happen in Israel’s final year of their wandering. In Numbers 20:1 we are given a single clue. “And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month.” Miriam died while the people were at Kadesh.
Aaron’s death, which we will cover tomorrow, happened right after the people left Kadesh. “And Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.” (Numbers 33:38)
That puts Miriam’s death sometime between the first month and the fifth month of the 40th year. Did she celebrate the Passover that year? Just a question that popped into my head.
We see also that God didn’t count the first year as a year of wandering. If he did, then we would see these things happening in the 39th year. The Tabernacle was put into use in the 1st month of the 2nd year. Which leads me to conclude that, from that point on is where God starts marking the 40 years. No wonder Moses was so exasperated when he hit the rock. He had 40 years with these peoples’ grumbling! Now that we have that established, let’s turn to our reading for today.
Edom was Esau’s descendants. God did not want the ‘brothers’ warring with each other. So, Israel accepted Edom’s rejection. They would go around Edom instead. Not happily, but they did it anyway. They would go where God led them.
Let’s join our wandering group as they confront their brother
♥ ♦ ♥
The people are still enjoying the abundant water at Kadesh. The rock has not stopped flowing since Moses’ final strike. At least that is one less thing for them to complain about.
It is nice to be still for a while, but Moses knows that the day is coming when they will have to move again. He is looking toward the future. He won’t be going into the Promised Land, but their days of wandering are almost over. He knows that they will need to pass through someone’s territory to get to the place God has prepared for them. The easiest way would be going through Edom; their brother’s territory. It wasn’t a problem for the spies to pass through undetected, but there is NO WAY their whole congregation could make it through undetected. It’s time to send out a request.
Moses carefully writes a letter to the king of Edom. In it he calls on their kinship, all that Israel has suffered, and a promise not to take advantage of their hospitality.
“Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” (Numbers 20:14-17)
After the letter was finished, Moses called for two of the younger messengers. They had children when they all crossed the Red Sea together. Now they were men; worthy of the title of warrior.
“Bring this message to the king of Edom; and no other. He is our kin and I pray he looks favorably on us. Be careful not to harm a blade of grass or take a sip of water before you see him. Bring me back word of his answer.”
The two men bowed and exited Moses’ tent.
“What do you think he will say” asks the eldest.
“It probably depends on the question Moses is asking” responded his companion.
“Of course it does. I’m just wondering if he will look on us favorably.”
“I sure hope so. Do you realize that the time is coming near for us to go into the land?”
“There are still many of the older generation living. God said he would NOT relent in His judgment. They need to pass away first.”
“I don’t wish any of them ‘ill will’ but I want to get moving again. To finally feel the land under our feet.”
“I’m with you there brother.”
The two messengers make it to the ruling city of Edom without any trouble. It didn’t take them long to locate the palace and appear before the guard.
“We come with a message for your king.”
“You are not from here. Why should our king bother with the likes of you?”
“We are your brothers; the people of Israel. And we have a request for your king.”
“You are with that traveling MOB we have heard so much about. Are you still lost?”
“Please; if you will just let us stand before your king, we will be gone from here.”
“Fine. I will go and speak to him. If HE allows it, I will gather you to him.”
The guard departs and the messengers quietly discuss their encounter.
“These are not the friendliest people I’ve met” offers the elder of the two.
“I was afraid we weren’t even going to be able to present Moses’ message, let alone…” in the quietest whisper possible “…go through their land.”
The first hushes his companion. They don’t want to be overheard before they can present their request to the king.
The guard is back and motions them forward. “Against my advice, the king has decided to see you. Mind your manners while you are with him or he will have ALL our heads. But I will have yours first.”
Upon walking into the king’s throne room, the messengers bow respectfully. They remain silent until the king speaks.
“I am told you have a message for me. Let’s have it.”
The elder messenger steps forward with the parchment in his hands. It is sealed with the seal of Moses. “Did you want me to read it aloud O king, or put it in your hands.”
“Give it to the guard and he will bring it to me. Then I will read it for myself.”
The messenger turns to the guard and quickly hands him the parchment scroll. The guard takes the final steps to the king and places the scroll in his hands. The king breaks the seal and reads the message contained on it. With each line his anger grows. When he reaches the end, he is livid!
“You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” (Numbers 20:18)
“Maybe he doesn’t understand what we are offering” thinks the youngest. He tries again.
“We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” (Numbers 20:19)
This didn’t do anything but anger the king further. “You shall not pass through.”
With that said, the king motions for the guard to ‘escort’ the visitors from his throne room. Once they were outside, the guard called for a contingent of soldiers who would escort the men back from whence they came.
Once the messengers neared the city of Kadesh, they started talking about how they would break the news to Moses.
“All we can do it tell him exactly what happened.”
“What if he decided that Israel will go to war with them. Or better still, if he ignores the king and we end up dead for our trouble.”
“He wouldn’t have sent us with this message if he planned on ignoring the king’s decision.”
“You are probably right. I just hate bringing bad news back to him.”
The messengers went straight to Moses. Moses greeted them with a smile, until he saw the look on their faces. He knew the answer before they even gave it.
“He said no, didn’t he.”
“Yes, my lord. We tried to convince him.”
“What are we going to do now” asks the eldest.
“We will trust in the Lord and find another way to His promise.”
(to be continued)
Father God, thank You for stopping my progress and helping me search out the timeline. I thought Miriam and Aaroon’s death were in the early years of wandering. You got me looking; and wondering. You are VERY GOOD at getting me wondering. I like finding new things in Your word. Or at least new to me things. Keep me ever searching, with just enough answers to keep me digging even deeper.
