First off, why did they go three days without water, the Israelites? Hmmm… I guess they didn’t know where to find any… but this passage is found in page 41 of my NKJV Bible, page 52 of my NASB Bible, page 90 of my VOICE copy, and pages 86-87 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy. But even so, this happened many years ago… I don’t know what they were thinking. I say this is in Arabia because Mt. Sinai is there (Galatians 4:25), and the Israelites come there just a few chapters later. But despite the terrifying sounds that happened on the mountain (chapter 19), we have a better estimate now (Hebrews 12:18-24), so it’s best we listen to God’s voice who speaks to us, for is they turned away from what happened here and they were annihilated, how much worse will it be in Heaven for those who turn away today (see Hebrews 10:28-29, 12:25)! For with great power comes great responsibility (this is akin to Luke 12:48).
In Numbers 14, we see that the Israelites tested God about ten times… I think this began here, since the Lord God spoke the words in verse 26 here. I think they could’ve just bought some good stuff with their wealth — I forget the verses that say they had a lot. But what I don’t understand is why the Israelites would do this when they could trust God and everything would be ok… they must’ve had Egypt in them to a huge extent, and, spoiler alert, this won’t be the last time I speak of this in this section of the Bible. They must’ve known the words that would later become Scripture (see everything from Leviticus onwards, even though they don’t have all the verses yet). But I don’t want to overanalyze anything… I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to go through the desert with long periods of having nothing to eat or drink. But thankfully, their clothes didn’t get worn out, as it says somewhere in Deuteronomy, I think. I’ll have to double-check…
Any prayer requests? You can leave one in my e-mail: ron.outland4727@gmail.com! I’ll read each one, write them down, then tape them to my bedroom walls! I’ll see you in the next post where we’re at chapter 16!
Ron And His Stories 