Numbers 33:36
They set out from Ezion-geber and camped at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.
They set out from Ezion-geber
The phrase "They set out" indicates the Israelites' continued journey through the wilderness, a journey marked by obedience to God's command and reliance on His guidance. The Hebrew root for "set out" is "nasa," which means to pull up, especially the tent pegs, signifying a readiness to move forward. "Ezion-geber" is a location of significant historical and geographical interest. It was a port city near the Red Sea, known for its trade and maritime activities. The name itself means "backbone of a man," possibly referring to the rugged terrain or the strength of the city. This departure from a place of trade and potential comfort underscores the Israelites' trust in God's plan over worldly security.

and camped at Kadesh
The act of "camping" reflects a temporary pause in their journey, a time for rest and reflection. The Hebrew word "chanah" implies pitching a tent, suggesting a period of dwelling and community gathering. "Kadesh" is a place of great significance in Israel's history. It was here that the Israelites faced pivotal moments of decision and rebellion. The name "Kadesh" means "holy" or "sacred," indicating its importance as a spiritual landmark. This location served as a testing ground for the Israelites' faith and obedience to God.

in the Wilderness of Zin
The "Wilderness of Zin" represents a harsh and challenging environment, a place of trial and testing. The Hebrew word "midbar" for "wilderness" conveys a sense of desolation and barrenness, yet it is also a place where God provided for His people and revealed His power. "Zin" is thought to mean "flat" or "plateau," describing the geographical features of the area. This wilderness journey symbolizes the spiritual journey of believers, who often find themselves in difficult circumstances but are called to trust in God's provision and guidance. The Wilderness of Zin serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness in the midst of adversity and His ability to transform desolation into a place of divine encounter.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ezion-geber
A port city located near the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. It was an important location for trade and travel during the Israelites' journey through the wilderness.

2. Kadesh
A significant encampment site for the Israelites in the Wilderness of Zin. It served as a base for several key events during their wanderings, including the sending of the spies into Canaan and the rebellion of the Israelites.

3. Wilderness of Zin
A desert region that the Israelites traversed during their 40 years of wandering. It is often associated with testing and reliance on God's provision.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Obedience
The journey from Ezion-geber to Kadesh highlights the importance of following God's guidance. The Israelites' disobedience at Kadesh serves as a warning to us to remain faithful and obedient to God's commands.

God's Provision in the Wilderness
Despite the Israelites' rebellion, God continued to provide for them in the wilderness. This reminds us of God's faithfulness and provision in our own times of trial and testing.

The Consequences of Rebellion
The events at Kadesh illustrate the serious consequences of rebelling against God. We are called to trust in God's plan and avoid the pitfalls of doubt and disobedience.

Spiritual Journey and Growth
The physical journey of the Israelites mirrors our spiritual journey. We must be vigilant in our walk with God, learning from past mistakes and growing in faith and maturity.
Bible Study Questions
1. What can we learn from the Israelites' journey from Ezion-geber to Kadesh about the importance of following God's guidance in our own lives?

2. How does the account of the Israelites' rebellion at Kadesh challenge us to examine our own hearts and attitudes towards God's commands?

3. In what ways does God's provision for the Israelites in the wilderness encourage us to trust in His provision during our own times of need?

4. How can the consequences faced by Moses and Aaron at Kadesh serve as a warning for us in our spiritual leadership and responsibilities?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced a "wilderness" period in your life. How did you see God's faithfulness and provision during that time, and how can that experience strengthen your faith today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 1:19-46
This passage recounts the Israelites' journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea and their subsequent rebellion, which led to their extended wandering in the wilderness.

Numbers 20:1-13
This passage describes the events at Kadesh, including the death of Miriam and Moses striking the rock to bring forth water, which resulted in God's judgment on Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 95:8-11
This psalm reflects on the Israelites' rebellion in the wilderness, urging believers to heed God's voice and not harden their hearts as the Israelites did at Meribah and Massah.
The Journeyings of the IsraelitesD. Young Numbers 33:1-49
People
Aaron, Abel, Arad, Egyptians, Gad, Geber, Israelites, Moses, Perez, Tahath, Terah, Zephon
Places
0, Abarim, Abel-shittim, Abronah, Almon-diblathaim, Alush, Arad, Baal-zephon, Bene-jaakan, Beth-jeshimoth, Canaan, Dibon-gad, Dophkah, Edom, Egypt, Elim, Etham, Ezion-geber, Hahiroth, Haradah, Hashmonah, Hazeroth, Hor-haggidgad, Iye-abarim, Iyim, Jericho, Jordan River, Jotbathah, Kadesh-barnea, Kehelathah, Kibroth-hattaavah, Libnah, Makheloth, Marah, Migdol, Mithkah, Moab, Moseroth, Mount Hor, Mount Shepher, Nebo, Negev, Oboth, Pi-hahiroth, Punon, Rameses, Red Sea, Rephidim, Rimmon-perez, Rissah, Rithmah, Sinai, Succoth, Tahath, Terah, Zalmonah, Zin
Topics
Camped, Desert, Encamp, Encamped, Ezion, Eziongaber, Ezion-gaber, Ezion-geber, E'zion-ge'ber, Geber, Journey, Journeyed, Kadesh, Pitched, Removed, Tents, Traveled, Waste, Wilderness, Zin
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Numbers 33:3-48

     7222   exodus, events of

Library
Some Miscellaneous Matters Belonging to the Country About Jericho.
Let us begin from the last encampings of Israel beyond Jordan. Numbers 33:49: "They encamped near Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth unto Abel-shittim."--"From Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim were twelve miles." It is a most received opinion among the Jews, that the tents of the Israelites in the wilderness contained a square of twelve miles. So the Targum of Jonathan, upon Number 2:2; "The encamping of Israel was twelve miles in length, and twelve miles in breadth." And the Gemarists say, "It is forbidden
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Arbel. Shezor. Tarnegola the Upper.
"Arbel a city of Galilee."--There is mention of it in Hosea 10:14. But there are authors which do very differently interpret that place, viz. the Chaldee paraphrast, R. Solomon, Kimchi: consult them. It was between Zippor and Tiberias. Hence Nittai the Arbelite, who was president with Josua Ben Perahiah. The valley of Arbel is mentioned by the Talmudists. So also "The Arbelite Bushel." "Near Zephath in Upper Galilee was a town named Shezor, whence was R. Simeon Shezori: there he was buried. There
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Christ the Water of Life.
"Jesus answered and said unto her, Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life" (John iv. 13, 14). "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" (John vii. 37). "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank
Frank G. Allen—Autobiography of Frank G. Allen, Minister of the Gospel

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners:
A BRIEF AND FAITHFUL RELATION OF THE EXCEEDING MERCY OF GOD IN CHRIST TO HIS POOR SERVANT, JOHN BUNYAN; WHEREIN IS PARTICULARLY SHOWED THE MANNER OF HIS CONVERSION, HIS SIGHT AND TROUBLE FOR SIN, HIS DREADFUL TEMPTATIONS, ALSO HOW HE DESPAIRED OF GOD'S MERCY, AND HOW THE LORD AT LENGTH THROUGH CHRIST DID DELIVER HIM FROM ALL THE GUILT AND TERROR THAT LAY UPON HIM. Whereunto is added a brief relation of his call to the work of the ministry, of his temptations therein, as also what he hath met with
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Kadesh. Rekam, and that Double. Inquiry is Made, Whether the Doubling it in the Maps is Well Done.
The readers of the eastern interpreters will observe, that Kadesh is rendered by all Rekam, or in a sound very near it. In the Chaldee, it is 'Rekam': in the Syriac, 'Rekem': in the Arabic, 'Rakim'... There are two places noted by the name Rekam in the very bounds of the land,--to wit, the southern and eastern: that is, a double Kadesh. I. Of Kadesh, or Rekam, in the south part, there is no doubt. II. Of it, in the eastern part, there is this mention: "From Rekam to the east, and Rekam is as the
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Section Chap. I. -iii.
The question which here above all engages our attention, and requires to be answered, is this: Whether that which is reported in these chapters did, or did not, actually and outwardly take place. The history of the inquiries connected with this question is found most fully in Marckius's "Diatribe de uxore fornicationum," Leyden, 1696, reprinted in the Commentary on the Minor Prophets by the same author. The various views may be divided into three classes. 1. It is maintained by very many interpreters,
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Peaceable Principles and True: Or, a Brief Answer to Mr. D'Anver's and Mr. Paul's Books against My Confession of Faith, and Differences in Judgment About Baptism no Bar to Communion.
WHEREIN THEIR SCRIPTURELESS NOTIONS ARE OVERTHROWN, AND MY PEACEABLE PRINCIPLES STILL MAINTAINED. 'Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?'--Psalm 58:1 SIR, I have received and considered your short reply to my differences in judgment about water baptism no bar to communion; and observe, that you touch not the argument at all: but rather labour what you can, and beyond what you ought, to throw odiums upon your brother for reproving you for your error,
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

In Death and after Death
A sadder picture could scarcely be drawn than that of the dying Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai, that "light of Israel" immediately before and after the destruction of the Temple, and for two years the president of the Sanhedrim. We read in the Talmud (Ber. 28 b) that, when his disciples came to see him on his death-bed, he burst into tears. To their astonished inquiry why he, "the light of Israel, the right pillar of the Temple, and its mighty hammer," betrayed such signs of fear, he replied: "If I were
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Numbers
Like the last part of Exodus, and the whole of Leviticus, the first part of Numbers, i.-x. 28--so called,[1] rather inappropriately, from the census in i., iii., (iv.), xxvi.--is unmistakably priestly in its interests and language. Beginning with a census of the men of war (i.) and the order of the camp (ii.), it devotes specific attention to the Levites, their numbers and duties (iii., iv.). Then follow laws for the exclusion of the unclean, v. 1-4, for determining the manner and amount of restitution
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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