BRAGADAYJAH 429

BRAGADAYJAH 429

Moses Intercedes For the people.

Just as the people purposed in their hearts to do grievous bodily harm to Moses and Aaron and Caleb and Joshua, the Lord intervened and said unto Moses, “How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be before they believe me for all the signs I have shown among them?  I will smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.”

And Moses said unto the Lord, “then the Egyptians shall hear of it; for it was you who brought them up out of Egypt by your might. And they will tell it to the inhabitants of the land; for they have heard that you, Lord, are among them, and go before them, by daytime in a pillar of cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire.

Therefore if you kill all this people, as one man, then the nations who have heard of you will say, because the Lord was not able to bring his people into the land which He swore unto them to give them, He has slain them in the wilderness.”

“So now, I beseech you dear Lord, let your power be greater as you have spoken saying, the Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children of the third and fourth generation.”

“Pardon, therefore, I0 pray you dear Lord, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of your mercy, and as thou hast repeatedly forgiven them since they left Egypt unto now.”  

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BRAGADAYJAH 428

BRAGADAYJAH 428

The Rebellious Unbelief of Israel.

Upon hearing the reports of giants, the people of the congregation of Israel began to cry and lament and spent the whole night in weeping.  And as was their wont, they murmured against Moses and Aaron and in their complaint said that they wished to God they had died in the land of Egypt, or while they were in the wilderness.

Of course their murmurings were also directed against the Lord their God when they asked why the Lord had brought them to this land in the first place to die by the sword so that their wives and children should fall prey unto the enemy. In addition they were not afraid to express the ultimate ingratitude by saying once again, that they were actually better off in Egypt.

And so they began to plot to make themselves a captain to lead them back to Egypt.

And when Moses and Aaron heard of the rebellion of the children of Israel they fell on their faces and wept, joined by Joshua, the son of Nun and Caleb one of those who had searched the land, and together they wept and tore their clothes in the presence of all the congregation of the people.

And they spoke unto all the company of the children of Israel and told them that the land is a very good land; it is a land flowing with milk and honey; therefore do not rebel against the Lord nor fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us; their defenses are already departed from them; therefore fear them not.

Notwithstanding, the children of Israel gathered unto themselves stones to stone Moses and Aaron and Joshua and Caleb; but the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.   

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BRAGADAYJAH 427

BRAGADAYJAH 427

The Report of the Spies v The Report of Caleb.

“And they returned from searching the land after forty days.”

On their return, the spies appeared before Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of Israel and made their report.

First they showed them the fruit of the land, and said surely the land is a rich fertile land; it flows with milk and honey, “None-the-less the people that dwell in the land are strong; their cities are walled around and are well fortified; and in addition we saw the famed children of Anak there.

The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negev, and the Hittites and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountain, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the edge of the Jordon.”

That was the report of all the spies except Caleb.  As the people started to react fearfully after listening to the report of the others, Caleb stilled the people and said, “Let us go up at once and possess the land; for we are well able to overcome it.”

But the men that went up with Caleb said, “We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. The land through which we passed and searched out is a land that eats up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people we saw in the land are giants compared to us. The sons of Anak as you well know are all giants and we would appear to them no more than tiny grasshoppers.

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BRAGADAYJAH 426

BRAGADAYJAH 426

The Mission and Report of the Spies.

Now among other things, the mission of the spies was also to take back with them samples of the fruit which they found. And so they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob; they also traversed the Negev and reached unto Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai the children of Anak were; and they observed that Hebron was a fairly new city, having been built only some seven years earlier than Zoan in Egypt

From Hebron they went to the brook Eshcol and cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes and they bore it between two men upon a staff, and they also gathered pomegranates and figs. The place was called the Brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which they had cut down. And after forty days they returned from searching the land.

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BRAGADAYJAH 425

BRAGADAJAH 425

The Spies Sent Out.

We may notice that there was no mention of the tribe of Levi; but for this there is an explanation. The tribe of the children of Levi were not counted among the armies of Israel by tribe.  Their duties were for want of a better word administrative, and some may even say domestic since God ordained duties were with regard solely to the upkeep and maintenance and transportation of the ark of the covenant and all the appurtenances thereto. 

Yet on the other hand we see that there were twelve princes sent out. This of course is explained by the fact that Joseph was represented by two halves, Ephraim and Manasseh, which accounts for there being twelve princes over twelve armies.

We note too that among those sent out was Joshua the son of Nun.

Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan.  He was ordered to go up into the mountain region as well as the plain, (the Negev), and to make careful note of the people who dwelt there, whether they appeared strong or weak, few or many.

They were also to observe the nature of the land itself.  Was it rich and fertile or barren and unproductive; whether it was good or otherwise; what kind of cities they had built, what kind of houses they dwelt in, whether they dwelt in camps or fortified cities. They were to do this and report back to Moses.   

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BRAGADAYJAH 424

BRAGADAYJAH 424

After arriving at Paran, the Lord told Moses to send men out to search the land of Canaan which He had given to the children of Israel of every tribe of their fathers all those who were rulers of their tribes. And so Moses in obedience to the Lord’s command sent men out.

The names of the men whom Moses sent were:

Of the Tribe of Reuben, Shammua, the son of Succur;

Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat, the son of Hori;

Of the tribe of Judah, Kaleb, the son of Jephunneh;

Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal, the son of Joseph;

Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea, the son of Nun;

Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti, the son of Raphu;

Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel, the son of Sodi;

Of the tribe of Joseph, namely of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi, the son of Susi;

Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel, the son of Gemalli;

Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur, the son of Michael;

Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nabhi, the son of Vophsi;

Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel, the son of Machi.www.chaberbooks.com 

BRAGADAYJAH 423

BRAGADAYJAH 423

The Murmuring of Miriam and Aaron.

While at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of a Cushite woman whom he had married.  More particularly, they questioned Moses’ special relationship with God by asking whether the Lord spoke to Moses only and suggesting that He spoke also to them in like manner, and these sayings of Miriam and Aaron displeased the Lord.

Then the Lord knowing Moses was a man of great humility commanded Moses and Miriam and Aaron to go into the sanctuary of the congregation, and they all did so. And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Miriam and Aaron unto Him and they went.

Then the Lord said to them both, “Hear now my words, if there is a prophet among you I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision and will speak unto him in a dream. I do not do so with my servant Moses. He is faithful to me in my service. With him I speak mouth to mouth; I speak to him plainly, not in dark speeches and the likeness of the Lord he beholds. “Wherefore, then, were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

The anger of the Lord still burned against Miriam and Aaron and He left them. And the cloud departed from the tabernacle and in an instant after, Miriam became leprous white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam and saw that she was leprous.

And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas my Lord, I beseech you, lay not this sin upon us, by which we have done foolishly and have sinned. And he said to Moses please don’t let her be as one dead, covered with dead flesh.  And Moses called upon the Lord and asked him to heal his sister.

And the Lord asked Moses, “If Miriam’s father had spat in her face would she not have been ashamed seven days?”  Therefore let her be shut up seven days and after that let her be readmitted into the camp. And after being shut away from the camp Miriam was readmitted and after that the people moved from Hazeroth and encamped in the wilderness of Paran. 

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