This is the Bible Book Club, and we're in the book of numbers. Welcome to the club.

Have you ever had that one friend or friend group who whines and complains about everything so much that you just sometimes don't even want to hang out with them anymore?

Are you saying God didn't want to hang out with the Israelites?

I'm saying that's how God feels about the Israelites right about now in this drama in the

book of numbers.

So last episode was chapter 13 and 14 and God was sending the spies out to Canaan.

Ten of them saw an undefeatable people in approachable cities.

Two of them saw God and said,

hey, we can do it. We can do what God promises. What he says he's going to do, he's going to do.

The people believed the 10, though, those negative pessimistic groups and how powerful is the negative pessimistic.

It spreads like cancer through the camp. And then they go into a tailspin. There's panic.

There's blasphemy. They attempt to stone Joshua and Caleb, the two faithful. And the result was a

sentence, 40 years of wandering in the desert. Okay. Chapter 15 is going to seem odd considering the

epic story we just left. But we're going to get to 16,

which is another epic story. Chapter 15 begins with the exact same words as chapter one,

as if nothing happened in chapter 13 or 14. This is the way with God. He has pardoned them,

he has sentenced them, and he has laid out the new plan, the 40-year plan, going forward. And so the Israelites begin on this new plan that happens to have the same goal. In 1431, God says, I will bring them, the children of the current generation, in to enjoy the land you have rejected.

And in 15-2, we pick up with God gives directions for, after you enter the land, I am giving you.

So God is saying, here's where we pick up.

After you get in the land, it's like he's starting over almost.

Three times in this episode, the text is going to read, the Lord said to Moses, speak to the Israelites, and say to them.

After that, he's going to give a command of something to do.

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