The Wilderness Years

Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit the land.

And the little ones you said would become captives—your children who on that day did not know good from evil—will enter the land that I will give them, and they will possess it.

But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”

“We have sinned against the LORD,” you replied. “We will go up and fight, as the LORD our God has commanded us.” Then each of you put on his weapons of war, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

But the LORD said to me, “Tell them not to go up and fight, for I am not with you to keep you from defeat by your enemies.”

So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country.

Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah.

And you returned and wept before the LORD, but He would not listen to your voice or give ear to you.

For this reason you stayed in Kadesh for a long time—a very long time.

Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the LORD had instructed me, and for many days we wandered around Mount Seir.

At this time the LORD said to me,

“You have been wandering around this hill country long enough; turn to the north

and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful.

Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession.

You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these forty years, and you have lacked nothing.

So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber, and traveled along the road of the Wilderness of Moab.

Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

(The Emites used to live there, a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites.

Like the Anakites, they were also regarded as Rephaim, though the Moabites called them Emites.

The Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land that the LORD gave them as their possession.)

“Now arise and cross over the Brook of Zered.” So we crossed over the Brook of Zered.

The time we spent traveling from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the Brook of Zered was thirty-eight years, until that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them.

Indeed, the LORD’s hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp, until they had all perished.

Now when all the fighting men among the people had died,