They are too powerful for me.

This one line struck me while reading Numbers 22. Here, the children of the Israelites who died in the desert have come to settle on the plains of Moab after winning three battles. In Numbers 20, God told Moses that he wasn’t going to Canaan. Then, after the death of Aaron, Miriam, and all of the Israelites who were counted in the first census in Numbers 1, God restored power to their children wh0 were all under 20 years of age at the first census. Joshua and Caleb were also included because of their faith in their ability to possess Canaan. After the news spread of these three battles, Israel’s enemies became terrified. Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sought divine intervention to help him to defeat the Israelites. In Numbers 22, it reads:

2 Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, 3 and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.

4 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak sought out Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land.

This is incredible. The lack of food and water, the battles, the commandments, the tabernacle, the waiting, following the cloud, all of it was designed to make the Israelites into a people of whom it was said:

They are too powerful for me.

Amazing. This is the first post in a series titled: “Power: The Purpose of the Desert”. Throughout this series, I will review Numbers 12-36 and explore how God used the desert to make the Israelites powerful – too powerful to be defeated.