The Israelites arrived at the desert at Zin, where Miriam died. There was no water, so the Israelites started grumbling. Moses and Aaron went to the Tent of Meeting, where God told them to strike a rock with a rod. Moses did so, and water came gushing out.
God, however, was angry that Moses & Aaron did not trust Him enough to honor him as holy in the sight of the Israelites, He told them they would not have the privilege of bringing the community into the promised land.
The Israelites then approached Edom and asked if they could pass through their land. The Edomites said no, threatening to attack them "with the sword" if they tried. The Israelite saw the big armies and decided not to try passing through.
The Israelites moved on to Mt. Hor. There, God repeated that Aaron would never enter the land and would die there. God told Moses to take Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar.
The Canaanite king then heard the Israelites were passing through, and captured many. The Israelites pleaded with God, promising to destroy Canaanites if God delivered the Israelites. God heard them, and the Israelites responded by destroying all the Canaanites.
The Israelites then took a circuitous route to get around Edom. While on that long detour, they started to grumble again at their harsh conditions. God sent venomous snakes who killed many of them. The Israelites repented and begged for mercy. God then told Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole. Whoever looked at the snake would live. Moses crafted a snake out of bronze and the Israelites were saved.
The Israelites then moved onto Oboth, and then Beer, where (lol!) God gave them water.
The Israelites then asked for permission to pass through the Amorites' land. The Amorite king refused, and there was a huge battle. The Israelites captured the Amorites, occupied the land, and settled there. They continued to take surrounding lands, and also defeated the king of Bashan.
The Israelites then moved on to camp along the Jordan near Jericho at the plains of Moab. The Moabites saw them coming but were freak out because they had heard of how the Israelites had defeated all these other lands. They summoned Balaam (who, I guess, they knew was a prophet???) to curse the Israelites.
Balaam told them he had to talk to God and he'd get back to them the next day. God told Balaam he could not curse the Israelites because they were blessed. Balaam came back and told Balek he could not curse them.
Balek sent more distinguished people to talk to Balaam and tried to bribe him. Finally, God told Balaam he could to Balek, but he must do what God told him to do.
The next morning Balaam set out on a donkey. God was angry so he tried to stop Balaam several times by putting an angel of the Lord in Balaam's path. The donkey would see the angel, freak out and try to turn around, but Balaam would get angry and beat the donkey. The third time, God gave the donkey the ability to speak to Balaam. Balaam was angry and accused the donkey of making a fool of him, and how he would kill the donkey if he had a sword.
Suddenly, God opened Balaam's eyes and he saw the angel there. He repented. God told him to go, but to "only speak when I tell him."
When Balaam saw Balek, he told Balek he could only speak what the Lord told him.
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