The Crisis and the Consolation

Hosea is the first prophet to speak about the exile; he therefore needs to convey the message of an everlasting relationship between God and His nation. A similar need arises in Sefer Bemidbar: while the nation sins severely, the book also includes commandments that enable atonement, and others that attest to the fact that the nation will indeed inherit the Promised Land. The Sin of the Spies is founded on the desire to live easily, without great effort, while the trials and tribulations of the desert convey the opposite message, and allow the nation to start anew.