In Numbers 25, the Lord sent a plague upon the Israelites, killing 24,000 as a result of their immorality and participating in Moabite sacrifices to the Baal of Peor. A grandson of Aaron, Phinehas, turned the Lord's anger away from the Israelites by his zeal for God's honor. God said to Moses, "Therefore tell him (Phinehas) I am making my covenant of peace with him. He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites."

Numbers 24
The Holy Spirit of God came upon Balaam and he received a clear message from the Lord, as he again blessed the Israelites. "...water will flow from their buckets, their offspring will have all they need, their king will be great .. their kingdom will be exalted..God brought them out of Egypt and for them He is strong. " Balek again became enraged that Balaam had blessed the Israelites, but Balaam says again, "I am powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord.. I could say only what the Lord says".

Numbers 23
King Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done? I brought you to curse my enemies (Israelites), but instead you have blessed them!!" Balaam responded, "Can I say anything except what the Lord tells me? Didn't I tell you that I must do whatever the Lord tells me? How can I condemn them? For the Lord their God is with them. I received a command to bless them."

Numbers 22
King Balak called on Balaam to curse the "vast horde" of Israelites which arrived from Egypt because he felt threatened by them.
Balaaam was, however, directed by God not to cooperate. Balaam told Balak that "the Lord will not let me go with you" and also that he "would be powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord". The Lord told Balaam they he may say "only what I tell you to say". Balaam told Balak , "I have no power to say just anything . I will speak only the messages that God gives me." Though Balaam probably was willing to be employed by King Balak and to cooperate with his plans to curse the Israelites, he acknowledged God's sovereignty and yielded to God's guidance and direction.

Numbers 21 ... and they spoke against God..."Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert?" Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them, killing many Israelites. The people then acknowledged their sin in speaking against the Lord and asked Moses to pray for them. Moses prayed for them and the Lord instructed Moses to make a bronze snake on a pole for the people to look upon and they would live.

Numbers 20 When the people complained to Moses about not having any water, Moses went to God for help. God instructed him to go before the people and speak to a rock, which would then pour out water for the people and their livestock. But, Moses instead struck the rock with his staff and then water did gush out for the people. God said to Moses, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them". Since Moses did not do exactly as God had instructed him, he would not be given the privilege of leading the people into the promised land.

In Numbers 19, the Lord gave instructions to Moses regarding how to deal with being "unclean" or unfit to fellowship, offer sacrifice, or worship God. A process of purification was given, which required the ashes of a special sacrifice, a red heifer.