Day 12 ~ When did Jethro visit?

Even with dozens of rules, there will always be situations where you need a clarification. This occurs a couple of times in our passage today from Numbers 8-18. It also occured for me - I asked "why?" several times when reading, only to have the answer supplied a few verses later, or still scratching my head.

• Someone who had become unclean wanted to observe the passover feast, which no one is supposed to miss - God tells them that they may observe a month later, in the second month. I had to reread that - I thought God told them they could observe at the normal time even if unclean, but Passover is the first month.
• The Hebrews stayed in place for 1 month and 11 days using the new tabernacle before God's cloud of glory moved. (Ex 40:17, Num 10:17)
• I was assuming that it was God's intent for the Israelites to wander in the desert for 40 years from the beginning. I wondered why they needed Hobab's help scouting around - why don't they just follow the cloud? But, as we'll see shortly, God was ready to move them into the promised land, but the people are so short-sighted they blow their chance at some rest in a new home land.
• Peer pressure is nothing new - we all know that. Assuming that the end of chapter 10 (bunch of complainers on the outskirts of camp get burned up by God for their grumblings) occurred shortly before 11:4, why would anyone complain at this point? But the "mixed multitude" (non-Hebrew travelers with the Hebrews?) began to crave meat, and the Hebrews quickly joined the complaints.
• Moses has had enough - he is stressed out and asks God to just kill him rather than have to lead this thankless group single-handedly. God sets up 70 Elders and give them the same Spirit he gave Moses. This makes me wonder about Jethro, and confuses me about the timeline again. I struggled with at what point Jethro came to Moses in the wilderness (Ex 18) - was it within months of leaving Eqypt, or years - ch. 19 clearly states a backward progression in the chronological story. How does Jethro's advise to get help in judging coincide with the 70 Elders that God appoints in Numbers 11. When does Numbers 11 occur in the chronology?
• You want meat? I'll give you meat! (11:20) Eat it for an entire month!
• The Spirit of the Lord rested on the Elders and they prophesied. Reminds me of Acts 2.
• The quail arrives - at least for one time - but those who do eat it, God strikes them dead. I don't get that.
• Chapter 12 - more confusion. After reading Ex 18 a few times, apparently Moses had sent out of Egypt before the exodus his wife Zipporah and his two sons by Zipporah back to her father, Jethro. Jethro brings Zipporah and the two sons when he visits in Ex 18. Apparently, Moses picked up an Ethopian wife somewhere. Jethro was a priest of Midian, and I don't think Midian was in Ethopia. When did Moses take this wife? Was she one of the "mixed multitude" with the Hebrews in the desert? When did Jethro depart from Moses, and when he did, did he take Zipporah and the boys with him?
• Anyway, Aaron and Miriam are jealous. More likely, Miriam is jealous and wants some type of power or attention. Miriam pays a penalty for her jealousy, but again the humble Moses intervenes with God and softens the blow. Aaron once again shows his weak side, unable to keep his wife from mouthing off.
• Remember the song from junior church (and the hand motions?): 12 men went to spy on Canaan, 10 were bad and 2 were good. (chapter 13). Further info that God was going to move them in pretty quickly to the promised land. But the idiots doubted His power again, and it cost them 40 years of wandering, and their generation will never set foot into the land, except for Joshua and Caleb.
• So, instead of being repentant, the Israelites decide in their infinite wisdom that they don't really need God and set out to overtake the Amelikites and Canaanites. That didn't go well. (14:45)
• Commercial break for chapter 15 to remind us again about offerings.
• Since the chosen people can't seem to remember all the miracles God performs for them, he gives them another way - put tassels and blue threads on your clothes - maybe then you'll remember.
• In chapter 16, since the crowd can't fathom accepting responsiblity for their stupid decisions and losing the right to go into the promised land, they decide to blame it on Moses. A rebellion occurs, and facts are twisted against Moses. The Lord kills the foolish men who have banded together, and those who have presumed that they can fill the duty assigned to the priests of Levi. Moses appeases the Lord through quick thinking of an an atonement offering, but not before the Lord strikes out 14,000+
• Blooming rod - chapter 17. Is this another backtrack? We already know that the Levites are the priests. Or did this really occur after the rebellion as yet another sign of God's intended structure. At any rate, after everything the people have seen, they think this rod sprouting is something to behold and believe God for once.
• A warning is given to the Levites not to profane the money they receive as part of the tithe. Wonder if they will heed the warning? (18:32)

Do we appear as stiff-necked as the Israelites to God? To me, they seem like downright idiots most of the time, either that, or they have no short-term memory.