Numbers 10:33

"And they set forward from the mount of Jehovah three days' journey; and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah went before them three days' journey to seek out a resting place for them. And the cloud of Jehovah was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp.

And when it came to pass when the ark set forward, that Moses said,

Rise up, O Jehovah, and let thine enemies be scattered; And let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said,

Return, O Jehovah, unto the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel."

The prayer uttered by Moses in the last two verses became a classic, and "The two sayings are included in the synagogue's traditional Torah service, at the beginning, and at the end."[29]

Numbers 10:36, according to Cook, may also be translated: "Restore to the land which their fathers sojourned in."[30] This inherent meaning of the passage has a very special reference to that first generation of Israelites who were indeed restored (in the times of Moses) to the land once inhabited by the Patriarchs and removes all logic from speculations, such as that of Gray, who said, "Numbers 10:36 seems to imply an already existing settled life in Canaan."[31]

We appreciate the comment of Smick who spoke of this final prayer thus:

"It eloquently teaches the working relationship between God and the Church Militant. He goes before her, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. He abides in her midst and she is strengthened and becomes a great host."[32]

The wilderness experience made a profound impression upon the Hebrew nation, and one of their Psalms (Psalms 68) is closely related to this very chapter.