Numbers 33:9

"They set out," it says, "from the bitter waters and came to Elim." Elim is where there are twelve springs of water, and seventy-two palm trees. You see, after the bitter waters, after the harshness of trials, how pleasant are the places that receive you. You would not have come to the palms unless you had endured the bitter waters of trials, nor would you have come to the sweetness of the springs unless you had first overcome the things that were grievous and harsh; not that the end of the journey and the perfection of all things is already in these things, but that God, the steward of souls, interposes in the very course of the journey certain refreshments amid the labors, by which the soul, revived and restored, may return more ready to the remaining labors. Elim, however, is interpreted "rams." Rams are the leaders of flocks. Who then are the leaders of the flock of Christ, if not the Apostles, who are also the twelve springs? But since our Lord and Savior chose not only those twelve, but also another seventy, therefore not only twelve springs, but also seventy palm trees are written to be there; for these too are called Apostles, as Paul himself says, when he was expounding concerning the resurrection of the Savior: "he was seen," it says, "by those eleven, then he appeared also to all the Apostles." By which he shows that there are also other Apostles besides those twelve. This pleasantness, therefore, after the bitterness, this rest after labor, this grace after the trials, will receive you.