I actually think the numbers passage pretty clearly implies the fallen nature of man, in other words God cannot do evil.
OP, the entire bible has to be read in historical, cultural and litererary context while bearing in mind that it has been translated from an ancient language. The Catholic church does not believe that the story of creation in 6 days is a literal account for example. Another example is that the KJV bible makes reference to unicorns. The word was taken from the Latin translation unicornis, which came from a Greek word meaning ‘one horn’. The passage in Hebrew actually might refer to a rhino or horned cow, but no reason to think God is talking about mythical horses.