Numbers 11

11:1 "Now the people became like those who complain of adversity": How we react to difficulty, is not some unfair test of our metal. It is easy to excuse ourselves and say something like, "This is not what I am really like, but I have been under a lot of stress lately". No. How we respond to adversity IS the real us. We are surrounded by too many people who subscribe to the philosophy that problems or difficulties give one the right to complain and act in a sinful manner. Even though Job went through a lot, God did not excuse him for crossing the line in his language (Job 38:1ff), and he did not even swear. So don't be fooled into thinking that God suspends His moral expectations of us during times of frustration. No matter what the circumstance, we are never - I mean never, allowed to sin. "In the hearing of the Lord": Far more than inward grumbling, their complaints were very local. Yes. They had seen what grumbling had brought in the past. They had seen God's predictable reaction. We see the same thing today. Despite the fact that history is filled with examples of apostasy and countless people falling away from the faith, each new generation somehow feels that it is somehow in no danger. "Leaving the relative fertility of the area around Sinai, the Israelites soon found themselves in the most inhospitable desert"(Wenham, p. 106). "And the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp": And such was very merciful! "He might have cast His fire into the very midst of the camp and killed many more persons than suffered this terrible judgment" (Gaebelein, p. 787).

11:4 "And the rabble who were among them": The term "rabble" probably denotes the non-Israelites who joined in the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:38; Leviticus 24:10). In the wilderness of Sin the people had complained because of a seeming lack of food; here they complain because, to them, their diet lacked variety. "Had greedy desires": What are greedy desires? Simply this: Desires which cannot be satisfied. The Holy Spirit is essentially saying, "Heads up, these are the type of people who will not be content or happy no matter what happens". So the real problem was never the manna. That was a ruse. The real problem is sin. This is one reason why the Lord's church has resisted the temptation to appeal to the masses using things like social events or recreation to lure people. We don't want to attract people with greedy desires. It is equally important that I recognize when I am guilty of this. So often we fool ourselves into thinking that other people are at fault for why a desire we have is not being fulfilled. When it comes to a sinful desire, we need to own up and realize that we are dealing with something that can never be satisfied. It is a spiritual money-pit. "And also the sons of Israel wept again": Instead of standing up for God's care, and rebuking these unbelievers, even the Israelites began to complain. And how often do we do the same thing? How often do we allow worldly attitudes to color our perspective of God, His Word or His care? Before you grumble, remember, murmuring is contagious! And next time you hear someone claiming injustices about the things of God - come to God's defense!

11:5 "We remember": Hardly. Their memory was selective. Romanticizing the past is a common temptation. Egypt was a place of slavery and misery. None of that seems to be remembered. And it had not been that long since they had been in Egypt. Appreciate when the preacher is reviewing something you may have heard a couple of years ago. Everything can be forgotten in a couple of years - it certainly happened here. "The miseries of the past have gradually been forgotten and what they lack in the present is perceived as the lost riches of the past. The pressures that led to their departure have lost their immediacy and the stark realities of life in the wilderness make the freedom for which they once yearned seem of little value. The 'house of slavery' has become a land of idleness and luxury"(Noorditzij, p. 97). Never forget what it was like to be lost and alienated from God! And never let someone convince you, "Well, you weren't that bad". Acknowledge, "Oh yes I was".

11:10 "Now Moses heard the people weeping... each man at the door of his tent": What a lesson for God's people today. Observe how ingratitude can spread and that someone's faulty opinion of the past (11:5-6) becomes undeniable truth for the present. We may not be living in tents, but we do have cell-phones, texting and facebook pages. Let's make sure that we are not giving any sympathy for ingratitude or unfaithfulness. If other people walk out and start weeping at the door of their virtual tent - remind them of the truth! And what amazes me is that no one defended God.

11:11 "Why hast Thou been so hard on Thy servant": Such ingratitude even discouraged Moses! Rather than continuing to lead such a rebellious people, Moses claimed that he would prefer an instant death (compare with 1 Kings 19:4; Jeremiah 20:14-18). From verse 13, it is clear that the people were pressuring Moses to come up with a better diet, and that many of the people had personally complained to Moses. Here we see how unfaithfulness on the part of some can really affect a very spiritual person. Moses was no weakling. He had a robust faith. Yet even the most faithful can be worn down. With mercy, God responds to Moses' concern (11:16-20). The leadership problem would be solved by endowing some of the elders with the same Spirit which was on Moses. The food problem would be solved quickly. God would bring meat to their camp the very next day. How often do we have a very limited view of the power of God? What seems to Moses as the last straw or a problem which cannot be solved, is solved very quickly and easily. Yet this miraculous provision of meat, would also contain a punishment. For an entire month the people would gorge themselves on meat, until they were sick of it.

Here we learn that if God really gave us what we presently claim that we really need to be faithful and happy, we would probably get sick and tired of the very things we cannot live without. "It effectively communicates the truth that those who reject the perfect purposes of God find the alternatives nauseous and undesirable" (Bible Knowledge Commentary, p. 227). So carefully look at your life. Is there something you consider to be lacking? Something "if you only had... you would be happy" and the type of Christian you should be? Stand back and look at this example in Numbers 11, then thank God for all the times that He loved you enough to not give you what you think was the ticket to present happiness.

Observe that their tears (11:10) did not move God to be in sympathy with them (11:20). They cried, but God still saw rebellion. They wept, but God still saw ingratitude and sin. Tears that are cried when there is no genuine repentance do not soften God, rather, He is insulted, "because you have rejected the lord... and have wept before Him" (11:20). So don't get fooled by tears. Always judge tears by what is connected to them and with what is said and done when one is crying on your shoulder.

11:22 "Should flocks and herds be slaughtered?": Moses is looking at what He can see, and Moses is thinking in terms of the limited physical resources that surround him. How often do we walk by sight, rather than by faith? (2 Corinthians 5:7). How often do we allow ourselves to become discouraged by the "apparent" lack of resources, and complain, "But God, we can't do what you have commanded!" How often do we think that the church, as God set it up, is completely unable to do all her work?

11:23 "Is the Lord's power limited?" What a perfect question for everyone who stumbles over something they read in the Bible, or when we read a command and think that God is asking too much of us.

11:23 "Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you nor not": As a reader are you worried here that maybe God's promise will not happen. No. What an encouraging response. We will "see" won't we! When I read a passage like this, I do not worry about the future, for the future contains many confirmations or fulfillments of God's promises. God's word will not be undermined by the future, and neither will any doctrine be disproved, rather the wisdom of what God has said will only be reinforced. Yes, we will see if Jesus returns. We will see if heaven and hell exist. We will see whether or not God is unchanging. We will see if the man who ignored Jesus' teaching actually did build his house on the sand.

11:29 "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets"; Joshua took such as a threat and failed to realize that the elders were not trying to usurp the authority of Moses, rather they were being given to assist him, and make his load easily. We need to appreciate the humility of Moses on this occasion. He did not covet the divine gifts which he possessed, he did not want to keep God all to himself, rather He wished that everyone had access to God and God's gifts as he did. By the same token, oh that there were more deacons, preachers, elders, and teachers in the church!

Quail, Quail and More Quail

Apparently the birds were only flying about three feet above the ground so the people could easily capture them or club them to the ground. Two homers, some say the equivalent would be about 60 bushels, or 500 gallons. And this is what the person gathered who was poorest at catching these birds! Following this capture, they placed the meat upon the ground to dry in the sun. Some apparently could not wait until the meat was properly dried, and greedily began to consume the flesh. "The scene must have been similar to a riot: people screaming, birds flapping their wings, everywhere the pell-mell movement of meat-hungry people in a sea of birds. Dare we picture people ripping at the birds, eating flesh before cooking it, bestial in behavior? They must have been like a sugar-crazed boy in a child's daydream, afloat on a chocolate sandwich cookie raft in a sea of chocolate syrup, nibbling at the cookie before drowning in the dark, sweet sea... Before they could swallow, God made them choke"(Gaebelein, p. 795). The name "Kibroth-hattaavah" (KIB rahth huh TAY uh vuh), means the graves of gluttony.

Observations

• The first time I read this section was I confused, for in my thinking it seemed like God was giving them the quail and then punishing them for eating the quail. Yet that is not what the text says. So God is not being fickle, or giving something and being taking it back right away. The verse says that the people who died and were buried on this occasion, were the people "who had been greedy" (11:34).
• Greed will always bury a person, if not literally, greed can bury a marriage, a family, and bury one financially and personally (1 Timothy 6:9ff).
• I am struck how the text is empathic about the precise point of their death. They had the quail meat between their teeth (11:33), and yet would not be allowed the privilege of enjoying the favor of it. What a great analogy of sin. Sinful pleasures are a big fake. Compared to genuine joy and pleasure, it is like biting into a candy bar - but with no chewing, no savoring, no nourishment, and no lasting enjoyment. A big zero when it comes to satisfaction. And with any sinful pleasure, there no sense of being filled. You are right back to craving - as if you never ate in the first place. 

Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net