QUENCHED BY QUAIL

NUMBERS

CHAPTER 11

            Welcome back to Daily Bread's study of the book of Numbers.  We're joining Moses and the children of Israel in a new location today, which is in the wilderness of Paran.  For those of you who are geography buffs, a good estimate of their 3 day journey from the mountain of God took them approximately 20 miles northeast of their departure from Horeb.

            Now when the children of Israel complained about things, it annoyed God.  He heard it and His anger was provoked, so the fire of the Lord came down and burnt the people who were in the outermost parts of the camp.  The people cried to Moses and when Moses prayed about it, God stopped the fire.  Moses called the place Taberah, which means, Burning.

            As if that weren't a clear enough lesson, different people that were with the children of Israel began to want different food to eat and God's people too, pitied themselves and said to one another, Who'll give us meat?  We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for free, and the fresh vegetables, but now our soul is dried up.  There's nothing at all except this manna.

            Moses heard the people crying throughout their families in all their tents and the anger of the Lord was stirred up again.  Moses was upset too and he said to the Lord, Why do you make me suffer?  What have I done that I don't find favor in your eyes and you put the responsibility of these people all on me?  Are they my children that you should say to me, Carry them like a nurturing father, into the land that you promised to their fathers?  Where will I get meat to give all these people?  They cry to me for meat.  I can't do all this alone, it's too much for me.  If you treat me this way, kill me, I beg you, right now, if I've found favor in your sight, and don't make me go through this misery.

            The Lord told Moses to choose seventy officers that were elders of the children of Israel and to bring them to the tabernacle of the congregation with him and stand there with them.  The Lord said, I'll come down and talk with you there and I'll take the spirit that you have and put it on them and they'll bear the burden of the people with you so you don't have to do it alone.

            Then the Lord said to Moses, Tell the people to make themselves holy for tomorrow and you will have meat to eat because you cried in the ears of the Lord saying, Who will give us flesh to eat?  Things were good in Egypt.  So, the Lord will give you flesh, and you'll eat.  You won't eat one day or two or five or ten or twenty days, but even a whole month, until it comes out your nostrils and it makes you sick, because you've disdained the Lord which is among you and you cried in front of me saying, Why did we ever leave Egypt?

            Oh, God was plenty mad alright!  He was saying, So, you don't think what the Lord gives you is adequate, eh?  Well, you'll get your meat, and you'll eat it 'till it comes out your nose by golly.

            Moses said, There are over 600,000 people and you said you'll feed them flesh for a whole month!  Should I slaughter the flocks and herds to give them enough meat or catch enough fish to satisfy them?  There goes Moses again, bless his heart, taking the responsibility all upon himself.

            Well, the Lord had to remind Moses once again of His greatness and He said, Has the Lord lost His power?  You just hide and watch and you'll see whether what I said will happen or not.  So Moses told the people what God said and gathered the seventy out of the elders of Israel and stood them around the tabernacle.  The Lord came down in a cloud and talked to Moses, then took from the spirit that was upon him and gave it to the seventy elders.  When the spirit rested on them, they prophesied and didn't stop.

            Now there were two men in the camp, named Eldad and Medad, and the spirit rested on them too.  They were part of the seventy elders but they didn't come to the tabernacle and they prophesied out in the camp.  Someone ran and told Moses about it and Joshua said, My lord Moses, forbid them.  Moses said to Joshua, Do you feel sorry for me because God has shared His spirit with others?  I'm not jealous of them.  I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and He would put His spirit on them!

            When Moses and the elders went back into the camp, the Lord sent out a wind that brought quails from the sea that fell around the camp as far as it would take a day to travel, all around the camp, and 3 feet deep!  The people gathered the quail all day and night, and all the next day too.  The person that gathered the least amount, gathered more than 100 bushels, and they spread them all out for themselves all over the camp.

            Their greed was so ugly that it made God furious, and while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was even all chewed, the wrath of God struck the people with a plague and He killed those who coveted the meat.  Moses called that place Kibrothhattaavah, which means, The graves of lust, because they buried the people who were greedy there.  From there the people journeyed a few miles to Hazeroth and set up the camp there.

            These times when the children of Israel disappointed God so deeply are referred to as "the provocation."  We've learned a good lesson from this.  When God's people are good, God is good to them.  And when God's people provoke Him to anger, terrible things can happen.  One thing to remember, is that He never disciplines without good reason, so we must be mindful of the things we do and be conscientious of things that may disappoint Him.

            In our next story, Miriam and Aaron speak their minds about Moses.  The problem is, they speak loud enough for the Lord to hear.  You won't want to miss it, so join us again won't you, for more Daily Bread. 

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