What I Noticed Today (Numbers 11-13)
Numbers 11
Numbers 11 is a story about the Israelites complaining to God once again.
In verses 1-3, the people began to complain openly before the Lord about the hardships they were enduring. The Lord was angry, and his fire consumed the outskirts of the camp. The people cried out to Moses, who prayed to the Lord on their behalf, and the fire of the Lord died down.
In verses 4-9, another group of malcontents complained they didn’t have meat and vegetables as they had in Egypt:
- They complained that all they had to eat was the manna that God supplied every day.
Note: Here, God is supplying them with manna, and a certain group complained that they don’t have meat like they used to have in Egypt. Really? Have they forgotten already the oppression they endured at the hands of the Egyptians?!
In verses 10-15, the Lord is angry with the people, and so is Moses:
- Moses asked the Lord why He was bringing this trouble on him. Moses said the Lord had created these people and said he could not bear responsibility for these people himself. Moses even told the Lord if He was going to deal with him like this, just kill him now.
In verses 16-17, God has Moses bring forth 70 elders whom He anoints with some of the Spirit that was on Moses. These men were to help Moses bear the burden of the people.
Note: Moses wanted to have the Lord take away the burden of leadership, and if not to kill him. But the Lord’s response was to establish a leadership structure that allowed Moses to delegate leadership responsibility to the 70 elders.
In verses 18-23, the Lord told Moses to tell the people to purify themselves and get ready to eat meat.
- The Lord told Moses that because the people had rejected Him, He would give the people meat to eat for a full thirty days until they are sick of eating meat.
- Moses wonders how in the world this will happen since he doesn’t think there is enough meat in all the camp to do this. The Lord reminds Moses His power is not limited.
In verses 24-30, prior to the Lord sending the meat, Moses gathered the 70 elders in front of the tent of meeting as the Lord had instructed:
- The Lord took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the 70 elders.
- As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied but never prophesied again.
- Two men, Eldad and Medad, who were listed among the elders had not come before the tabernacle, yet the Spirit of the Lord rested on them, and they prophesied also. Joshua complained to Moses, thinking this was wrong, but Moses said he wished all the Lord’s people had the Spirit to prophesy.
In verses 31-35, the Lord sent quail for the people to eat:
- A strong wind blew, and the Lord brought them quail, enough to eat for a month.
- While they were still eating the quail, the Lord’s anger burned against them and struck them with a plague killing off all the people who had a craving for the meat.
- They named the place Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of craving”).
- From Kibroth-hataavah, they journeyed to Hazeroth (south of the desert of Paran).
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- I am always struck by how organized God is in leading the people of Israel. Every detail is communicated to Moses, who leads the people. As long as they obey and follow God’s instructions, life is good. But some complained, they caused others to complain, and in so doing, some of the people rejected God’s blessing.
- As a body of believers, we tend to do the same thing today. We complain about God’s blessing about His leadership, and in so doing, we display a poor witness to younger believers and those who do not yet know God.
Numbers 12
Numbers 12 opens up with Miriam and Aaron speaking against Moses because he had married a Cushite woman.
Note: Cushites were from Ethiopia, and we know Moses’ wife Zipporah was a Midianite. It is unclear how or when the Cushite woman became Moses’ wife. Miriam and Aaron seem to be taking on a position of superiority over Moses because of his marriage to the Cushite woman.
In verses 2-3, Miriam and Aaron seem to be jealous that Moses is the one who God speaks to and who God has chosen to lead the Israelites! But Moses is a humble man and says nothing to refute these attacks.
In verses 4-8, God hears their grumbling, and in no uncertain terms, He lays it out to Aaron and Miriam.
- The Lord calls Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to appear before the tent of meeting, and the cloud descended over the entrance to the tent.
- The Lord called Aaron and Miriam forward. The Lord, referring to Moses, said he was My servant, faithful in all my households, and that He speaks to him directly and openly.
In verses 9-16, the Lord is clearly angry with Aaron and Miriam. He leaves them, but in leaving, He strikes Miriam with leprosy. Aaron pleads with Moses to intercede on Miriam’s behalf. Despite their actions, Moses steps forward and prays for Miriam, but God says she needs to be put outside the camp for seven days before she can return.
Note: Miriam being sent outside the camp followed the requirements of Leviticus 14:1-32.
- After Miriam was brought back inside the camp at the end of seven days, the Israelites left Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.
Numbers 13
Numbers 13 opens with what seems like God telling Moses to have men go and spy out the Promised Land.
Note: In Deuteronomy 1:19-25, we learn that really it was the people of Israel who wanted to go spy out the land. I think as we read Numbers 13, God is allowing them to spy out the land for themselves. After all, God has already told them what the land looked like and promised it to them, so it makes more sense to think that the people wanted to see it for themselves.
In verses 1-23, the Lord spoke to Moses to send men to scout the land of Canaan.
- Leaders from each tribe were called forward.
- Moses renamed Hoshea, son of Nun, Joshua.
- Moses gave them specific instructions to go to the Negev and then up into the hill country.
- They were to determine whether the people there were strong or weak, whether the land was good or bad, are they living in cities or encampments, and whether there are trees or not. Additionally, Moses commanded them to bring back some fruit of the land because it was time for the first grape harvest.
- So the men went up from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob. They went through the Negev up to Hebron. In the Valley of Eschol, they cut a branch of grapes so large that two men had to carry it.
- At the end of 40 days, they returned.
In verses 24-33, the men reported what they had seen to Moses and Aaron and the Israelites:
- They said it was a good land, flowing with milk and honey.
- But, the people there are large and live in fortified cities.
- They saw the descendants of Anak living there (supposed giants).
- Amalekites were living in the Negev.
- The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country.
- The Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan River.
- Caleb spoke up, saying they must go up and conquer the people and take possession of the land.
- 10 of the 12 spies said they should not go up into the land. They gave negative reports about the land.
- They claimed they had seen descendants of Anak from the Nephilim there.
Note: Nephilim (means “fallen ones”) mentioned in Genesis 6:4 were the offspring of angels and the daughters of men. They were large in stature. They would have been killed in the Genesis flood, so the spies’ report is most likely an exaggeration.
Note: 10 of the 12 spies saw only the problems, not the great opportunities that lay before them. Except for Joshua and Caleb, they lacked faith that God would give them the land He had promised.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- Jealousy and a feeling of superiority often embed itself in our beliefs and, ultimately, in our actions. It is easy enough to recognize when we start grumbling and complaining to God that someone else has something we don’t!
- Here we see the impact of leaders on their tribes. Their lack of faith caused their tribes to fear going forward to claim what God had promised. And as we shall see, the result of these leader’s lack of faith was an entire nation wandered in the desert for the next 40 years!
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
