Moses wife was the daughter of a Midianite priest, who had brought her to Moses shortly before they reached Mount Sinai. When Israel left Mount Sinai, one of her brothers was visiting them and Moses asked him to accompany them, in Numbers 10:29-32. “And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses' father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel.
And he said unto him,
I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.
And he said, Leave us
not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the
wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it
shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do
unto thee.”
Hobab wanted to go back to his hometown where his relatives
lived, but Moses asked him to stay promising that he wouldn’t be in the
way. He had grown up in the area and was
familiar with the land and its inhabitants.
He could save them a lot of
hassles because of his knowledge. If he
would accompany them, he would experience the same blessings the Israelites
did.
Whether he went or not, God would be the one guiding them,
as described in Numbers 10:33-36. “And they departed from the mount of the
LORD three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before
them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by
day, when they went out of the camp. And
it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and
let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before
thee. And when it rested, he said,
Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.”
Unfortunately, the people had developed a habit of
complaining while they were in slavery, and while they were now free, the habit
persisted, even a year later. For
almost a year they had camped at Mount Sinai, without having to move their
camp. When they started moving away from
Mount Sinai, some of them griped about having to leave and move every few
days. Numbers 11:1-3 tells us, “And when the people complained, it
displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the
fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost
parts of the camp. And the people cried
unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. And he called the name of the place Taberah:
because the fire of the LORD burnt among them. “
If they just stayed at Mount Sinai, they would never get to
the land God had prepared for them. I wonder how often God has to send fire
into the camp to get the people to follow him?
Even when they followed him, many were looking back at the past and
longing to go back. Numbers 11:4-6
describes such a group. “And the mixed multitude that was among them
fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall
give us flesh to eat? We remember the
fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the
leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: But now our soul is dried away: there is
nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.”
The mixed multitude was a group of former Egyptian slaves of
various races who tagged along when Israel left Egypt. They were experiencing all the same
blessings, but they had no commitment to God or interest in the Promised
Land. As so often happens, they began
to gripe about missing things they used to have while overlooking what they
have now. They were griping about the
lack of cucumbers and onions and melons and fish. When they had those things they had been
slaves, beaten and killed for the least infraction. Now they had freedom, and an ample supply of
good food.
Numbers 11:7-9 describes the Manna and how it was gathered
and used. “And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the
colour of bdellium. And the people went
about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and
baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of
fresh oil. And when the dew fell upon
the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.”
While it wasn’t cucumbers and onions or melons and fish, manna
tasted pretty good and could be fixed a lot of different ways. Best of all it could be gathered with just a
few minutes work everyday and there was no need to store it for the winter.
The complaints didn’t make much sense, but they rapidly
spread throughout the camp, with people who hadn’t even thought about it
joining in. Both Moses and God were
upset by the complaining. Moses himself
began griping about having to put up with the people’s attitudes, in Numbers
11:10-15. “Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man
in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses
also was displeased. And Moses said unto
the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not
found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon
me? Have I conceived all this people?
have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom,
as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest
unto their fathers? Whence should I have
flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us
flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to
bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I
pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see
my wretchedness.”
Constant griping and complaints can wear down even the
strongest and most spiritual people.
Moses asked God to just kill him so he didn’t have to put up with it any
more. Instead, God told him to pick out
a group of men who could take part of the responsibilities, and God would give
them the spiritual power they needed, in Numbers 11:16-17. “And
the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel,
whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and
bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there
with thee. And I will come down and talk
with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put
it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou
bear it not thyself alone.”
God also warned that the people would have to bear the
consequences of their choices, in Numbers 11:18-20. “And
say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall
eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us
flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give
you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall
not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome
unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have
wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?” Sometimes, when we demand our own way,
God lets us have it so we can learn how foolish our demands were.
Moses was dumbfounded By God’s promise to give them all the
meat they could eat for an entire month, as Numbers 11:21-22 tells us. “1 And
Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and
thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for
them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together
for them, to suffice them? He
couldn’t imagine where God could get so much food so quickly. It seemed impossible, but God reminded him
that he was still God, in Numbers 11:23.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Is
the LORD'S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to
pass unto thee or not.” When we get discouraged, it is easy to
forget how much power God has.
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