[Numbers 11] Would that All God’s People were Prophets! In this chapter, the people complain once again about the manna. Moses is at the end of his patience and cries out to God. In response, God offers to take the prophetic spirit on Moses and give it to 70 elders to help Moses bear the burden of the people. In the midst of this great blessing, there were consequences for the people. They got what they asked for with undesirable results. We should be careful what we pray for. Our prayers have more weight with God than we could ever imagine.
[Num 11:1-35 KJV] 1 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. 2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. 3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them. 4 And the mixt 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? 5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: 6 But now our soul [is] dried away: [there is] nothing at all, beside this manna, [before] our eyes. 7 And the manna [was] as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. 8 [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. 9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. 10 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. 11 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? 12 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? 13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. 14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because [it is] too heavy for me. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 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. 19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; 20 [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? 21 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. 22 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? 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. 24 And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the Tabernacle. 25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that [was] upon him, and gave [it] unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, [that], when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. 26 But there remained two [of the] men in the camp, the name of the one [was] Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they [were] of them that were written, but went not out unto the Tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp. 27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, [one] of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. 29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, [and] that the LORD would put his spirit upon them! 30 And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. 31 And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let [them] fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits [high] upon the face of the earth. 32 And the people stood up all that day, and all [that] night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread [them] all abroad for themselves round about the camp. 33 And while the flesh [was] yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague. 34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. 35 [And] the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.
In v. 1, we see that people complain, and the fire of God breaks out among them, resulting in many deaths. For a New Testament believer, these things are hard to imagine. What if every Christian who complained suddenly burst into flames and died? Our numbers would be significantly diminished, and there would be no longer a need for a complaint department in the kingdom. Why do God’s people today seem to get away with complaining when the children in the wilderness suffered so horribly for doing so? Is God showing partiality? Remember that these people were living under the law of sin and death. There was nothing between their disobedience and the holiness of God. Paul looked at these passages and declared that this record is come down to us not only as history but as metaphor, allegory, and typology speaking to us of who Christ is in our lives and what our place in the economy of God entails.
[1Co 10:11 KJV] 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
All of the wrath of God we see vented in the Old Testament has for us been poured out upon Jesus upon the Cross. What happened to all this wrath? It was poured out upon Jesus. When we are in Christ, we are not appointed to wrath but to grace and mercy. This is the invitation of the Cross. Many preach wrath and predict wrath upon God’s people for various reasons. For those that look for God to do these things, let us pose a question: What part of the wrath of God was not poured out upon Jesus on the Cross? Read the words of the prophet Isaiah:
[Isa 53:6 KJV] 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
You are I are living in a parenthesis of grace. There will come a day of reckoning to be sure, but in our current dispensation, we are shielded from the wrath of God. We are not however, necessarily shielded from the consequences of our actions. Much of the tragedy that befalls men they bring on themselves – not from some lightning bolt cast from the throne of grace.
In v. 4, we see a reference to the mixed multitude. Who were these people? Many came out of Egypt that God intended to bring into the Promised Land. There were, however, some that came for their own reasons and their own motivations.
[Heb 3:16 KJV] 16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
There has always been a problem of people placing themselves in proximity to the work of God who have compromised motives. This happened with Lot when he followed Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees. There came a day that God’s blessing on Abram could not progress until Lot was sent on his way (which didn’t work out well for him). Learn to identify and to bless the mixed multitude away from you. Abram endured Lot because of a family tie and because of false pity for his orphaned nephew. If he had seen the end of Lot, he would have loved him enough to let him go.
In v. 11, we see Moses is at the end of his tether. He cries out to God under the immense pressure of leading the people. Leaders often have to deal with such things. When people aren’t happy with themselves or their situation, they will often blame their leaders. Make it your goal not to be that person. They weren’t satisfied with the manna from heaven – which represents Jesus. They wanted flesh. They wanted something to satisfy their appetites. I ask you, is Jesus enough? Do you have to have church as entertainment? Is it necessary to have a coffee bar in the vestibule? Do you have to have a charismatic and talented leader who will keep you from being bored with the journey God has called you on? These are sobering thoughts that all of us must consider if we are to find a place of humility before God.
In v. 16, the Lord hears Moses’ prayer and brings him a plan for assistance taking care of the children in the wilderness. We see here the grace and mercy of God. Men have their limits. We may think we can endure and stand and take the pressure that comes down upon us, but every man and woman has their limits. It wasn’t until Moses came to God with transparent honesty that God offered a solution that was available the whole time. Seventy men would receive of Moses’ prophetic spirit so he would not bear the people alone. This would turn to be a great blessing for Moses, but there was still the matter people’s demand for something other than the manna that they so detested at this point.
In v. 18, God instructs Moses to prepare the people to get what they want the very next day. When the people complained about their boredom with the manna, they were actually grumbling against God himself. Could not God have enriched their diet? He may have been prepared to send meat to them already, but before He could display His faithfulness, they are crying and complaining and charging Him with failing to take care of them. Therefore, this controversy is raging; the people are crying, God is displeased, and in the midst of this, a new prophetic order is being established that would set a precedent for leaders in Christ down to the current day!
In v. 24, Moses brings the elders to the door of the Tabernacle. The cloud that surrounded them was the cloud of God’s glory; the same glory that Paul declared is in us as Christ the Hope of Glory. This glory was ON Moses, but it is IN us. As leaders, we have the authority to impart and to give away the gifting and glory that the Father has placed in our lives. That can be a daunting and intimidating thing when you are used to the people looking to you for all their needs. Moses had a deeper understanding of things. Suddenly we see that Joshua is alarmed that two men who were late to the gathering were prophesying seemingly without permission. Moses gave the heart of God on the matter that God wants ALL His people and not just an elite few to operate in the governmental anointing of authority and power in the earth.
After elders are anointed with Moses’ prophetic spirit, then the wind of God begins to blow. Authority brings order. Multiplication of authority brings multiplication of order. The people had not rejected Moses or the manna. They had rejected God. Be careful what you pray for. Sometimes we ask prayers that have only one answer: “Lord, if you love me – give me what I want …” God will then give you what you ask even it would be a harmful thing. Peter prayed a prayer like this when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water. He asked a question that there was only one answer to. He was looking at Jesus walking on the water, and he cries out, “Lord, if it is you – bid me come.” Well, it was Jesus, so He bid Peter to walk on the water even though He knew Peter would sink (and He would then save Him). Be conservative and thoughtful about how you ask and what you ask the Father in the name of Jesus. You have more authority than you know.
