Num 11-12, Be careful of the company you keep

Num 11:1-3 (NIV) Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the Lord had burned among them.


• Note the first rebellion was three days out of Egypt.  We are now (potentially) three days out from Mt Sinai (Num 10:33)
• The first issue is what?
• Hardship
• Not really explained
• What were not their hardships?
• Food -- manna
• Clothes and shoes -- did not wear out
• Shelter -- they had tents, but not fixed structures
• Protection -- God was protecting them
• Family -- living with their families, extended and otherwise
• What might their hardships be?
• Carrying water
• Living out of suitcase (so to speak)
• Strange to say "in the hearing of the Lord," why?
• Because God hears everything ("where can we flee from his presence?")
• God sees all our actions, there is nothing we do that he does see and hear
• It's as if they wanted to make sure God heard what they said ...
• What is the punishment?
• God sends fire (?from Heaven) to burn some on the outskirts of the camp
• Follows a principle that is associated with sin -- that if you play too close the fire (dabble near sin), you will get burned


Num 11:4-6,10-21 (NIV) The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"


10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. 11 He asked the Lord, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? 13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!' 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now — if I have found favor in your eyes — and do not let me face my own ruin."


16 The Lord said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.


18 "Tell the people: 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, "If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!" Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month — until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it — because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?" '" 


• Note that the rabble were non-Israelites who came out of Egypt with Israel
• What is the rabble's argument?
• Manna is boring
• Egyptian food was more exciting, different
• So what is their objective in life? to satisfy the lust of the flesh
• There is a proverb that suggests bad company corrupts good morals. You hang around with people who do not view sin as God views sin, then you are playing with fire
• We don't want to pull out of the world. The NT (2 Cor) tells us not to
• But we do need to be careful about our degree of involvement
• How does Moses respond and why?
• He takes it personal
• He sees it as a rejection of himself as leader
• He is trying to make people happy and satisfy them
• He is worn out and tired -- Why is he so worn out? Because he is trying to make people happy ...
• What does God see as the problem?
• Moses does need help. Specifically, he needs others who will represent the Lord before the people
• The people have rejected God not Moses.  Technically, they would rather be slaves in Egypt then free under God
• This is the same thing today.  Do you want to be a slave to sin or free to worship and serve God? Many choose the latter
• You can complain to your parents or your pastor about your Christian life, but you are rejecting God himself, not me, not your parents, and not your pastor ...


Num 11:24-30 (NIV) So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.


26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."


28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!"


29 But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!" 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.


• This interesting story about the giving of the Holy Spirit. We can see a number of principles as we look across scripture
• Scripture emphasizes certain points in history through the use of miracles
• How is this similar / different from Pentecost?
• OT: prophesied (did not speak in tongues) / leaders / inaugurated an event (slightly later)
• NT: spoke in tongues the gospel /leaders / inaugurated an event
• How many times do these OT saints who receive the HS prophesy? Once. Why? Because the miracle is used as a sign
• NT use of tongues
• Four cases described in Acts (all attest to a genuine conversion)
• Clearly the usage is of a known language (people understood the gospel in their native language)
• Acts 2 - Jews had come from foreign countries (sign to the Jews)
• Acts 8 - half Jew, half Gentiles come to the Lord (sign to Samaritans)
• Acts 10 - Cornelius, a God-fearing Gentile, (sign to Gentiles who already believed in God)
• Acts 18/19 - This last group is "religious" people who had repented of their sin but had not believed in Jesus (they had only heard the message of John the Baptist). The baptism of the spirit confirms that faith now must be in the person of Jesus and no one else
• Interestingly, tongues occur whenever Jews were present as a sign to unbelieving Jews (also fits with 1 Cor 1:22; 14:21-23) [Bellshaw, Bsac 120:478, Apr 1963]
• Three chapters in 1 Corinthians (expository)
• Use of the word "unknown" in 1 Cor 14 is not in the original text [ibid]
• 1 Cor 12:13,30 makes it clear that all believers had received the baptism of the Spirit, but not all spoke in tongues [ibid]
• Rules on exercise of gifts in church
• Gift to be exercised by 2 or 3 persons (14:27) but no more
• An interpreter must be present (14:28)
• Women are not to participate in this experience (14:34) suggesting that women were not given the gift. And no where in scripture do women speak in tongues [ibid]
• No other book in the bible explicitly references this gift (it is only prominent in a church that was notorious in its sin and poor theology)


Num 11:31-35 (NIV) Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction. 32 All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. 34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.


35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there.


• A lot of food and unlike the manna we are given a logical explanation (kind of). Why not just say "God created quail meat?" Because the bible is true and this is what happened
• When did the people gather meat and how much? All day and into the next day. An average of ten homers
• How is that different from the manna? The manna was just enough; it was only gathered on the day; and it averaged an homer
• What is the difference? One represents lust; the other represents trust
• Lust - as much as you can get
• Trust - as much as you need
• Lust - stockpile extra
• Trust - use it, don't live for it
• Lust - get sick on it
• Trust - stay healthy
• Is your life characterized by lust or trust?


Num 12:1-16 (NIV) Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the Lord heard this.


3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)


4 At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. 5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, 6 he said, "Listen to my words:


"When a prophet of the Lord is among you,
I reveal myself to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?"


9 The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.


10 When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam — leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; 11 and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away."


13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, "O God, please heal her!"


14 The Lord replied to Moses, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back." 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.


16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.


• The statement "hasn't he also spoken through us" implies what?
• Aaron was one of the seventy, i.e., when he prophesied
• Miriam, Aaron's sister, is already recorded as prophesying when she broke out in a song
• Two godly spiritual leaders, a man and a woman, and yet they fall into sin.  What is there sin?
• Starts with comparison
• 2 Cor 10:12 (NIV) We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.
• 2 Cor 10:12 (AMP) Not that we [have the audacity to] venture to class or [even to] compare ourselves with some who exalt and furnish testimonials for themselves! However, when they measure themselves with themselves and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding and behave unwisely.
• Comparison leads to gossip -- "Hasn't he also spoke through us …"
• They have obviously discussed this issue among themselves
• Gossip can cause bitterness and envy
• Notice that the judgment only comes on one person, why?
• Miriam is probably the cause
• Yet Aaron is guilty too for not standing up to his sister when he should have
• Finally, the whole camp waits seven days before moving because of Miriam (our sin can and does affect others)