Numbers Chapters 10 & 11 & 12
Now it was time for the Israelis to leave Mount Sinai for the Lord told them they had been there long enough. They should move on toward Canaan, He said. So the cloud rose from the Tabernacle and moved on before them, and they followed it for three days until they came to the wilderness of Paran. There it stopped and there they camped.
We would suppose that when the people saw the cloud going along in front of them they would be very thankful to God. We would expect them to be satisfied with whatever He chose to give them until they reached that good land to which He was leading them. But no, they complained that there was no meat for them to eat. “We remember the fish we had in Egypt,” they said, “and the cucumbers, the melons, and the onions, but now we have nothing at all beside this manna.” So they complained and cried, standing at the doors of their tents.
The Lord was very angry with them, and Moses was discouraged. Then he complained to the Lord, too. He asked the Lord why he had been given the care of all these wicked people. It was to much for him, he said, and if the Lord was going to send him such a burden as this to carry, he wanted to die and end it all.
Moses’ sinned when he talked to God like that, for God had always helped him when he was in trouble, and He was willing to help him again now. Moses should not have complained, he should of trusted God.
God told Moses to tell the people that He would give them meat, for He had heard their complaining. They would have meat not only for that day or five days, but for a whole month until they couldn’t stand the taste or the sight of it.
Moses could hardly believe it. He said, “Here are 600,000 families, and yet You say You will give them meat to eat for the whole month? Must we kill all the flocks and herds that we brought out of Egypt? Or shall all the fish of the sea be caught to give them enough?
The Lord answered, “Have I grown weak? Is that why you think I can’t do it? Wait, and you will see whether My words come true or not.”
So Moses told the people what the Lord had said.
Then the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea, and they flew down all around the camp. There were so many that the ground was covered with them. The people went out and gathered them all that day, all that night and all the next day. But as soon as they put their meat in their mouths to eat it, the Lord sent a great plague among them, and many of them died for their sin and were buried there in the wilderness.
Then the cloud lifted again, and the people followed it until it stopped at a place called Hazeroth; there they stopped and made their camp.
Moses was their leader because the Lord had chosen him. Yet the bible tells us he was more meek and humble than any man alive. But Miriam, his sister, and Aaron, his brother, found fault with him for marrying a woman who was not and Israeli. They said God had chosen them also, and that they too, should be rulers over the people.
The Lord heard what Aaron and Miriam said, and He was angry. He told them to go with Moses to the Tabernacle. While they were there, the pillar of cloud came down and stood by the door. Then the Lord called to Aaron and Miriam from the cloud and they came and stood before Him. The Lord told them He had chosen Moses, and He asked them why they were not afraid to speak against Moses as they had been doing. When the pillar of cloud rose again, Miriam was covered with Leprosy ; her skin was as white as snow. God had sent the disease upon her as punishment for their wickedness.
When Aaron saw it, he was terribly frightened and said to Moses, “We have sinned.” He begged that Miriam might be healed.
Then Moses prayed earnestly to the Lord for her, saying, “Heal her now, O God, I ask. “And the Lord listened to his prayer and healed her from her Leprosy.
Then the people travelled from Hazeroth back again to the wilderness of Paran.
Questions:
What did the people complain about?
How did God provide meat for all the people?
How did God show Aaron and Miriam that He had chosen Moses to be in charge?
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