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Scripture Reading: Num. 11
In this message we will begin to consider the failures recorded in chapters eleven through fourteen of Numbers.
Moses' word in 10:35 and 36 implies Christ's incarnation, ascension, and coming back. But after this marvelous word at the end of chapter ten, from chapter eleven through chapter seventeen there is nearly nothing except failure. These chapters speak of different kinds of defilement. The behavior of the people in chapter sixteen was an insult both to Moses and to Jehovah. The insult was so severe that Jehovah, who is full of mercy and patience, could not tolerate the situation any longer and became very angry. This is similar to the situation in John 2, in which the Lord Jesus, the incarnated God, became angry. In Numbers 16 God became like this, saying to Moses, "Rise up from the midst of this assembly that I may consume them in a moment" (v. 45).
We may not care for these chapters that record the failures of God's people, but these chapters are in the Bible, and we need to pay attention to them.
In Taberah, which means "a burning," the children of Israel were murmuring evil (11:1-3; cf. Deut. 8:2). Here evil refers not only to evil words but also to evil things. The evil words spoken by the people were based on evil things. These evil words went into the ears of Jehovah. This murmuring kindled the anger of Jehovah, and He sent fire to consume some at the extremities of the camp. Moses prayed for the people, and the fire abated. "So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of Jehovah burned among them" (Num. 11:3).
After the murmuring, the mixed multitude among the people began to lust (vv. 4-35). The mixed multitude consisted of those without a definite family, those who did not know of whom they were born or to what family they belonged. In principle, it is possible for there to be such a mixture in the church life today, for certain ones, not knowing how they were saved or through whom they were regenerated, may not have a proper spiritual status.
The name of the place where the mixed multitude lusted was called Kibroth-hattaavah, which means "the graves of lust," because "there they buried the people who lusted" (v. 34).
Numbers 11:4 and 5 say, "Now the mixed multitude that was among them lusted exceedingly; and the sons of Israel also wept again, and said, Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic." Here we see that those who lusted for meat remembered the food in Egypt. In Egypt they had fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, food which signifies the enjoyment of the world, but in the wilderness they had only manna (vv. 6-9).
Verse 6 goes on to say, "Now our soul is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna before our eyes." Manna signifies the heavenly Christ as the daily food for God's people. This is pointed out by the Lord Jesus Himself in John 6:29-35.
In the wilderness the people became bored of eating manna. Day after day, they received the miraculous supply of manna. No matter where they were, there was enough manna in the morning to feed more than two million people. This surely was a miracle. But even though the children of Israel witnessed this miracle daily for forty years, they were not affected by it in a positive way. Instead, they became tired of manna, even bored of eating it.
Manna is a type of Christ. If we are honest, we will admit that just as the children of Israel were bored of eating manna, we have sometimes become bored of eating Christ as our daily food.
"Now the manna was like coriander seed" (Num. 11:7a). This indicates that as food Christ is full of life. This food is a seed. When we eat Christ, He comes into us as a seed. Compared to corn or wheat, the coriander seed is tiny. Although this seed is very small, it is full of life, and it brings the life element into our being. As such a seed, Christ grows within us.
The appearance of manna was like that of bdellium (v. 7b). This indicates that manna was bright in appearance. Bdellium has been interpreted to signify two different substances, both a white transparent gum and a white pearl. The pearls produced by resin from certain trees are very much like the pearls produced by oysters. When the resinous gum that flows out of these trees hardens, it forms pearl-like balls. The word bdellium in 11:7b may refer to these balls. Both kinds of pearls are bright and transparent.
"The people went about and gathered it, and ground it between millstones or beat it in a mortar, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it" (v. 8a). The fact that the manna could be ground, beaten, and boiled indicates that it was solid. After the people had prepared the manna in this way, they made cakes of it. These cakes were a form of fine bread and were nourishing. This indicates that manna was good for nourishment. As our real manna today, Christ is rich in nourishment.
"The taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil" (v. 8b). The Hebrew words translated "cakes baked with oil" may also be rendered "fresh oil." The taste of fresh oil or of cakes baked with oil signifies the sweet taste of the Holy Spirit. Oil typifies the Holy Spirit. When we eat Christ as our manna, we taste the Spirit of God. The oil here is fresh. The Spirit we taste when we enjoy Christ as manna is always fresh.
"When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it" (v. 9). This indicates that every morning the manna came with the fresh mercy of God (Lam. 3:22-23).
In the Bible, dew signifies God's gracious visitation from the heavens. The manna always comes with God's gracious visitation. Whenever we touch Christ as our life supply, we have the sense that heaven has come to us in a soft, watering, refreshing manner.
The manna surely was a marvelous supply to the children of Israel. Nevertheless, in spite of such a wonderful miracle every day, they grew bored of this manna and longed for the food of Egypt.
At this juncture, Moses became very bothered. Up to this point, he did not have much experience in leading God's people. According to verses 10 through 15, Moses went to God and complained that the people were a heavy burden upon him.
"Jehovah said to Moses, Gather for Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; and bring them to the tent of meeting, that they may take their stand there with you" (v. 16). Here we see that God raised up seventy elders as helpers to Moses. Seventy is the number of completion and fullness. God's raising up these seventy elders indicates that when He does something, He does it completely and in full.
God put the Spirit that was upon Moses upon the seventy elders (v. 25). When this Spirit came upon them, they prophesied.
Two of the seventy, who were not with the others around the tent of meeting, also prophesied (v. 26). "A young man ran and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, a minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them" (vv. 27-28). Joshua was jealous for Moses, and he charged Moses to forbid them. But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake?" (v. 29a). Then Moses uttered a great prophecy: "Oh, that all Jehovah's people were prophets, that Jehovah would put His Spirit upon them!" (v. 29b). This prophecy was promoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians and will be fulfilled in God's New Testament economy.
At this time when the people were lusting for meat, God came in to do a great miracle. He fed the people with quail (vv. 18-23, 31-34). He brought in so many quail that they surrounded the camp for a distance equal to a day's journey and to a depth of about three feet (v. 31).
In feeding the people with quail, God was angry, and in His anger He struck them with a severe plague. "While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of Jehovah burned against the people, and Jehovah struck the people with a severe plague" (v. 33).
The lusting people were struck and buried in Kibroth-hattaavah. "Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who lusted" (v. 34). This was for the purpose of clearing up the mixed multitude. By this plague God purified His people.
"From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth; and they abode at Hazeroth" (v. 35). It is likely that the people were silent as they journeyed to Hazeroth. To be sure, no one desired to eat quail, for their lusting for meat had brought in death.
