Thursday Night Bible Study

Numbers 10-Numbers11 (Click scripture reference for audio access)

"Oh Oh..."  •  4.8.12  •  Thursday Night Bible Study, Calvary Christian Fellowship

Intro.

- We are entering a new section in the book of Numbers tonight. To this moment, we have seen the children of Israel, camped in the wilderness of Sinai, situated around the tabernacle.

- Tonight, we will see them move out. Their society has been built on solid principles that we've observed through the first 9 chapters. Now, we'll see how that affects their practice.

Text

• Numbers 10:1-4 : "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. When they blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. But if they blow only one, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall gather to you." : Moses was to direct the children of Israel employing these silver trumpets.

- Blown at the same time, they were used for the assembling of the body, calling them to hear what God would speak to them through Moses. When only one was blown, the leaders would report.

• Numbers 10:5-10 : "When you sound the advance, the camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey. When you sound the advance the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall begin their journey; they shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys. And when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but not sound the advance. The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.'"  :  The advance would signal the camps moving in their prescribed fashion and the war call to battle.

- One commentator notes that tradition held that long notes were for assembly, while short notes were for war. In any event, they had to be listening to know how to act.

- It is said that the Lord would remember them when they sounded the alarm. The word in context with the mention of God means a bringing into focus or into the forefront of His mind.

- They would blow their trumpets and God would bring their relationship to the front of His  mind. We might say equivalently, "I devoted my whole attention to you."

- When they blew the trumpets, it was an act of faith, calling out to God for rescue and indeed, God promises to come to their aid.

- They were to also employ their trumpets when they came to offer sacrifices to the Lord.

• Numbers 10:11-13 : "Now it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of the Testimony. And the children of Israel set out from the Wilderness of Sinai on their journeys; then the cloud settled down in the Wilderness of Paran. So they started out for the first time according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses."  :  The Lord kept the children at Sinai for over a year. The cloud that had been stationary moved!

- The summation of what happened follows in verse 12, as the people began a journey to the next place, which happened to be the wilderness of Paran,100 miles northeast of Sinai.

- Verses 14-28 describe their marching order, including information regarding the captains of the various tribes, men who were leaders of the people.

- After Judah's group of tribes move forward, the tabernacle is taken down in verse 17. They set out after Judah and then Reuben's tribes leave.

- In verse 21, the Kohathites pick up the covered furniture of the tabernacle and they set out, understanding that when they arrive, the tabernacle will be set up and ready to receive the furniture.

- After they moved out, the rest of the tribes followed behind them.

- Our God is meticulous when it comes to our walking! He sets up all the details in the right order and in the right time. It's also a credit to the people, who walked in His way!

•  Numbers 10:29-32 : " Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, 'We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.' And he said to him, 'I will not go, but I will depart to my own land and to my relatives.' So Moses said, 'Please do not leave, inasmuch as you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes. And it shall be, if you go with us—indeed it shall be—that whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same we will do to you.'"  :  Hobab was Moses' brother-in-law, who had been staying with Moses and the Israelites at Sinai.

- He was a foreigner in their midst, but Moses wanted to bring him along. The promises were for Israel, but Moses promised to treat Hobab well.

- He was inviting him into the blessing of God! What a wonderful picture for us! We have promises that God has given to us and our heart should be to have others share those blessings!

- Additionally, Moses saw Hobab's value. Hobab had experience in the wilderness of Paran and could lend an eye toward those things, meaning that he could act as a guide.

- This does not mean that Hobab would set the agenda. God did that by providing the where and when. Moses suggested that Hobab would along to aid in providing the how.

- Hobab did not want to go at first, but with the promise of the Lord's good toward him, he had better thoughts of it. Judges 4:11 speaks of his children who came into the land of Canaan.

- Moses did not believe that God was an "Israel Blessor" exclusively. Hobab had just as much opportunity to be blessed by God as the Israelis did.

• Numbers 10:33-36 : "So they departed from the mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was above them by day when they went out from the camp. So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: 'Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You.' And when it rested, he said: 'Return, O Lord, To the many thousands of Israel.'" : They traveled these three days to the wilderness of Paran, the Lord seeking a resting place for them.

- When the cloud lifted, Moses would call out with this saying: "Let your enemies be scattered!" a prayer for protection When the ark rested, Moses prayed for His presence to rest with them.

• Numbers 11:1-3 : "Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.'" : It is no coincidence that this section follows their first move.

- When they were stationed in Sinai, everything was theoretical. When God laid out the plans for them to move, they were all in agreement, noting the organization and wisdom.

- They agreed to the movement of the furniture and calculated how many people would be needed for certain assignments. All was going well...until they actually moved!

- "Those curtains are heavy!" "How many sockets do we really need?" "The wheels on the wagons drag in the dirt when we move them with weight in them!" "On our shoulders? Really!?"

- It had been three days and the elements of the journey brought out the heart of the participants: They complained! The word means "to murmur."

- The idea is that there was a general sound of discontent in the air regarding the conditions that the Lord had placed them in.

- We are not given the content of their complaint, which I feel is purposeful because the content is irrelevant! God's feelings on complaints: It displeased the Lord, arousing His anger!

- Why was God angry? What's the big deal? Complaining shows little gratitude for the past and little faith for the future! Their complaints were signals of their true heart condition.

- God's response was swift: Fire came out from God and began to consume the members of the camps, on the outskirts moving it's way in!

- It's interesting that these people were on the outskirts, ie. the farthest from the tabernacle! Frankly, that is generally where complaints tend to rise from: Those with the least involvement!

- Moses listening to the people cry out, cried out on their behalf to the Lord and the Lord stopped His wrath against them. Moses appropriately calling the place, "Burning."

•  Numbers 11:4-9 : "Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: 'Who will give us meat to eat?  We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!' Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil.  And when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it." : The mixed multitude refers first to non-Israelis, but could also refer to Israeli whose heart was divided. Moses writes that they yielded to intense craving.

- The phrase pictures one who has turned aside to dwell. You might say that they began to dwell upon their desires. Sin was conceived in their heart and they dwelt upon their desire.

- Then, completely being deluded, they romanticize their past and the love of these foods that were all supposedly readily available any time. Forget that they were slaves at the time!

- Next, notice their overexaggeration of the present condition. "Our whole being is dried up!" Other versions say that their appetite was gone.

- Then comes the real crux. All they had to look forward to was the manna! The root of their problem was not a lack of provision, but a lack of pizzazz! They were tired of eating the same thing!

- It's amazing how quickly we would trade the divine life for the natural life! Here was the miracle manna from God, given in freedom and they longed for the food of slavery!

- We're the same way. We are quick to review the photos of our past in our minds, but rarely do we remember the things that happened before and after those photos had taken place!

- They complained about the manna, but it was all that they needed.

- Moses describes this manna as a grain, which could be made into cakes. It came from heaven and was in the camp when they woke up in the morning.

- The problem that it wasn't what they wanted at that moment. God has promised to meet our needs, not our wants. Jesus calls Himself the bread of heaven. We must be satisfied with Him.

• Numbers 11:10-15 : "Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, 'Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You swore to their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.' I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me.  If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and do not let me see my wretchedness!'" :  It's not good when God is angry and Moses is aggravated.

- Moses was likely upset that he had to deal with this sort of issue so soon after dealing with the issue of Taberah! "Didn't they learn their lesson!?"

- Moses' first problem comes from the fact that he heard the people. He needed to hear from the Lord! It's often hard to do, but when the noise around you gets louder, you need to get quieter!

- Hear what God has to say about your situation! Get your ear near to His heart for you!

- Unfortunately, when we don't, we'll produce a tirade similar to Moses'. Let me paraphrase and see if this sounds familiar: "I didn't sign up for this job!" "Why are you doing this to me!?"

- "Calgon, take me away!" How am I going to give these people what they want?

- Moses, when did you take that job from the Lord? Who had been giving them manna? Who had been taking care of them? God had that job!

- Friends, I have lived this moment many times! In this moment, you really mean the words, "Lord kill me!" but it's God's way of reminding his man, "Your trying to take my job!"

- When you are tempted to say, "The burden is too heavy for me," you must be ready to hear the words of Jesus, "My yoke is easy and my burden in light!"

• Numbers 11:16-20 : "So the Lord said to Moses: 'Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, 'Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.' Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, 'Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?'" :  God saw Moses' heart and added other men to share in the responsibility. God allowed these men to serve, but they had to share in the same Spirit!

- In the days of the early church, where the men asked to wait tables had to be men who were full of the Holy Spirit. This is the minimum requirement! God tells Moses what He's about to do.

• Numbers 11:21-23 : "And Moses said, 'The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.' Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?' And the Lord said to Moses, 'Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.'" : It's amazing how quickly we can lose perspective. Moses had been a first hand witness to God's power in Egypt. Moses is looking at their circumstance, not God's power!

- The Lord's disciples were rebuked by Jesus at the hardening of their hearts, when for the second time, Jesus told them to give the multitude something to eat.

- Just as in that time, God's arm has not been shortened! You need to repeat that to yourself!

•  Numbers 11:24-30  :  "So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again. But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, 'Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.' So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, 'Moses my lord, forbid them!' Then Moses said to him, 'Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!' And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel." : When Moses prayed, these men received the gift of the Holy Spirit and they prophecied. That was a temporary phenomena that never happened again, likely authenticating their positions.

- However, these other two men, Eldad and Medad, continued in that ministry, prompting Joshua's defensive response. Listen to Moses heart: I wish all of God's people were so filled!"

- That is the desire of every Pastor! The greatest reward in ministry is to see likeminded, vested individuals experiencing the power of God! There is nothing better than that!

•  Numbers 11:31-35  :  "Now a wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers); and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving. From Kibroth Hattaavah the people moved to Hazeroth, and camped at Hazeroth." :  Even today, it's been reported that quail have a migration pattern that leads them over the Sinai. On this journey, the Lord allowed a wind to ground them.

- While they fluttered 3 ft above the ground, the people's frenzy allowed them to gather an exceptional amount of birds, but while it was between their teeth, the Lord's wrath arose.

- The plague that came, came as a result of their greed and lust, so Moses named the place, "The Craving Grave!"

Conclusion

- Let's be mindful that the exercise of our faith, finds us expressing gratitude. When you are tempted to complain, don't! It never ends the way that you want it to and you only regret it!