(My BSF Notes)
Last
time we learned that Moses was told by God to take a census of the people
listing every name one by one; then to count men 20 years old and over to serve
in the army. We saw God’s placement of
the tribes around the tabernacle placing the tabernacle in the center showing
that God is to be the center of their lives.
We saw purifying of the camps and each tribe giving offerings at the
dedication of the tabernacle. They were
told to celebrate Passover in accordance with all its regulations. The cloud of God continued to guide the
Israelites as they journeyed toward the Promise Land.
Numbers 11 – The People Begin to Complain
The
people began to complain about all their hardships, which angered God. “Then fire from the
Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.”
– Num. 11:1. The people cried out to Moses for God to stop
the fire. They continued to
complain. They complained about the
manna God had continued to provide for them.
They wanted meat and fish and vegetables like they had in Egypt. They had forgotten about all the hard work and
hard lives they had to do as slaves. The
Lord became very angry and this troubled Moses.
Moses asked God why had He brought this trouble on him and that he
couldn’t carry the burdens of all these people by himself. If God was going to treat him this way, he
said just put him to death. (Num.
11:11-15).
What do
you do when times are hard?
Do you
take your concerns to God?
How do
your complaints affect others?
God
came to Moses’ rescue. He told Moses to
bring the leaders and officials of the people to the Tent of Meeting and God
would come down and speak with him. He would
put the same Spirit on them that was on Moses.
Then Moses would not have to carry the burden of the people alone. (Num. 11:16-19).
Moses
poured out his heart to God. We can be
real with God. He knows it anyway. Take your problems and concerns to Him. God listened to Moses and gave him comfort and
provided for him as He does for us, when we take our concerns to Him. We don’t have to face them alone. God wants to hear from us. He listens and will help us through anything. All we have to do is go to Him.
When
has God provided comfort for you when you were overwhelmed?
Moses
was to tell the people to consecrate themselves in preparation for tomorrow
when they would eat meat. If they wanted
meat, God would give them meat, but not for just one day, but for a month until
they were sick of it. (Num. 11:20-22). Moses didn’t understand how they would
have enough herds and flocks for meat for all the people for a month. God told him, “Is the
Lord’s arm too short? You will now see
whether or not what I say will come true for you.” – Num. 11:23.
So
Moses did as the Lord commanded and brought the leaders of the people to the
Tent of Meeting and the Spirit was put on them and they prophesied. There were 2 men, Eldad and Meadad, who did
not come, but remained in the camp, but the Spirit still rested on them and
they prophesied. Joshua told Moses about
them and wanted him to stop them. Moses
asked if he was jealous for his sake. Moses
wished all the people had the Spirit on them.
God
sent quail from out of the sea. It was
all around the camp and 3 feet high.
They ate and ate. God’s anger
burned against them and so He struck them with a severe plague.
The
people’s complaint about the manna was a complaint against God. We should always be thankful for our food. That is why we give thanks before a
meal. Asking and thanking God should be
our response to God’s abundance.
How do
you express your thanks to God?
God knows
when we complain and it angers Him. He
expects us to learn from our experience.
We who know God should be the least of the complainers. We can think about all that goes wrong, but
it does no good. God is the only one who
can do something about it. What is
helpful is to focus on what is right.
The Israelites got in the habit of complaining. They focused on what they didn’t have instead
of what they had. Being negative or
positive can be contagious. We need to
be thankful for all our blessings given to us and make that our habit. We have a choice - complain or pray. Prayer provides exactly what we need.
Principles:
God
wants us to be thankful to Him for His provision.
Complaints
focus on circumstances while prayer focuses on the sovereign power of God.
Numbers 12 – God Defends Moses
Miriam
and Aaron started speaking against Moses because of Moses Cushite wife. “Has the Lord spoken
only through Moses? Hasn’t he also
spoken through us?” – Num. 12:2. Miriam is mentioned first in this passage
indicating she was probably the instigator.
Moses was a very humble man than anyone on the earth. (Num. 12:3) He did not
lash back or try to defend himself as we probably would have done. So God came to Moses’ rescue again. He said to bring Miriam and Aaron of out the Tent. God defended Moses saying, “When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to
him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.
But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my
house, with him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the
form of the Lord. Why then were you not to
afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” – Num. 12:6-8. The Lord’s
anger burned against them.
“Faithful
in all my house” means in all of Israel.
The Israelites were God’s family.
Moses did everything God commanded according to God’s will. He was a faithful servant to God and to the
people.
When
the cloud of God lifted, Miriam was stuck with leprosy. Aaron pleaded with Moses to not hold their
sin against them. So Moses asked God to
heal her. God listened. Miriam’s punishment was confinement to outside
the camp. She was to stay there for 7
days. I am sure when she reentered the
camp, she was a humble woman. While she
was outside the camp, the presence of God was removed from the people. It is a sin to speak against a true servant
of God and His removal indicated the seriousness of the sin.
Do you
criticize people God has placed in positions of authority?
How do
you respond, when you are criticized for the work you do?
Moses
was a lot like Jesus. Moses had a humble
heart, forgave Miriam, and interceded for her before God. Jesus was humble and intercedes for us before
God. We can learn to be more like Jesus through
the examples of Moses.
Principles:
God
listens when we intercede on behalf of others.
Faith
in God’s sovereign eliminates jealousy and inspires humility.
When we complain, it shows our lack of faith. Faith is being content in believing that Jesus is the Son of God, we must believe for ourselves, and then we must have a commitment to repent and follow Jesus. Surrendering to Him is the hardest to do. Complaints grieve God. When we complain, we always grieve someone. Will you ask God to change your complaining attitude?
In this
study we learn that God is a just God.
He is a merciful God by not burning up the whole Israelite camp. He shows us that He is the great Physician, when
He healed Miriam. He is a provider
providing all the Israelites needed. He listened
to Moses’ prayer and helped him by giving him what he needed.
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