Numbers 11:1-35
1 And when the people complained,a it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched.
3 And he called the name of the place Taberah:b because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.
4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
7 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.
8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.
10 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.
11 And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?
13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
20 But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
21 And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.
22 Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?
23 And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD'S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.
24 And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.
25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!
30 And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
31 And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day'sc journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.
32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.
34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah:d because there they buried the people that lusted.
35 And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.
Numbers 11:7. The manna. See Exodus 14:15. and 31. Bdellium. See Genesis 2:12; Exodus 28:19.
Numbers 11:16. Gather unto me seventy men of the elders. The Hebrews always had elders, as appears from Exodus 1:3. and 21. These were afterwards called the Sanhedrim, or grand council of the nation. It was composed of princes, generals, and priests. The highpriest was the president by office. Our Saviour honours them as sitting in Moses's seat. Matthew 23:2.
Numbers 11:25. In a cloud. It is common for the poets to represent the gods as descending in a rainbow, or a cloud, and always as diffusing ambrosial perfumes through the air.
Ambrosiæque comæ divinum vertice odorem Spiravere. Æneid, lib. 1. 5:403.
Numbers 11:27. Prophesy. These endowments would have continued, if they had cherished the gift.
Numbers 11:31. Brought quails from the sea. They are not, it would seem, the quails mentioned in Exodus 16., for those were sent in the wilderness of Sin, on the fifteenth day of the second month, before the ark arrived at mount Sinai. And the camp did not break up from before Sinai, till the second day of the twentieth month. Consequently the Israelites were twice fed with quails.
REFLECTIONS.
No sooner did the tutored host of Israel leave Sinai, and feel the fatigues of wading through the sandy desert, than they began to utter complaints against the Lord, because of the hardships they sustained. When they murmured for bread and water, the Lord had compassion on them, and supplied their wants. But now, when they murmur against the manna, and against the unavoidable fatigues of their situation, he sends a fire from heaven to burn the leaders of the revolt, as he consumed Nadab and Abihu. To murmur against God when he is seeking to do us the greatest good, is a crime which heaven will not excuse. It was a repetition of the sin of their fathers when they said, can he give us bread also? Psalms 78:20. The mixed multitude among the Hebrews, recollecting the luxuriant living of Egypt, and loathing the manna, began to lust for flesh: and the mischief spread through all the camp. The people wept for flesh. How dangerous in the church of God are unregenerate characters! When any murmuring or contention happens, instead of composing the affairs with calmness and prudence, they indulge in a virulence of temper, and a severity of language, which would make the unregenerate ashamed. They disunite the affections of the faithful, and make the house of God a state of contention and strife. Let them beware of that fire which burnt in the utmost parts of the camp; for a fire is already kindled which can never be quenched.
A murmuring and a discontented people make the best of magistrates and ministers willing to retire from office, or even weary of life. Greatness has its calamities; and the arduous duties of public life require support and comfort. It is so also with ministers of the gospel, whose lot is cast with a contentious and dissatisfied people. They dare not run from their charge; but nature oppressed would ask relief; and life embittered is not desirable. But God who appointed Moses seventy elders to succour him in his charge, will not forget his afflicted servants. Let them keep their eye on the promise, and the dark and cloudy day shall be succeeded with the sunshine of peace and divine repose.
The Lord having caused the excellent spirit which rested on Moses, to rest on the elders, they all prophesied; or broke forth into an extemporaneous effusion of discourse or song, as the Spirit aided them. Eldad and Medad, modestly abiding at home, were seized with the same spirit, and could not refrain from speaking. Hence we may mark, that the liberty of prophesying was allowed from the beginning of the world. It is objected, that Christ's church is already filled up with properly appointed ministers, and that all others attempting to pray or preach in any public way are fanatics and heretics. But will the objectors affirm, that all ministers so appointed are pure characters, and that they daily live in the spirit of their ministry? If these enquiries be not affirmed, will they venture to affirm that God has made an unconditional covenant with any order of men, to be his ministers for ever, whether they believe or disbelieve; whether they be righteous or wicked; whether they be idle or diligent. I incline to think that the priests themselves only affect to believe these dogmas; and sooner than persecute men whose motives are pure in doing good, I would rather pray with Moses, that all the Lord's people were prophets. God graciously heard the prayers of Moses, and succoured him under the cares of government: he heard also the murmuring prayers of those who loathed the manna, and lusted for flesh, and he answered them in anger. He gave them up to the lusts of their own heart; he suffered them to riot in gluttony and excess: and disease and death were the immediate fruits. Christians; poor men who earn your bread from day to day, as the Israelites gathered the manna, be content and happy with your lot. You have health and innocence in the labours of life. You have a little of earth, and a little of heaven too. Lust not for riches; for fine houses, for sumptuous banquets, and the glory of this world that passeth away. If you desire worldly good out of the way of providence, he may glut you with it in his anger; and then every blessing is changed into a curse.