Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Not long after they start for the promised land, they begin to complain in Numbers chapter 11.  A fire is kindled and kills some on the edges of the camp.  The complaint is about the manna that comes every morning, but they want something else.  They wish they had onions and garlic as well as meat and fish.

The people aren’t the only ones whining.  Even Moses expresses his displeasure with the living conditions.  Pastor’s, have you ever had a congregation that can’t be pleased?  Ladies and gentlemen, is your spouse never pleased with anything you do?  This is the position Moses was in.

God asks for seventy men to be appointed to help with the leadership.  Jehovah gives the same spirit that He gave Moses to these men.  This is an extension of the help that Jethro recommended being set up in Exodus.

Yahweh promises to provide meat for everyone.  The man of faith, Moses, cannot understand how it can be done.  All their animals could be butchered and not enough would be available.  The answer is quail.  Quail are everywhere.  The relief is not long-lived, because God sends a plague that kills many.   Their overeating may have been the trigger for the disease because Kibroth-hittavvah, the name given this place, means graves of gluttony.

Numbers chapter 12 tells a story of sibling rivalry.  Aaron and Miriam begin to complain about their younger brother.  Jehovah intervenes by giving the sister leprosy.  The punishment lasts seven days.

Many wonders why nothing was done to punish Aaron.  It may be because he was chosen by Yahweh to speak for Moses when he claimed he could not speak for God.  It may also be that the problem started with Miriam.

In Numbers 13 it is time to send a team to scout out their new homeland.  Twelve men are chosen. This is one of the tribes. They spent forty days exploring and came back with some spectacular produce.  There was no doubt this was a land of milk and honey.  The problem was the current occupants.

They were large and in charge.  Ten of the spies did not believe they could take the land.  Joshua and Caleb knew Jehovah would deliver the land to the Israelites.  Tomorrow a decision is made.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger