King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Friday, February 28, 2025
Chapters: Numbers 11-13
Message: Numbers: The Evil Report
Hello My Friend,
As we continue in the reading of Numbers we learn that all of God’s faithful get discouraged sometimes and feel like they are left to carry their burden alone but God will give them help to endure it if they ask for it. However, God will not be mocked, those who try and tempt Him are only digging their own graves, [Romans 2:7-10 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:]
Yesterday we learned that the Tabernacle was all set up for service, the Levites were offered to God for the priests to assist in fulfilling their duties, and that God’s Spirit was leading them to the promise land from the cloud, when He moved they moved, but when He rested they rested. Today we learn that the people were getting restless and started complaining about their journey and God heard them.
[Numbers 11:1-3 And when the people complained, 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: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.]
Now we all complain to God sometimes and He has no problem with that but this was not your average complaint, they were murmuring about what God was giving them to eat. There were about six hundred thousand men, besides the women and children just of the children of Israel headed to the promise land. This number did not include the strangers among them so there were about a two million people taking this journey. They were the ones complaining so bad that God heard it, and now we learn what they were complaining about.
[Numbers 11:4-6,10 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. 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.]
It is not uncommon for us to start thinking about the things that we left behind when we decided to follow Jesus, especially when are a barely scraping by. When we get that way, we need to start counting the blessings that God is giving us right now, my home may have holes in the floor but it is shelter and God will lead us to a better home before the walls start coming down, [Philippians 2:13-15 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;]
Do you realize that the world is watching us as well as other Christians who are struggling to find their way? If we murmur and complain when we ought to be rejoicing it will affect the morale of everyone else and even God’s faithful will start getting discouraged. As Moses hears the people complaining about the manna he got discouraged and asked God why He put such a burden on him.
[Numbers 11:11-15 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.]
I can tell you from experience that when we are discouraged that is when we can stumble, and there is a reason why the Bible says, [Proverbs 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.] The problem comes when we try to handle the burden on our own and that is how we set ourselves up for a fall. However, when we go to God and ask Him for help He will send it, which is what God did for Moses.
[Numbers 11:16-17 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.]
God knows that we cannot handle the burdens we are given alone and while there may be some people in the world who are friendly toward us they just do not have the Spirit in them to be able to give us the true discernment we need, and He will send us help, we just need to ask for it, [Matthew 7:7-11 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?]
Jesus does have a point, is there anything that God will not provide for us if we just ask other than it being something that would be harmful for us? God also tells Moses that he will send them more food, not for a day or two but for an entire month, in fact, there will be so much that they will know what to do with it, [Numbers 11:19-21 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.]
Moses is still a little discouraged and wonders how he is going to feed all the people. Well, God tells Moses the same thing He tells all of us, [Numbers 11:23-25 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.]
That is another thing that God will not give us unless we ask for it and that is His Spirit. God, does not just give His Spirit to anyone, we must believe in all that He is, and if we believe in all that He is we will also believe in His Son, [1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.]
God will never force Himself of anyone, those to come to Him must do so of their own freewill however, we must never hinder or discourage anyone from coming to Him. Well two of the men that had been anointed with the Holy Spirit caused a bit of a stir when they did not go to the Tabernacle to help, they stayed outside and started prophesying to the people.
[Numbers 11:26,28-29 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. 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!]
Joshua believed that the prophesying done by these two men in the camp was a presumptuous act on their part and should not be allowed but Moses corrected him. This is basically the same thing that Jesus said when the disciples tried to stop some of the people from going to Him, [Mark 10:13-15 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.]
Whether we know Him as the Christ or He was known as just the LORD all who believe in Him were given the same opportunity. If we give them the opportunity and they deny Him then that is all on them. And those who constantly complain about God not taking care of their needs need to stop right there, because when God does answer they are going to regret it. If the people despised the manna and wanted meat, then God would give it to them meat, and He indeed gave them meat.
[Numbers 11:31-33 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’s 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.]
I can just picture these fools, they must have looked like cannibals sitting there ripping the flesh between their teeth, they did not even wait for it to be chewed before they swallowed it. They actually committed two abominations here, they lusted after it and were not thankful to God for it. Lust never satisfies, in fact, it brings one to despise what they wanted even more than the desire that they had for them, [James 1:13-15 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.]
God has a never ending supply to help us with whatever it is that we need, and we never starve with Him, even if all we get is bread and water for a while. The only way we lack is if we lack faith in God, and believe it or not jealousy plays a factor in ones faith, those who are complaining about what God has not given them often complain about what others have. This time Miriam and Aaron were complaining about Moses and his being married to a woman who was not an Israelite.
[Numbers 12:1-5 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 4 And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. 5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.]
Remember the Law stated that a Levite had to be married to a Levite? Miriam used that as an excuse to discredit Moses but in reality she was jealous over the fact that Moses had so much authority. Can you imagine being called out by God? I can just hear the tone of His voice too. I do not know if they were confident or scared but I bet Aaron got down on his knees after he saw what God did to Miriam.
[Numbers 12:6-10 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. 10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.]
[Apparently; Obvious; plain; evident; That may be seen, or easily seen; visible to the eye; within sight or view.] It truly was plain in the sight of the people that Moses had a relationship with God that no one ever saw. He did not speak to Moses in dreams and visions like He did to so many nor did He speak to Moses through prophets like He did so many, He spoke to Him directly. Today we do not need to go to a prophet or for God to speak to us in our dreams, He speaks directly us through His Spirit and His Word, that is as long as we have received Christ as our Saviour, [Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.]
Now, we can wonder why God only cast the leprosy on Miriam but there is no wonder as to why He removed Himself from their presence but Aaron did not give Him the chance to, he was on his knees begging for forgiveness. and not let Miriam die.
[Numbers 12:11-15 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. 12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb. 13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. 15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.]
God was not going to give Moses what he wanted on this one, the entire congregation was going to know that it was not in their best interest to slander the man of God. For seven days Miriam had to be put out of the camp and separate herself from among the people. Even if we are saved, God, will not tolerate any kind of slander toward His people, especially His faithful. Now, if the man of God is actually doing things that displease God, then He will deal with them, [Jeremiah 23:11-12 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. 12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.]
Now, after the people waited seven days for Miriam to be healed, they moved forward, and camped just across the Jordan to the promise land. It was there that God had Moses send twelve men, one from each tribe to search out the land and check it out to see what they were walking into.
[Numbers 13:2-3,17-19 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. 3 And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. 17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: 18 And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 19 And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;]
I find it interesting that Manasseh was only listed as being of the tribe of Joseph when Joshua was as well, being of the tribe of Ephraim. One explanation could be that Manasseh was his firstborn even though it was prophesied that Ephraim’s tribe would be more prominent, [Genesis 48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.]
We would learn later on that God did not necessarily what God want a group to go over and search out the land first, He wanted them to just cross over. The persons chosen were chosen by the people and now they were there, and from the look of things it was a pretty incredible sight.
[Numbers 13:21,23-25 So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. 23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. 24 The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. 25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.]
The land of Canaan was actually quite small, my own state is larger, and while God’s, gifts may come in small packages, they are always the best that He has to offer, the greatest of all is that we receive Jesus, [1 Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,]
The spies spent forty days on the land and returned with their report, bringing some amazing things, including a cluster of grapes that were the size of grapefruit. At first they got them all excited to learn of what was there but they were so fearful of the people that they discouraged them, well ten of the twelve did not to cross over.
[Numbers 13:27-28,30-31 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.]
Caleb, tried to convince them that there was no need to fear them because of all that they had gotten through so far, nevertheless, they would not listen to him, [Numbers 13:32-33 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.]
All the ten who gave their evil report could see was how big the men were, they could not see just how big their God is, and incidentally, He was not their God because if He were then they would have had the faith of Caleb. The same thing applies to us today, we are the children of God through our faith in Jesus Christ, we need to stop living in fear! And go get what God has promised us, right now. This is no time to be idle, this is no time to live in fear, this is no time to judge other Christians, this is the time to get moving and do what God has commanded us to do, [Luke 12:4-5 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Numbers 11:25 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.]
Today’s Prayer: God, It is Your desire that we stay faithful to Your teachings, and just keep things simple. Scripture gives many examples of those who knew to do right, but chose to do wrong. The consequences of their wrong actions brought upon death, loss, and emotional pain, not only for themselves, but those around them. Lord, lead us and guide us, teach us to trust You in everything that You allow in our lives, help us to avoid the traps that catch us off guard, and to stand firm in our faith, even when we have set backs. Let us keep a fringe upon our heart so that we are always reminded that it is better to trust in Your understanding an not our own. Keep our eyes on You so that we do not fall nor bring anyone else down by not following You in the first place. I ask these in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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