46.q. “Wilderness” – 10.w. “The anger of the LORD blazed hotly”

 

Num 11:10  Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. Moses said to the LORD, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

The childish weeping of the people not only angered the LORD; it also displeased Moses. This frustration drove Moses to God, and he complained that he could never meet the needs of so many people. Moses responded to God the way many of us do in a time of trial. He essentially said, “God, here I am serving You. Why did You bring this upon me?” It’s easy to say God did not bring this upon Moses – a carnal and ungrateful people did. Yet, though God did not directly afflict Moses with this, He ultimately allowed it. God allowed this for the same reason God allows any affliction – to compel us to trust in Him more, to partner with Him in overcoming obstacles, and to love and praise Him more through our increased dependence on Him and the greater deliverance He brings. For these reasons and more, God sometimes appoints affliction for His people. Understanding that the job of leading Israel was too big for Moses was good. It could lead him to rely on God, and not try to do the work apart from God. Moses could not bear all these people alone; God will do it in him and through him. In a sense, God wanted Moses to see his wretchedness – his inability to do what God called him to do in his own strength. As the Apostle Paul later learned, God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. (Guzik)

Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families,…. So general was their lusting after flesh, and their discontent for want of it; and so great their distress and uneasiness about it, that they wept and cried for it, and so loud and clamorous, that Moses heard the noise and outcry they made every man in the door of his tent: openly and publicly, were not ashamed of their evil and unbecoming behaviour, and in order to excite and encourage the like temper and disposition in others. The anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; because of their ingratitude to him, their contempt of the manna he had provided for them, and their hankering after their poor fare in Egypt, and for which they had endured so much hardship and ill usage, and for the noise and clamour they now made, Moses also was displeased; with the people on the same account, and with the Lord also for laying and continuing so great a burden upon him, as the care of this people. (Gill)

Do you ever find yourself complaining because of wanting something you don’t have or wanting more of something you do have? There are always things of this world that will entice us to covet them. There will be times that we aren’t tempted by it and other times out of the blue we are just acting childish before God with our selfish desire(s). We are told to make our requests to Go, but let us be sure they are in line with His will and purpose and our hearts are not seeking worldly pleasure over service to God.

Will Graham Devotion

Luke 23:39 -43.  Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

 

The cross means different things to different people. For some it’s just a pretty piece of jewelry. To others it’s a decoration for their home. To Christians it is a symbol of the sacrificial love of Christ and His conquering of the grave.

However, to criminals under Roman rule in the first century, and those who witnessed the punishment, the cross was a symbol of torture, cruelty, death, and humiliation.

We can learn a lot from a man on a cross. This individual’s name is only known to God. We find this man—a criminal sentenced to death—hanging beside Jesus in Luke 23:39-43.

The first lesson that we learn is that he had a correct view of reality (Luke 23:40-41) and a correct view of himself. He saw himself as a criminal who was rightly condemned for the deeds he had committed. He correctly realized that he deserved death.

Further, he had a correct view of Jesus. He recognized Jesus as the spotless Lamb of God and he testified to this while hanging on the cross. He knew he was a sinner, and Jesus was innocent.

The second lesson that we learn is that this criminal had a correct view of life after death. Though he was sentenced to death and hanging to life by a thread, he believed that his soul would continue to live after he died.

Many people today live as if this life is all there is, but the Bible says that your soul lives forever and that it will abide in one of two places—heaven or hell (Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:5; John 3:1-21).

Finally, we see that this criminal had a correct view of salvation (Luke 23:42). He saw himself as totally helpless. He could do nothing to improve his odds in life or save himself. He was now bound to death and could not escape. Yet he cries out to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

He wanted to offer the last thing he had to give (his soul) to Jesus. He realized that Jesus was the Son of God and that he wanted to be a part of Christ’s kingdom.

The criminal on the cross: he knew who he was and who Jesus was, he knew that his soul would continue after he died, and he knew that Jesus was the Savior. He could do nothing but cry out to Jesus and place his faith in Him for his salvation.

To which Jesus replied, “Today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Have you seen the world through the eyes of this condemned criminal? Do you understand your need for the Savior, and—more importantly—have you looked to Him for your salvation? If not, visit PeaceWithGod.net to learn how you can have the hope of eternity with Jesus.

If you have made that decision, look for opportunities God puts in front of you to share that same hope with those around you. Jesus saved the criminal on the cross, and He wants to save each of us as well.

46.p. “Wilderness” – 10.v. “Strong craving”

 

Num 11:4  Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

Man, having forsaken his proper rest, feels uneasy and wretched, though prosperous. They were weary of the provision God had made for them, although wholesome food and nourishing. It cost no money or care, and the labour of gathering it was very little indeed; yet they talked of Egypt’s cheapness, and the fish they ate there freely; as if that cost them nothing, when they paid dearly for it with hard service! While they lived on manna, they seemed exempt from the curse sin has brought on man, that in the sweat of his face he should eat bread; yet they speak of it with scorn. Peevish, discontented minds will find fault with that which has no fault in it, but that it is too good for them. Those who might be happy, often make themselves miserable by discontent. They could not be satisfied unless they had flesh to eat. It is evidence of the dominion of the carnal mind, when we want to have the delights and satisfaction of sense. We should not indulge in any desire which we cannot in faith turn into prayer, as we cannot when we ask meat for our lust. What is lawful of itself becomes evil, when God does not allot it to us, yet we desire it. (Henry)

Oh that our cravings were fueled by a deep desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Our hearts would not complain but rather “REJOICE”.

46.o. “Wilderness” – 10.u. “And the people complained”

 

Num 11:1  And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.

Here is the people’s sin; they complained. See the sinfulness of sin, which takes occasion from the commandment to be provoking. The weakness of the law discovered sin, but could not destroy it; checked, but could not conquer it. They complained. Those who are of a discontented spirit, will always find something to quarrel or fret about, though the circumstances of their outward condition be ever so favourable. The Lord heard it, though Moses did not. God knows the secret frettings and murmurings of the heart, though concealed from men. What he noticed, he was much displeased with, and he chastised them for this sin. The fire of their wrath against God burned in their minds; justly did the fire of God’s wrath fasten on their bodies; but God’s judgments came on them gradually, that they might take warning. It appeared that God delights not in punishing; when he begins, he is soon prevailed with to let it fall. (Henry)

Unaccustomed to the fatigues of travel and wandering into the depths of a desert, less mountainous but far more gloomy and desolate than that of Sinai, without any near prospect of the rich country that had been promised, they fell into a state of vehement discontent, which was vented at these irksome and fruitless journeyings. The displeasure of God was manifested against the ungrateful complainers by fire sent in an extraordinary manner. (Brown)

murmuring complaining spirit is always displeasing to him, when a thankful heart for mercies received is an acceptable sacrifice; murmurers and complainers God will judge at the great day, and the Lord heard it: though it was an inward secret complaint, or an evil scheme formed in their minds; at most but a muttering, and what Moses had not heard, or had any knowledge of; but God, that knows the secrets of all hearts, and every word in the tongue before it is well formed or pronounced, he heard what they complained of, and what they whispered and muttered to one another about it and his anger was kindled. (Gill)

Every single thought of man is known by God. What is it that fills your mind and moves you down paths that are away from God? What thoughts do you entertain and allow time in your head? When we allow ourselves to be consumed by things of this world they will surely implant wrong thinking and actions. Set your heart, mind, and soul on honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do, and your thought life will manifest words and actions that honor and glorify Him.

46.m. “Wilderness” – 10.s. “The Journey Begins”

 

Num 10:11  In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses.

As the cloud began to move, one might imagine the huge sense of excitement that flowed through the people. This marked the start of their departure from Mount Sinai and their journey to Canaan, the land promised to their forefathers and to them. This was the first time Israel marched as an organized, prepared nation. They were not the same group that escaped Egypt as a mob.

i. They had been fully prepared to walk as Promised Land people and it was all focused towards this exact point: bringing them into the Promised Land:

· They had become ordered and organized (Numbers 1-4).

· They had become cleansed and purified (Numbers 5).

· They had become set apart and blessed (Numbers 6).

· They learned how to give and how to function as priests (Numbers 3 and Numbers 7-8).

· They were made to remember judgment spared and deliverance brought (Numbers 9).

· They had God’s presence as a guide and the tools needed to lead the people (Numbers-10).

One would be tempted to think that after such extensive preparation – a virtual transformation from slave people to Promised Land people – the actual entering into the Promised Land would be easy. This was not the case. The preparation was exactly that – preparation. Ahead of them were the greatest challenges, challenges that could only be met by faith. To use an example, a soldier might think basic training finishes something – but it doesn’t. It only prepares for a greater challenge, the actual battle itself. (Guzik)

After the Israelites had continued nearly a year at mount Sinai, and all was settled respecting their future worship, they began their march to Canaan. True religion begins with the knowledge of the holy law of God, and humiliation for sin, but we must go on towards perfection, in acquaintance with Christ and his gospel, and those effectual encouragements, motives, and assistances to holiness, which it proposes.  (Henry)

46.n. “Wilderness” – 10.t. “So they set out from the mount of the LORD”

 

Num 10:33  So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and 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 ten thousand thousands of Israel.”

As they begin the journey to the Promised Land, they were guided by God’s presence, not by their own sense of direction. They followed the cloud no matter where God led them. If they were to camp in a rough place, they did it. If they were told to depart from a comfortable place, they did it. They allowed themselves to be guided by God, not by their own wisdom or desire for comfort and ease.

The idea was simple: “God, go before us and take care of our enemies. It’s too dangerous ahead unless You do this.” This is a fitting prayer for every believer to pray, and that faith here displayed gives the sense that Canaan would soon be theirs. (Guzik)

Spurgeon also saw this as a good prayer for the front-line missionary and the one laboring in difficult places: “Are you serving God in some particular work where many are seeking to undo all that you can accomplish? Are you a City Missionary, and do you labour in the midst of a den of iniquity? Does it seem that what you do in one day is undone in one hour by others? Take it to the throne of grace. Say, ‘Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered.’”  “Will you and I go home and pray this prayer by ourselves, fervently laying hold upon the horns of God’s altar? I charge you, my brethren in Christ, do not neglect this private duty. Go, each one of you, to your chambers; shut your doors; cry to him who hears in secret, and let this be the burden of your cry – ‘Rise up, Lord; and let thine enemies be scattered.’” (Spurgeon)

God is honored and glorified when we trust, rely upon, obey, follow, and humbly serve Him without reservation.

Pathway to Victory – (Jeffress)

Who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?
–Ecclesiastes 2:25

Some Christians today hate their work, but some Christians go to the other extreme–they worship their work. That is their identity in life. But that is not the way to live your life.

Why is it not smart to worship your work? One reason is found in Ecclesiastes 2:18-19. Solomon said, “I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity.” I bet you have seen this before: somebody pours all their effort into building a business, and they pass it on to their children. And it takes their children just a few years to drive that business into the ground. Maybe Solomon was writing from experience here. He had been king for forty years when his son Rehoboam succeeded him, and it took Rehoboam less than a year to tear apart the country in a civil war. Solomon concluded, “Why build your life around your work when you are going to end up leaving it to somebody else?”

Even if you never retire, one day you are going to leave your work behind when you die. In Luke 12, Jesus told a story about the ultimate workaholic. This man could not sleep because he was thinking about what he was going to do with all his profits. But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” (v. 20). For one reason or another, one day you will no longer have your work. And one way to make sure you are prepared when that day comes is to lower that job in your mind and your affection–take it off the pedestal now so it will not do damage when it comes crashing down.

You see, in his quest for meaning, Solomon was doing us a great favor by showing us where not to look for joy in life. By doing so, he was pointing us in the right direction. I am reminded of Aesop’s fable about a dog carrying a bone. As the dog walked across a bridge, he looked down in the water and saw a dog carrying a larger bone. Not realizing it was just his reflection, the dog dropped his bone, dove in the water, and ended up going home without any bone at all. The dog gave up the substance in search of the shadow. And in the end, he got nothing.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon was saying, “Quit chasing after shadows.” The momentary satisfaction you get from your work, from learning, or from pleasure is a mere shadow of the lasting joy that comes from being in a right relationship with God. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 2:25, “Who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?”

46.l. “Wilderness” – 10.r. “Make two silver trumpets”

 

Num 10:1-10  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.”

Here are directions concerning the public notices to be given the people by sound of trumpet. Their laws in every case were to be Divine, therefore, even in this matter Moses is directed. These trumpets typify the preached gospel. It sounds an alarm to sinners, calls them to repent, proclaims liberty to the captives and slaves of Satan, and collects the worshippers of God. It directs and encourages their heavenly journey; stirs them up to combat against the world and sin, encouraging them with the assurance of victory. It leads their attention to the sacrifice of Christ, and shows the Lord’s presence for their protection. It is also necessary that the gospel trumpet give a distinct sound, according to the persons addressed, or the end proposed; whether to convince, humble, console, exhort, reprove, or teach. The sounding of the trumpet of the gospel is God’s ordinance, and demands the attention of all to whom it is sent. (Henry)

Before we can obey God, we must first give Him our attention. The trumpets were used to get the attention of the people of Israel. The trumpets only worked effectively with the evidences of God’s presence (the trumpets told them to start marching, but the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire showed them where to go). (Guzik)

46.k. “Wilderness” – 10.q. “According to the command of the LORD”

 

Num 9:15  On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night.  And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped.

Num 9:20  Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the LORD they remained in camp; then according to the command of the LORD they set out.

Num 9:22  Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out.

This cloud was appointed to be the visible sign and symbol of God’s presence with Israel. Thus we are taught to see God always near us, both night and day. As long as the cloud rested on the tabernacle, so long they continued in the same place. There is no time lost, while we are waiting God’s time. When the cloud was taken up, they removed, however comfortably they were encamped. We are kept at uncertainty concerning the time of our putting off the earthly house of this tabernacle, that we may be always ready to remove at the command of the Lord. It is very safe and pleasant going when we see God before us, and resting where he appoints us to rest. The leading of this cloud is spoken of as signifying the guidance of the blessed Spirit. We are not now to expect such tokens of the Divine presence and guidance; but the promise is sure to all God’s spiritual Israel, that he will guide them by his counsel. Ps 73:24, even unto death, Ps 48:14. All the children of God shall be led by the Spirit of God, Ro 8:14. He will direct the paths of those who in all their ways acknowledge him, Pr 3:6. At the commandment of the Lord, our hearts should always move and rest, saying, Father, thy will be done; dispose of me and mine as thou pleasest. What thou wilt, and where thou wilt; only let me be thine, and always in the way of my duty. In applying general precepts to particular circumstances, there should be good counsel and fervent prayer. When any undertaking is evidently wrong, or doubtfully right, and yet the mind leans that way, in such a case the moving of the cloud, as men sometimes miscall it, is generally no more than a temptation Satan is permitted to propose; and men fancy they are following the Lord, when they are following their own wayward inclinations. The record of his mercy will conduct us with unerring truth, through Christ, to everlasting peace. Follow the pillar of the cloud and of fire. Lay the BIBLE to heart, and receive with meekness the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls. (Henry)

“Enduring Word Devotional” (Guzik)

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

The first Bible of my own was a paper-back version given to me when I came forward at an altar call to give my life to Jesus Christ. It was just a New Testament, The Living Bible version, and on the front, it had a picture of a child on his father’s shoulders and said, “The Greatest of these is Love.”

I have many more translations of the Bible now, and it seems like there is a never-ending stream of new Bible translations. No matter what Bible you like to read, the principle of 2 Corinthians 3 is still true: The Bible others will read is your life.

You yourselves are our letter, Paul wrote. Every letter has an author, and we are a letter from Christ. Every letter has readers, and we are known and read by everybody. Our life is like a letter, and we can’t hide it. People you meet every day read the letter of your life. We can’t blame them for doing this, because if the work of Jesus is real, it will be real in our lives.

Because every Christian is a bible, perhaps it’s time to recognize some new translations:

The “Ashamed to Follow Jesus” version (AFJ)
The “Sin Doesn’t Apply to Me” version (SDAM)
The “Other Christians are Terrible” version (OCT)
The “Christian Life is Miserable” version (CLM)
The “Holier than Thou” version (HTT)

How do we become a “good translation” for others to read? Again, look at 2 Corinthians 3:3. Every letter is written with a pen, and Paul says the letter of their Christian life is the result of our ministry. This means we should never neglect what other Christians can do in our life. Isolating ourselves as Christians is a bad thing to do.

Every letter is written with ink, and Paul says we are written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. Have you yielded your life to the Spirit of God? Are you walking in stress, or walking in the Spirit? If you are “translating” the Bible poorly, perhaps it’s because you are walking in stress, and not the Spirit.

Every letter is written on something, and our “bible” is written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. This means we have to let God write His Word on our heart.

It’s sad to think that perhaps we haven’t translated the Bible very well into our lives. When we provide a poor translation, other people read it and get the wrong idea about Jesus. If you aren’t a follower of Jesus Christ, I’m sorry for the bad “letters” you’ve read. But remember that ultimately, it’s all about Jesus Christ. Instead of criticizing – sometimes with good reason – the poor ways people translated God’s truth and power into their daily life, why not let Jesus write into your life?