Daily reading

Today’s reading is: Num. 11-13

Video

YouTube video

Numbers Chapter Eleven

  1. Between Sinai and Kadesh, Moses had to deal with three rebellions (Num. 11:1-12:16).
    1. General complaint over the adversity of traveling through the wilderness (Num. 11:1-3).
    2. Specific complaint over the manna diet (Num. 11:4-35).
    3. Family complaint by Aaron and Miriam against Moses’ marriage to a Cushite woman (Num. 12:1-16).
  2. The general complaint of the people (Num. 11:1-3).
    1. It was a complaint of adversity.  רַע ra‘ #7451: bad, evil, wickedness.
      1. God is good (Ex. 33:19; Num. 10:29,32).
      2. God’s provision is good (Gen. 1:31; 2:9).
      3. Woe to those who call good evil and evil good (Isa. 5:20).
    2. The Lord’s judgment was immediate, and obvious, as it was with Nadab & Abihu (Num. 11:1a cf. Lev. 10:1-2).
  3. The specific complaint of the manna diet (Num. 11:4-35).
    1. This complaint was started by the rabble (Num. 11:4).  אֲסַפְסֻף ’acaphcuph #628: rabble.  By reduplication, from אָסַף ’ācaph #622: to gather, collect.
    2. The mixed multitude that came up with Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 12:38) begins to be a thorn in the side of Israel.
    3. They had greedy desires, and expressed their mental attitude sin through verbal sin, and an intention to commit overt sin (Num. 11:4).
    4. This rebellion was launched through a dissatisfaction of the Lord’s gracious provision (Num. 11:6).
    5. Moses reminded his readers of how perfect the provision of manna actually was (Num. 11:7-9).
  4. When the grumbling spread throughout the camp, Moses became angry in his prayers to the Lord (Num. 11:10-15).
  5. The Lord patiently answered Moses’ prayer, and provided him with some assistance (Num. 11:16-20).
    1. Moses doubts the Lord’s provision (Num. 11:21,22).
    2. The Lord reminds Moses with Whom he is dealing (Num. 11:23).
  6. 70 Elders are assembled, the leaders of the families within the 12 tribes of Israel (Num. 11:24,25).
    1. They are given short-term prophetic ministry (Num. 11:25; 1st Sam. 10:6,10; 19:20-24).
    2. Eldad and Medad are absent from the 70, at the tent of meeting, but receive the prophetic ministry anyway (Num. 11:26).
    3. Joshua and the younger generation doesn’t know how to handle it, but Moses rejoices over the longer manifestation of the Holy Spirit (Num. 11:27-30).
  7. The Lord answered the desire of Israel with the imperfect, cursed provision (Num. 11:31-35).
    1. He sent them more quail than they could gather.  A circle, of perhaps 20 miles radius, 18” deep of quail was provided (Num. 11:31).
    2. The people gathered ten homers as a minimum, and proceeded to gorge themselves (Num. 11:32).
      1. A homer was equal to 10 baths, or 10 ephahs.
      2. A homer equaled the normal load of grain for a donkey.
    3. The Lord struck the gluttons with a plague (rotten meat) while it was still in their mouths (Num. 11:32-35; Ps. 78:26-31; Job 20:14).
  8. The naming of the camps along the way is becoming quite predictable—Rebellion, Bitterness, Fire, Graves of the Greediness.

Numbers Chapter Twelve

  1. Miriam and Aaron spoke out in rebellion against Moses (Num. 12:1).
    1. They disapproved of his marriage to a Cushite woman (Num. 12:1; Gen. 10:6).
      1. A first wife before Zipporah?  Josephus, Ant. II, x, 2.
      2. A second wife after the death of Zipporah?
      3. A second wife in addition to Zipporah?  One of the mixed multitude, perhaps?
      4. The same woman as Zipporah?
    2. The viewed their own standing before the Lord as equal to Moses’ standing before the Lord (Num. 12:2).
    3. Their view was incorrect, as their humility did not match the humility of Moses (Num. 12:3).
  2. The Lord’s call to Moses, Aaron, & Miriam was a sudden call, and an immediate summons to His presence in the tabernacle (Num. 12:4).
    1. The Lord’s rebuke to Aaron & Miriam was such that it revealed the intimacy to His face-to-face relationship with Moses (Num. 12:6-8).
    2. The principle of lifting one’s hand against the Lord’s anointed is introduced here (Num. 12:8; 1st Sam. 24:6; 26:11).
  3. The rebellion was by Miriam and Aaron (Num. 12:1), but the Lord’s rebuke was against Aaron and Miriam (Num. 12:4,5).
  4. The reproof was against Miriam (Num. 12:10), but the repentance was voiced by Aaron (Num. 12:11,12).
  5. Moses interceded on Miriam’s behalf, but the answer to the prayer came in the Lord’s timing, according to the Lord’s standard for judgment (Num. 12:13-16).
  6. After a week’s delay, the nation of Israel arrived at the wilderness of Paran (Num. 12:16), a location later known as Kadesh (Num. 13:26).

Numbers Chapter Thirteen

  1. The Lord instructed Moses to dispatch 12 spies from the 12 tribes, and send them throughout the land of Canaan (Num. 13:1,2).
  2. Moses dispatched the following “leaders.”  רֹאשׁ ro’sh #7218: head, chief (Num. 1:4; 13:3).
    1. The “heads” of Num. 1 are tribal heads.
    2. These spying “heads” are heads of other divisions—either clan, family, or house.
    3. Caleb the son of Jephunneh represented the tribe of Judah (Num. 13:6).
    4. Hoshea (Joshua) the son of Nun represented the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 13:8,16).
      1. הֹושֵׁעַ howshēa‘ #1954: salvation.
      2. יְהֹושֻׁעַ yehowshua‘ #3091: YHWH is salvation.
  3. Moses commissioned the 12 spies with the following responsibilities:
    1. Assess the military strength of the inhabitants (Num. 13:18).
    2. Evaluate the quality of the land, open field and cities for military operations (Num. 13:19).
    3. Estimate the quality of the farmland, and obtain fruit samples (Num. 13:20).
  4. The spies thoroughly investigated the land (Num. 13:21-24).
    1. Their survey covered the land in its entirety (Num. 13:21), over a period of forty days (Num. 13:25).
    2. The biggest impression any city made was the city of Hebron.
      1. Hebron, or Kiriath-Arba (Gen. 23:2; 35:27; Josh. 14:15), is one of the most ancient cities of the post-diluvian world.
      2. The oldest cities are the most fortified, as the most fortified cities endure the longest.
      3. Hebron was fortified, and inhabited by 3 Anakim giants (Num. 13:22,28,33).
        1. The Anakim are a division of those Nephilim (Num. 13:33) that were generated upon the earth after the flood (Gen. 6:4).
        2. Like the Nephilim that were generated upon the earth before the flood, these giants are the offspring of fallen angels and human women (Gen. 6:1,2,4).
    3. The biggest impression any agricultural location made, was the Valley of Eshcol (Num. 13:23,24).
  5. The spies return, and give a bad report (Num. 13:25-33).
    1. The spies return to Kadesh: “holy” and fail to appreciate what the Holy God is providing for them (Num. 13:26).
    2. The spies had good news and bad news (Num. 13:27-29).
      1. Good news: the land’s agricultural potential is amazing (Num. 13:27).
      2. Bad news: we will never enjoy the land’s bounty, because of the giants in the land (Num. 13:28,29).
    3. Caleb speaks up with a positive message (Num. 13:30).
    4. The faithless spies reject Caleb’s encouragement, and spread the negative volition human viewpoint among the people of Israel (Num. 13:31-33).