Wandering in the Wilderness: Reflections from the book of Numbers
3500 years to Covid-19. A multi-week series given in 2020-21
To view this online as a video:
A. Introduction
1. Greetings
Shalom to each of you here on the Zoom call and those who will watch this class lecture on YouTube later. Our usual program during these talks is to conduct an overview of the Bible section in the first 25 minutes and then let everyone on the call into a conversation about all the themes or ideas that I will bring up for the last 30 minutes or so. Further discussion happens even deeper in our D-Groups that happen over the next week or maybe some will conduct a D-Group on Shabbat.
I’m going to recommend that you who are watching this on YouTube should read the next three Bible chapters before you listen/ watch the rest of this. They are chapters 10-12. Then press play on your machine and re-join us. Thanks.
2. Overview
[For those online, see this book overview from The Bible Project (https://youtu.be/tp5MIrMZFqo)] We saw how this book breaks into three major geographic and chronological sections. The first was found in chapters 1 through 10. Geographically we were at Sinai at the time. Today in our 5th class we move out from Sinai into the 2nd section of the book, travels from Sinai going to Moab, just outside the Promised Land.
Some of you are new to our Zoom call and I especially welcome you, whether here in Australia or from overseas. You are muted at the beginning, but in a short while, our host will allow the usually lively conversations and questions.
B. Today’s study:
1. Exit stage left
The Jewish people have been at Mt Sinai for a year and all of a sudden, the cloud lifts and it’s time to move. We have an order to fulfill, and that’s to get to the Promised Land, and whenever the cloud lifts, we gather up our gear and head out. In order. Three tribes to the east, three to the north, etc. The Levites break down the Tabernacle and carry the furniture carefully. It’s all laid out in the previous chapters how we are to march, and with whom. Even the pennant we are to carry in each sector of the tribes. It’s military. That makes sense to us who watch Canberra or Duntroon (https://www.army.gov.au/our-life/training/rmc-duntroon) or the Israeli Defence Force, but think about this, all this army a year before were slaves to Pharaoh. We had no military training. We had no officers except taskmasters. And now we are a military force? That’s downright laughable!
Even so, God had us march like an army. I think of being in school and the teachers would gather us for a fire drill or a tornado drill in my case, and we had to process in a certain fashion to a certain place, stand at the ready or pull ourselves under a desk, etc. The guidance made us little folks into an army or a sort. That’s what I See in the text today. So chapter 10 ends with our mobilization and our marching.
2. Invitation issued: Others are welcome with us
But wait a minute, the text says in verse 29
Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you’; come with us and we will do you good, for the LORD has promised good concerning Israel.”
I’m surprised at this, aren’t you? The Jewish men number 600,000 or so. That doesn’t count the women and children under 20 years old. Moses is inviting his relative, mind you, not his ancestor, but an in-law, to join the Jewish people. Either it’s Reuel or Jethro his father in law or it’s Hobab his brother in law. Either way, it’s not a Jew. And either way, we have enough trouble already, don’t we? But Moses knows that our journey is going to be tough. Remember Moses is 81 years old. His siblings are older yet. They are going to lead the people. Moses had spent 40 of his years in that same wilderness through which they are going to travel. That’s half of his life! Moses knows the terrain and the difficulties. He also has begun to learn about the Jewish people and our response to problems in life. We aren’t exactly the most agreeable sort. That will come out clearly in the next few chapters. If you have a tough job ahead of you, and you have some tough folks with whom you need to deal, why would you bring others along? The text tells us that Moses was looking for guidance from others who also knew the area. Even though the cloud and fire would lead the people, there are other issues in setting up camp, in rounding up water, in feeding cattle etc. that Hobab would know.
Even so, Hobab seems to have declined to travel along, but from Judges 1.16 and 4.11 we see that Hobab DID join them. And we learn that Hobab is another name of Jethro there also.
My takeaway from this text is that when we are called to go, to serve God, to follow the Lord, that we are also encouraged to bring others along. That may be why so many of us in this Zoom call or who watch this lesson later are interested in evangelism. We want others to join us. What we have, as Moses says, “
Is good for Israel, the goodness with which Hashem will benefit us, we will do good to you.” (.30) Four times in this two-verse section, Moses uses the term ‘Tov’ (good) to remind us that the plan of God is good. Going forward is good. What’s ahead is good. God is good. Amen!?! So, Hobab, join us, please. And he did.
Look how chapter 10 ends, with this marvelous prayer asking God to arise and scatter enemies. It’s a prayer of confidence in the Lord. Moses prayed it. It eventually became part of the Jewish prayer landscape as in Psalm 68 and in my synagogue every week during the Amidah. Kuma Adonai… Prayer, and specifically praise, is the antidote to what will come next.
3. Kvetch 2.0
Chapter 11 however introduces a new theme in the text we didn’t announce earlier. It’s the theme of complaining. In Yiddish kvetching. This comes from a German word to squeeze or pinch and has morphed over time into a simple word for complaining. It’s also endemic to our Jewish world.
Consider these examples of complaining:
-I had an aunt who spent half her life trying to figure out where the draft came from in the house.
-People tell you the obvious for instance in a rainstorm: “If you go out, I guarantee you’ll get soaked.” They bring illness into it: “Are you looking to get pneumonia?” When it rains hard, they make it sound as if they were an assassin’s target: “Oh my gosh, I didn’t think I’d make it from the car to the house.” And, of course, they drag God into it: “A few more days of this and we’ll have to build an ark.”
-A waiter in St Kilda was so tired of the Jewish ladies who always send their soup back at the restaurant. And this happened weekly. One time, he saw them come in, after they were seated, he approached them and says, “Excuse me, ladies. Is anything all right?”
That’s the association with kvetching.
Chapter 11 is not the first time for us. Remember in Egypt we complained about the food? The conditions of slavery? The toil itself and that God didn’t hear us? Even when we approached the Red Sea after being miraculously delivered, we complained about the sea itself. (Ex. 14) Moses, you madman, why did you bring us out here to die—no food, no nothing. We had it better in Egypt. (How soon we forget how bad it was, you know?)
So here in the wilderness, we complain. That’s why I call it kvetching 2.0. And with good reason, we think.
Verse one of chapter 11 says, “Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and the LORD heard it.”
God doesn’t take kindly to the complaining of his people. Paul the rabbi from Tarsus would later tell us, “Do all things without complaining.” (Phil. 2:14)
Some versions of the Bible say in verse one that the people complain due to hardships. The Hebrew is “Ra” meaning ‘evil’ and one Hebrew/English text renders this,
“The people took to seeking complains; it was evil in the eyes of the Lord…” I like that. The complaining itself was evil/ bad in God’s eyes. He had promised us good. He promised to care for us. And he had done so for the last two years, but now we are angry again. The root of complaining is deservedness.
I think I deserve something. God or you don’t give it to me. I complain. I’m aggravated and I want more. You don’t give it to me. I complain. Kvetch, kvetch, kvetch. Not a good look for anyone.
Specifically, there was a mentioned group that joined the complaining.
Verse 4: Asafsuf. אסַפְסֻף This word is only used one time in the Bible. Maybe they were the Egyptians who left Egypt in the Exodus. They are translated ‘mixed multitude’ but can mean ‘rabble.’ It’s like an onomatopoeia for ‘riff raff’ Think of the tares in the parable Yeshua taught. These are the ones who copped the fire of the Lord first. Wow. BTW, fire can be lightning or a bush fire, we don’t know.
The kvetching causes God’s unhappiness and anger. The riffraff complained about the manna-only diet without meat. (11.7) They remember the full grocery stores in Egypt. AS IF! Rose-coloured glasses to be sure.
Verse 10, in Moses’ eyes, these actions are ‘ra’ (bad). In verse 11, Moses prayed, and God is accused of doing ‘ra’ to Moses, by giving Moses the mandate to lead the people. Not a good thing, Moses says. Sort of a rebuke. Almost an “I told you so” (ex. 3-4) in the excuses section before the Exodus. Moses is in despair.
This whole chapter has ‘good vs evil’ registering throughout. Listening to God= Good. Grumbling and kvetching= bad. Life is fairly simple, eh?
What’s God’s answer?
Verse 16, God says I need you to appoint successors. 70 men. The beginnings of the Sanhedrin. Moses reports this to the people to quiet them, to include them, to make things better.
Then Eldad and Medad prophecy and the people are upset. These are obviously part of the 70, and when Joshua wanted to keep the show to their own club, Moses said, ‘I wish everyone would prophecy.’ That’s’ where I am today. Let’s let everyone get in on God’s speech. Protectionism isn’t our calling. Prophesying, making God’s name known among the Jews and others. Let’s let everyone, everywhere proclaim the name of the Lord. Amen? Would that ALL God’s people would prophecy! (.30) Yeshua chided the disciples for some similar misgivings (Luke 9)
Oh, wait, you want meat?
Verse 31ff shows that God was listening to the prophecies of the 70 and the complaints of the people. This amazes me about the Lord. He’s already said he would give us manna. The people complain and he adjusts the menu. Amazing, eh? He listens to our cries. Meat came in a flurry. Quails abounding a metre above the ground. Then a plague ensued. We who are living in Australia know the grace of God in light of Covid. But when the plague comes, you have to look up to God. Here’s a lesson: Plague on us? Look up to God! Plague down; eyes up. Simple, ok? Call on the Lord, that’s the bottom line.
Think about this abundance of quails, though. You ask in complaint for more, and two things happen. 1) God hears you and supplies. He adjusts to your begging eventually and 2) God will make you regret your poor decisions and look to him. Weirsbe says, “When God really wants to judge people, he lets them have their own way. (Romans 1.24, 26, 28)” (Page 65) See also Psalm 106.15.
What is the antidote to kvetching? It’s thankfulness! Gratitude. For the good that God has given us.
Miriam vs Moses
In chapter 12, we see it hitting close to home. Family troubles are a-brewing. Moses, Aaron and Miriam were the staff, originally, the First Team of Ministry after the Exodus. Miriam had been involved since taking Moses out of the bulrushes in the Nile (Ex. 2.1-10), led the women after the Exodus in singing (Ex. 15.20-21)
Miriam spoke (the verb is in the female voice) and accused Moses. About his wife (Could be Zipporah, or maybe another unnamed wife). She’s complaining “who made you the boss?” I remember that theme in the Scripture. Moses was 40 and saw the Egyptian beating the Hebrew (Ex. 2.11-12). Moses kills the taskmaster. The next day Moses sees two Hebrews fighting and stops them. They respond, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” (Ex 2.14, Acts 7.27) Who made you the boss? That’s a steady theme throughout Scripture.
By the way, didn’t Yeshua hear that as well?
What does God do here? He brings a swift judgment on her. Leprosy is the plague she experiences. Moses hears his brother Aaron asking to intercede for their sister. Then in verses 11-13, Aaron says ‘we have sinned.” We have done wrong. God then listens, and heals Miriam, although she has to remain outside the cmap for 7 days.
In light of this good vs evil today, God brings consequences to us in response to our evil, and he brings consequences in response to our ‘good.’ God is good. He wants us to live in his goodness. He wants us to know his pleasure. He wants you to know that today.
Conclusion
Stay with us during these weeks and learn with the others how you can stay on track in 2020, 2021 and beyond. And in the D-Groups, you will work this out with others, as a community on the march. If you have not yet joined a weekly Discipleship Group, please re-consider that and join us as we dig deeper.
I hope to see you next Friday 10 am Sydney time, as we study chapters 13 and 14, and learn about our first visit to Kadesh Barnea and the episodes of great significance there. Hope to see you then, and until then, please guard your lips from kvetching, learn to thank God and shout Hallelujah to the Lord of life for all he has done for us all. Shabbat shalom!
The three theses:
1) The goal of our wandering was another place: Israel
2) God is to be central to our marching and in our living
3) Authority of the Lord and his anointed is not to be missed
Bibliography
Budd, Philip, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 5. Numbers. Word, Waco, 1984.
Hertz, Rabbi Dr JH, The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, Soncino, London, 1978.
Pakula, Martin, Numbers: Homeward Bound, Aquilla Press, Sydney, 2006.
Weirsbe, Warren. Be Counted. David C. Cook Publishing, Colorado Springs,1999.
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D-Groups for this week
1) Tuesday 11 am Sydney time. Led by James Howse
2) Monday 10 am Sydney time, led by Rebekah Bronn
3) Thursday 7 pm, Sydney time, led by James White
(Contact our office for zoom details)
If you’d like to host a D-Group either online or in person, please contact bob@jewsforjesus.org.au for further details. It’s time to step up. Ponder this—who will be in your D-Group?
Actual text:
Num. 10:11 Now in athe second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the 1tabernacle of the testimony; 12 and the sons of Israel set out on atheir journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the bwilderness of Paran. 13 aSo they moved out for the first time according to the 1commandment of the LORD through Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the sons of Judah, according to their armies, aset out first, with Nahshon the son of Amminadab, over its army, 15and Nethanel the son of Zuar, over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar; 16 and Eliab the son of Helon over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.
Num. 10:17 aThen the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out. 18 Next athe standard of the camp of Reuben, according to their armies, set out with Elizur the son of Shedeur, over its army, 19 and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon, 20 and Eliasaph the son of Deuel was over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.
Num. 10:21 aThen the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects; and bthe tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 aNext the standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim, according to their armies, was set out, with Elishama the son of Ammihud over its army, 23 and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh; 24 and Abidan the son of Gideoni over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.
Num. 10:25 aThen the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan, according to their armies, which formed the brear guard for all the camps, set out, with Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai over its army, 26 and Pagiel the son of Ochran over the tribal army of the sons of Asher; 27 and Ahira the son of Enan over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali. 28 1This was the order of march of the sons of Israel by their armies as they set out.
Num. 10:29 Then Moses said to aHobab the son of bReuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which the LORD said, ‘cI will give it to you’; dcome with us and we will do you good, for the LORD ehas 1promised good concerning Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “aI will not come, but rather will go to my own land and relatives.” 31 Then he said, “Please do not leave us, inasmuch as you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you awill be as eyes for us. 32 “So it will be, if you go with us, that 1awhatever good the LORD 2does for us, bwe will 3do for you.”
Num. 10:33 aThus they set out from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey, with bthe ark of the covenant of the LORD journeying in front of them for the 1three days, to seek out ca resting place for them. 34 aThe cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
Num. 10:35 Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said,
“aRise up, O LORD!
And let Your enemies be scattered,
And let those bwho hate You flee 1before You.”
36 When it came to rest, he said,
“aReturn, O LORD,
To the myriad bthousands of Israel.”
CHAPTER 11
Num. 11:1 Now the people became like athose who complain of adversity bin the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumedsome of the outskirts of the camp. 2 aThe people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD and the fire 1died out. 3 So the name of that place was called 1aTaberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.
Num. 11:4 The arabble who were among them 1had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “bWho will give us 2meat to eat? 5 “aWe remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, 6 but now aour 1appetite is gone. There is nothing at all 2to look at except this manna.”
Num. 11:7 aNow the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bbdellium. 8 The people would go about and gather it and grind it 1between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of 2cakes baked with oil. 9 aWhen the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall 1with it.
Num. 11:10 Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and 1Moses was displeased. 11 aSo Moses said to the LORD, “Why have You 1been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? 12 “Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a 1anurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which bYou swore to their fathers’? 13 “Where am I to get meat to give to aall this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’ 14 “aI alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too 1burdensome for me. 15 “aSo if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”
Num. 11:16 The LORD therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me aseventy men from the elders of Israel,bwhom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 “aThen I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of bthe Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone. 18 “Say to the people, ‘aConsecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept bin the ears of the LORD, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat and you shall eat. 19 ‘You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 1but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because ayou have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 “Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?” 23 The LORD said to Moses, “Is athe LORD’S 1power limited? Now you shall see whether bMy word will 2come true for you or not.”
Num. 11:24 So Moses went out and atold the people the words of the LORD. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent. 25 aThen the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.
Num. 11:26 But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the 1other Medad. And athe Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. 27 So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 Then aJoshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “bMoses, my lord, restrain them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? aWould that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!” 30 Then Moses 1returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.
Num. 11:31 aNow there went forth a wind from the LORD and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp and 1about two 2cubits deep on the surface of the ground. 32 The people 1spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten 2ahomers) and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 aWhile the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very severe plague. 34 So the name of that place was called 1aKibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had been greedy. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah athe people set out for Hazeroth, and they 1remained at Hazeroth.
Num. 12:1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a aCushite woman); 2 aand they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the LORD heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was avery humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) 4 Suddenly the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. 5 aThen the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called 1Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward,
6 He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a avision.
I shall speak with him in a bdream.
7 “Not so, with aMy servant Moses,
bHe is faithful in all My household;
8 aWith him I speak mouth to mouth,
Even openly, and not in dark sayings,
And he beholds bthe form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant, against Moses?”
Num. 12:9 So the anger of the LORD burned against them and aHe departed. 10 But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, aMiriam was leprous, as bwhite as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, ado not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 “Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb!” 13 Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “O God, aheal her, I pray!” 14 But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but aspit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days boutside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.” 15 So aMiriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.
Num. 12:16 Afterward, however, the people moved out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.
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