Chapter 33: Leaving the Mountain of God
Q1 - How does the Bible describe “this manna” that the Israelites spoke against in this reading? In addition to today’s reading, see also Psalm 78:21–25 and 1 Corinthians 10:1–5.
A1 - The reading for this lesson in Numbers 11:7–9 describes the manna as being like coriander seed and the color of bdellium (an amber color). When prepared, it tasted like pastry made with oil. Psalm 78:24–25 calls manna the bread or grain from heaven, the food of angels.
In 1 Corinthians 10:3, the Apostle Paul says the Israelites ate spiritual food. While this food was supplied by God and nourished their physical bodies, it also nourished their souls. It served as tangible evidence of God’s divine care and protection for His people.
From these readings, it sounds like the manna which God provided the Israelites tasted good. Certainly, it had to have been nourishing for the people to have lived off of it during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Sometimes we grow complacent or even resentful of what we do have when we start to dwell on what we don’t have.
Q2 - The people’s complaints against their hardships and food were only a symptom of what underlying problem? (The entire chapter of Psalm 78 gives a brief history of Israel. See verses 18–25 and verses 32–33 in particular.)
A2- Recall that other people, a “mixed multitude,” accompanied the Israelites in their exodus out of Egypt. Even though here in Numbers 11:4–10 they seem to be the ones who instigated the complaining and weeping about the food, the Israelites readily joined in. The scripture references in Psalm 78 provide a bit more information concerning the underlying problem.
Psalm 78:21–22 tells us the Lord was very angry with them for their complaining because it showed they did not believe in Him or trust in His deliverance. Verse 32 goes on to state that in spite of all that God had done and the wonders He had worked among they, they kept on sinning and did not believe. Then verses 34–37 tell us that when God would slay them because of their misdeeds, they would eagerly turn back to Him. But, while they flattered Him with their mouths, they lied to Him with their tongues. In short, their hearts were not loyal to Him, nor did they keep His covenant.
Q3 - For whatever reason, two of the seventy elders remained in the camp when God placed His Spirit upon those who had been chosen to help Moses. (It’s interesting to note their names were recorded, Eldad and Medad, while those of the other sixty-eight were not.) Why was Joshua upset when he heard they were prophesying in the camp? What did Moses mean by his reply to Joshua?
A3 - Up to this point, Moses had been the undisputed leader of the Israelites. Although Aaron was the high priest and frequently accompanied Moses, he did not lead as Moses did (and, in fact, had failed miserably when left in charge by creating the golden calf while Moses was on the mountain). Joshua could have been worried that others sharing in the leadership role would lessen Moses's authority. He could also have been worried about an insurrection occurring in the camp.
Moses welcomed the spread of the Spirit of God throughout the camp. He had borne the heavy burden of leading these people and had grown weary to the point of crying out to God for help in Numbers 11:11–15. In fact, he even told God that if things were going to be this way, to go ahead and kill him right now! Such strong words which Moses obviously spoke in desperation. Having more people in the camp endowed with the Spirit would help him considerably in handling the many situations which seemed to occur regularly.
A similar instance occurred in the New Testament during the time Jesus was on earth teaching and preaching. Parallel accounts are given in Mark 9:38–41 and in Luke 9:46–50. The Apostle John told Jesus they had seen a man driving out demons in His name, and they told him to stop because He was not one of their group of disciples. In response, Jesus told him, “‘Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side’” (Luke 9:50 NKJV).