Tyndale Open Study NotesNumbers 11

This is one of many occasions in the wilderness when Israel was disobedient to the Lord.

• Soon the people began to complain … fire from the LORD blazed: The link between Israel’s complaints and God’s punishment is a major theme in Numbers and throughout the Old Testament (for example, Deuteronomy 9:22; Psalm 78). God is holy and just, and he demands obedience from his people. Complaints are the same as rejecting him (compare Numbers 11:20).

• their hardship: Mount Sinai had been a stable home for a year. The journey to Paran brought heat, thirst, and fatigue.

• consumed the outskirts of the camp: Compare Leviticus 10:2.

• The people asked Moses to speak to God again on their behalf. This stopped the fire of God's judgment (compare Exodus 15:25; 32:11–14).

• Taberah: Compare Numbers 11:34–35; see Deuteronomy 9:22.

Israel had not given up the attitude that led to judgment at Taberah (11:1–3). At Taberah, the people complained, and the Lord sent fire among them.

Soon after, they joined the foreign rabble (a mixed group of non-Israelites who had left Egypt with them) in craving the foods of Egypt. They longed for the fish, vegetables, and other foods they had known there.

In doing this, they forgot the suffering and slavery they had experienced in Egypt. They remembered the food but ignored the hardship.

Who will feed us meat?: The Israelites had flocks and herds (for example, 32:1; Exodus 12:32, 38; 17:3; 34:3). But the animals were more valuable for their dairy products and other benefits while alive. They only butchered them for meat occasionally. The Hebrews did not have enough meat to regularly feed such a large population (compare Numbers 11:21–22).

The Lord had earlier provided manna and quail (Exodus 16).

People often explain manna as a naturally occurring edible substance (but see Deuteronomy 8:3). Yet, its amount and how long it lasted was miraculous.

• The Israelites' constant complaining frustrated Moses, leading him to express his own complaints to God. With extreme sarcasm, Moses reminded God that he had not wanted this responsibility (compare Exodus 4:10). Israel became such a burden that Moses wished God would do him the favor of ending his life (compare Job 6:9).

• Moses' complaint was acceptable, unlike the people's complaints, because he sought the Lord instead of longing for Egypt's pleasures.

Jethro suggested that Moses should have different levels of judges (Exodus 18:13–26). He focused on practical issues like the tribal leaders who helped Moses with the registration (Numbers 1:5–15).

In contrast, the group of 70 elders would give Israel spiritual guidance. They needed a share of God's Spirit. Moses already had this, and it made him the Lord's special spokesman. Their ability to lead depended on God's Spirit being with them (compare 1 Samuel 10:6; 19:20; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:16–18; 1 Corinthians 12:10; 2 Peter 1:20–21).

The text does not describe what happened when the Spirit rested on them and they prophesied. It only says that they spoke as the Spirit enabled them.

Whatever took place, it may have included ecstatic speech (intense or Spirit-driven words spoken in a special way). Similar events appear later in Acts 2:4 and 1 Corinthians 14:2. However, the text suggests that this was a unique event.

Joshua’s worthy jealousy was a desire to safeguard his master’s status. But, Moses was humble and did not feel threatened by Eldad and Medad's prophecy (Numbers 12:3). Instead, he was glad to see God working through others in special ways. Moses had leadership qualities that the younger Joshua had not yet developed (compare Mark 9:38–40).

God answered the people's complaints by sending a storm of quail and a plague. God had given quail with manna in Exodus 16:13. But here the quail showed God's judgment through an excessive abundance.

The exact locations of Kibroth-hattaavah and Hazeroth are unknown.