Dear friends, I am finding that I need to commit myself to regular study daily again as we have hit an exceptionally busy time in our life. I will be trying to be on one hour a day. For now here, but I hope to find an easier to use platform that will be simple for anyone who want to jump on to use.
All scripture referenced here from KJV https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+11&version=KJV
Do read this for yourself and share the big things that jump out to you
Healing and Discipleship 
Numbers 11 KJV “11 And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched.
3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the Lord burnt among them.
4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
7 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.
8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.
10 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.”
Attitude is everything. Maintaining an attitude of reverence, thanksgiving and praise seems to be the antidote to many of the woes people face in life. Psalm 81 KJV “13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.”
vs 4 notes a fascinating detail. The NLT calls them the “foreign rabble among them” started craving the things of their former life and soon after the Israelites joined in their complaining and “lusting”. The desires and appetites of the flesh, especially for the things of this world are a repeating theme. I am daily given opportunities to be led by the appetites of my flesh and away from the plan and purposes of God for my days. “Matthew 16:24-26
King James Version
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
At the end of the day, we must the reality that following Jesus requires the crucifixion of our fleshly desires and appetites. Both men and women understand how strong the flesh and speak whether it is a call to abuse certain substances, eat in excess, watch inappropriate programming or be entertained by reading books containing worldly content, the call to live in a state of excessive busy-ness that draws our hearts and time away from the Lord and His Word, sexual desires etc. For anyone who lives a lifestyle of denying self and refuse to give in to the cravings of the flesh, we know that physical pain and discomfort can be part of the experience. Some can abstain from food and other earthly pleasures readily… others experience physical symptoms and pain. Many who fast and make it a life’s practice to abstain move beyond the discomforts that come initially. The flesh must be trained to submit to the Word and foreknowing that it may be uncomfortable or painful perhaps helps us to overcome the temptation to “give in”. Now is a great time to start practising denying the flesh.
I now consider fasting and denying myself to be part of my spiritual work out regime. I am building up my spiritual muscles every time I can choose to walk by faith and not by sight. Opportunities to deny self abound. When a strong emotion rises up and you are tempted to respond “in kind” but instead we can deny ourselves and choose to respond in Christ instead… we are exercising. When we want to go back to the pot and take just a little more but choose to leave the table a little hungry instead… this is a baby step workout. I like to do Bible study in the morning for one hour before breakfast to train myself in the practice of treating the value of eating the Word as being more valuable than the feeding of my physical body with food.” We can work up to full blown fasting.. First one meal, then two and then all day…. perhaps even doing as some to and working up to several days.
Another area that I find particularly hard to navigate is when people who are dear to me (the foreign rabble in my life) want me to participate in something I am not comfortable with. We occasionally get invites to parties where others “over indulge” in things like alcohol which typically if not always leads to people speaking a little too freely and often harshly towards or about others. I am deeply grieved in these situations. To decline attending is to risk offending others and yet to attend grieves my own spirit. I am learning that it is not always black and white and that sometimes I need to prayerfully go and other times I need to pray and gently decline and risk offending.
vs 10, “every man” this plague of being consumed by the desire to satisfy their appetite spread very quickly through the entire camp and soon impacted every tent. Whether every man wanted this meat or whether they were plagued by others in the tent weeping and crying for their “old lives”, this community wide pity party “kindled greatly” the anger of the Lord and drove Moses to despair. It really does matter how we personally respond to temptation. In times of pressure, the more who succumb, the more will be tempted to follow suit. If there are many who stand strong, those who watch the many standing strong will be strengthened to stand as well. I am always reminded that Noah was able to remain steadfast on the Lord even in the midst of a generation that was incapable of thinking any good thoughts and thought evil ones continually. We think that a physical craving is no big deal and that giving into it is also no big deal. The reality is we are training our flesh to be gratified and are creating for ourselves a future legacy of a strong flesh and a weak soul/spirit. If we cannot resist in the small temptations, resisting the big ones become increasingly unlikely. Oh Lord, that my words and my thoughts and my actions would be pleasing to you, and that I may stand as a pillar, as one who upholds your kingdom and your statutes in the midst of the storms of life. In Jesus Christ’s name.
vs 1 the fire first burns those in the outermost part of the camp. Beautiful reminder that I want my camp ideally in the Kingdom, in the very throne room of God and that I never want to be one that lives on the fringe of the Kingdom.
11 And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?
13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
20 But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
vs 11 The weightiness of a rebellious, flesh driven people on the appointed shepherds and leaders is very evident here. Clearly even Moses, who talked to God face to face, could not bear the affliction of the constant complaining and rebellion indefinitely. The NT records we should do all that we can to be a blessing to the elders among us. Hebrews 13:17 “King James Version 17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”
God, it seems, is willing to appoint more leaders. The number 70 seems significant as there is a mirror verse to this one in the NT. Luke 10:1-2
King James Version
“10 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”
I love that the Lord always wants to lighten the yoke of those who are seriously committed to and living a life submitted to Him. Clearly Moses had laid down his whole life to the service of the Lord. We are not to carry these burdens alone but to seek help from the Lord who delights in the shalom of his servants.Matthew 11:28 King James Version “28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
31 And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.
32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.
34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.
35 And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.
This must have been quite an event for the senses to experience. What a difference it makes to ask God from a posture of praise, anticipation and thanksgiving vs grumbling and threatening and complaining. We must acknowledge that scripturally speaking, these sins of the heart and mouth are lethal and to be avoided sincerely.
These scriptures illustrate the qualities that are inherent in the realm of soul , self and fallen ‘Adam’ . Complaining, weeping over what we think we ‘must’ have, lusting ( desiring for ourselves) what belonged to yesterday and turning up our nose at the new things God presents to us is very serious in His eyes. Who are we feeding and nurturing is a good question to ask ourselves. Is it ‘Adam’ or Christ within us? If we count ourselves to be true believers and not simply a good church going person it seems to involve continual transformation and moving from ‘glory to glory’ as we deny the promptings , and complaints and loud demands of the flesh. The ‘mixed multitude’ and those that followed on the outskirts of the camp seemed to want to be counted in with ‘Gods people ‘ without living the lifestyle Of His provision. Oh that God would cause me to love what He loves and hate what He hates! It’s interesting that He decided to give them so much of what they clamoured for it that it made them sick. Perhaps in hope that Manna was more desirable after that? KC