FOWL...FUSSING...FRUIT

The Fowl The "rabble" that were with the Israelites . . . those brought from Egypt that were not Israelites - started complaining and murmuring that they were tired of the manna that God was providing and wanted something more - "meat" - like they had in Egypt. If you start listening to those that complain and murmur around you, will you begin to join them? I think we have to guard against that. So, God gave them what they asked for - and lo and behold, they had so much that they grew ill and perished. From what I read in the commentaries, only those that began the complaining and were the most vocal were the ones who died of the plague.

Poor Moses. Can these people ever be satisfied? You feel kinda sorry for him - their wonderful leader and go-between. It's a wonder he didn't give up! So, he cried out to God, and God gave Moses some assistance - the "seventy elders" from the tribes and poured on them "part" of the Spirit of Moses. He did not take away from Moses, but provided more to them. They were full of wisdom and experience to help Moses lead and guide in civil and spiritual matters. It says that two of the seventy did not "come out" to the tent of meeting. Wonder why? Perhaps they did not feel adequate or maybe they were modest. But remember when God calls you to a task, He equips you for it.

The Fussing OK, here are Miriam and Aaron - the prophetess and the high priest - starting to complain and criticize Moses - their brother. Over what? Were they jealous of him or wanting to have more leadership themselves? Did they not like the "seventy elders" he had picked and were afraid that their influence might be diminished? They pointed their finger at Moses' wife saying he had married outside their people. One Bible reference I read says that it was Zipporah the Midionite - the wife he had had from the beginning - not some second wife he
had taken, and that the name "Cush" was often referred to as another name for the land of Midian. The dire consequences of this complaint - the chief instigator of the fuss - Miriam - became leprous. I wonder if Aaron was in shock when he witnessed that and maybe thought that he was next? Moses, again, goes to the Lord in their behalf, asking for her healing Why was Miriam struck and not Aaron? Perhaps the Lord deals more severely with those that mislead rather than those that are misled.

The Fruits So here we are on the border of the land of Canaan, the land promised to the people by God. Remember this story from when you were young and the pictures it brings to mind? The Lord told Moses to send out twelve spies to search out the whole land. The report came back - but instead of being excited and anxious to move ahead to the land flowing with milk and honey, ten of the twelve (all except Caleb and Joshua) are quaking in their boots. They tote back a cluster of grapes weighing 10-12 lbs. (grapes the size of prunes), and they report that the land is filled with giants, and they probably won't be able to conquer the land. This report exaggerated the size of the people of Canaan. The sons of Anak, I read, were "probably a select body of warriors chosen for their large size." And the people of Anak were "unusually tall." However, this was just a portion of the people - not all of them. They forgot who was on their side.


Do we not do the same? Caleb says we are well able to overcome it. Could we only remember that phrase?

Unbelief overlooks the promises and power of God,

magnifies every danger and difficulty,

fills the heart with discouragement.

May the Lord help us to believe!

We shall then find all things possible.

(Matthew Henry Commentary on Numbers 13)

Count your cost.

We have already talked about how the nation of Israel was to be set apart, and that many of the laws God gave them to follow were to make them distinct from the nations around them. As we start our reading today, we see that the ceremony that further distinguished the Levites from the rest of Israel. God said,

"They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn, the first male offspring from every Israelite woman. Every firstborn male in Israel, whether man or animal, is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself. And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel."

This isn't something I've heard mentioned before about the Levites, but it made me think about something. And I'm going to try and be very careful how I word this because I don't want to preach salvation by works in any way- because there is absolutely NOTHING we can do to earn our way into the presence of God. Nothing we have to bring is good enough or perfect enough to cover that cost. Our salvation, paid for by Christ on the cross, is something we receive as a gift of grace, by faith. It is not by any means something we have earned or can ever pay back.

BUT- and here is where I'm praying really hard about the wording- just because the gift was free, doesn't mean God doesn't expect something from us. The verses I quoted earlier made it clear that God was telling the Israelites that because he spared their firstborn in Israel and took the Egyptian's, He had earned the "rights" so to speak, to have their firstborn sons dedicated specifically to His service. In His graciousness, God didn't actually take the firstborn sons from each family to be set apart as a priest, alienated from their family the rest of their lives. Instead, he set an entire tribe apart, to serve WITH their family.

How does this relate to us? Well, God sent His only firstborn son to die on the cross to pay the cost for our sins, so that we could live in fellowship with Him now, and in eternity. He gave up what He never even asked the Israelites to give up, for them and for us. From that perspective, God has the right to ask an awful lot of me. When God sent Christ to die on the cross he set us apart for himself- meaning our lives are no longer our own. And that means a whole lot of other things...things we'll keep learning about as we keep reading.

Next we see God reinforcing the specifics of how they are to celebrate the passover- and how important it was that they celebrate it. God makes it clear that there was no excuse for not celebrating the passover- even if they had to celebrate it at a later date to maintain the standard of holiness. We also see that God had the same requirements for the "alien and native born." It's important for us to realize that God's standards do not, have not, and will not change. We live in a time where, for the majority of our culture, "culture" or "political climate" or "financial situations" set the standard. Not so with God or for us. We are called to live by HIS standard- no matter how strange it may seem to others.

It must have seemed very strange to other nations for the Israelites to follow a cloud and fire all over the desert. It was probably strange to the Israelites as well. I lived the first 18 years of my life in the same house. I didn't move until I went to college. The next 8 years of my life I moved 6 times. It wasn't an easy adjustment. Some of those moves were closer together than others.

"Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the Lord's command they encamped and at the Lord's command they set out."

I can imagine the frustration of packing up and moving (especially for the Levites moving the Tabernacle) after just two days. And I can imagine that sometimes, depending on where they were, after a few months they were restless to get moving again. The bottom line was that they weren't in control of their own lives anymore. God was in charge of where they went and how long they stayed. In my moves, sometimes staying put was the harder option. I don't have a "pillar of fire" or "cloud" to guide me, but the Holy Spirit has always let us know when we needed to stay and when we needed to move on. Sometimes it was before we wanted to go, and sometimes it was long after we were ready to be going...but we knew that to follow God was part of the deal we made when we accepted His free gift of grace. There is comfort though, in following a God who is so generous and loving with His gifts. We, following our own selfish desires, are not nearly as wise or good. God used each of our moves to teach us, refine us and help us grow closer to Him. It is an absolute pleasure to be in the service of and following such a great God. The cost seems high at times, but the return on your investment far greater than you would have ever expected.

Offerings for the Tabernacle

This chapter tells us about the Israelite tribes working together to support the work of the Levites, who were in charge of the tabernacle. To begin with, after the tabernacle is finished, Moses anointed and consecrated the tabernacle and all the furnishings and the alter and utensils. The Levites had been divided into groups and given specific duties to be in charge of in setting up and taking down the tabernacle. When the tribal leaders brought their offering of six carts and twelve oxen Moses was instructed to give them to the Levites as their work required. The carts and oxen were for the purpose of transporting the tabernacle through the wilderness. Two carts and four oxen were given to the Gershon family; they were to transport the fabrics of the tabernacle. Four carts and eight oxen were given to the Merari family; they were to transport the boards and pillars of the tabernacle. The family of Kohath did not receive carts or oxen because they were to carry all the holy things on their shoulders.

Then we read about the gifts brought to be dedicated to the tabernacle. Each tribe brought their gifts, one on each day for twelve days. Each tribal leader brought exactly the same offering over the twelve days. These were very generous gifts. I won’t go through the list but I read in one commentary that God was trying to show them how to be generous givers. They had been in slavery for so long they had the mind-set to be a taker because of the uncertainty of provision. God wanted them to learn that He provides all their needs. Also, by each bringing the same gift protects them from glorifying themselves through giving.

There have been times in my life that because the money got tight or the future seemed uncertain I wanted to clinch to everything in my possession. But who does everything belong to anyway? I own nothing. My God owns it all.