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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Numbers 11:10 - 11:30
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Moses is Given Assistants
v. 10. Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent, for the contagion of dissatisfaction had spread throughout the camp like a virulent pestilence; and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. With this second outbreak of dissatisfaction, Moses felt the whole wrath of God in his inmost soul, and he feared that his entire mission was a failure.
v. 11. And Moses said unto the Lord, in his deep grief at the turn of events. Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy servant? And wherefore have I not found favor in Thy sight that Thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? He felt that the care of the entire people in governing and leading them was so grievous as to seem an unmerciful treatment on the part of God. This was the language of despondency, not of the kind that murmurs against the Lord in secret, but of that which seeks help and strength from Him alone. It is the complaint of weakness, but not the grumbling of unbelief.
v. 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, the nurse taking care of the helpless infant, unto the land which Thou swarest unto their fathers? It was not natural, it was not meet that Moses should bear the responsibility for the entire people alone; he meant to imply that God, as the Creator and Father of Israel, Exo_4:22; Isa_63:16, should make some provision by which he, a poor weak man, might be relieved of his great burden.
v. 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. They behaved like screaming, self-willed infants, who will not listen to reason.
v. 14. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me; his feeble strength could not hold up the burden which had been laid upon him.
v. 15. And if Thou deal thus with me, if the Lord really intended that he should continue bearing the burden, kill me, I pray Thee, out of hand, at once, without further torture, if I have found favor in Thy sight, for death would be a merciful deliverance in the circumstances; and let me not see my wretchedness, this great misfortune, which would surely kill him by inches. The experience of Moses and his manner of acting is that of many spiritual leaders of the people to this day, if all their efforts in behalf of the souls entrusted to them meet with little or no appreciation. Fortunate is the man who at that time turns to the Lord, even with an importunate prayer, and lays the matter entirely in the hands of Him who rules all things.
v. 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, men who had held these offices by virtue of the arrangement in force at that time, Exo_18:13-26; and bring them unto the Tabernacle of the Congregation that they may stand there with thee.
v. 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, not that Moses would possess so much less of the spirit of wisdom, but that they would all be kindled with the flame of the same understanding; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee that thou bear it not thyself alone.
v. 18. And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh, they would have their longing satisfied; 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. It was a command rather than a concession, as here made.
v. 19. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
v. 20. but even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you, until the very thought of flesh would nauseate them; because that ye have despised the Lord, which is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt? The very tone in which the request of the people was granted should have sounded a warning to them and called them to true repentance.
v. 21. And Moses said, The people among whom I am are six hundred thousand footmen, so many able-bodied men alone; and Thou hast said, I will give them flesh that they may eat a whole month. This was apparently not doubt on the part of Moses, but an expression of surprise and a hint that he would like to know in what way this would be accomplished.
v. 22. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them to suffice them? Would that be enough to satisfy this demand? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to suffice them?
v. 23. And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord's hand waxed short, shorter than it has been, in not being able to reach the people and in helping them in their real needs? Thou shalt see now whether My word shall come to pass unto thee or not. Jehovah refused Moses an explanation as to the form of the intended miracle; He demanded of His servant unconditional faith in His almighty power and in the efficacy of His promises. And Moses believed and obeyed.
v. 24. And Moses went out, namely, from the Tabernacle, where he had brought his complaint before the Lord, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them. round about the Tabernacle, probably in a semicircle, on the side facing the east.
v. 25. And the Lord came down in a cloud and spake unto him, the cloud, which ordinarily stood still above the tent, sank down to its door, and Jehovah addressed His servant, and took of the Spirit that was upon him and gave it unto the seventy elders, filled them with the same wisdom and understanding which characterized Moses, though not in the same degree. And it came to pass that, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied and did not cease; for that one time they were filled with a peculiar ecstasy wrought by the Holy Spirit, which caused them to utter inspired messages.
v. 26. But there remained two of the men in the camp, of the elders who should have been at the Tabernacle; the name of the one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad; and the Spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, their names were included in the list made by Moses, but went not out unto the Tabernacle; and they prophesied in the camp.
v. 27. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp; it was such an unusual occurrence that he thought a report should be made.
v. 28. And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. He believed that the prophesying done by these men was a presumptuous act on their part. But Moses quenched his mistaken zeal, as the Lord did upon a similar occasion. Mar_9:38-39.
v. 29. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them! As a true servant of God, who was not jealous for his own honor, but desired only the extension of God's influence and power, Moses wished only for a further extension of the Lord's gift of grace. A little more of this same Spirit in our days would help to solve many of the problems of the Church.
v. 30. And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel; they all returned to their own tents, which were at some distance from the Tabernacle. Moses had his assistants, and he felt the relief. At present the Lord also gives understanding and wisdom to the men that are holding various offices in the Church, if they but use proper meekness in their work.