Chapter 11
Intro: Tonight we are continuing our Survey thru the book of
Numbers pick up in ch. 11 – Interesting Chapter – Read v 1-3
A) Have you ever got ready to go on a vacation –
Planned / Saved / Prayed / talked / Packed – / In the Car – set out / 2 miles into
it – someone Complains
B) That is what is happening here w/ Israel they
have been ordered, organized, cleansed, separated,
blessed, taught how to give,
1)
They’ve been reminded of God’s deliverance,
given God’s presence, and the tools to advance to the Promised Land.
C) And now is the time to begin
the march to Canaan - and IMMEDIATELY
the people complained.
1)
How can it be that a nation so blessed can still complain? God had done
so much in and for Israel; yet they still murmur against Him.
D) We wonder how could those people be so ungrateful & yet we so often ARE GUILTY of the same thing!! Individually
1) The minute our
Circumstances get tough – God what are you doing
– I thought you loved me –
E) And
We do it congregationally – Complain worship { Other countries give their right arm to have the
worship we have{ Spoiled
1)
We complain – Teaching too long –
Children’s ministry isn’t organize
F) Now there is always
room for Growth/ I Challenge our guys to guard against Complacency
1) But We have it so much
better than most – Lord forgive US
Well The people
complained . . . it displeased the Lord.
A)Listen God is displeased by our complaining
hearts, because it shows a lack gratitude for what He has done in the past,
1)And a Lack
of faith for what He can do right now.
B) That really is the Issue – If I truly believed that God’s
hand is upon my life – He is leading – He is directing –
1) I am not going to complain about what is going on or not going on in my life !!!
C) And if I truly believe that Jesus is the Head of
the Church – He is in Charge – I am not going to complain/ Instead Pray –
1)
Note – See a Problem in the Church / in a ministry – God is revealing it
to you because He wants you to be a part of the SOLUTION
So they complained & The fire of the
Lord burned among them:
A)Now Israel had valued the fire of God as the emblem of His presence at night;
B) But now, that fire and
the presence of God becomes somewhat of a two-edged sword –
1) Reminded that
the presence of God was there to comfort them but also to deal with
their sin !!!!
Well The people cried out to Moses:
A)And Moses intercedes for the people, and the fire
is quenched - but the place is named Taberah ("burning")
as a reminder of God’s estimation of the complaining heart.
B) That place would be like a Scar to them- Reminder
– God doesn’t like it at all when we complain { Avoid Scars – not Complain {
Pray seek God
1)Read v.4-9
Who were the mixed multitude?
A)Exodus 12:38 says that a
mixed multitude went out of Egypt; not all of those who came out of
Egypt with Moses were ethnically Israelites;
B) Some Egyptians went because the God of Israel has
shown Himself more powerful than the gods of the Egyptians./ And perhaps other foreigners) went with them, because they
were fellows slaves in Egypt,
C) Some were just people that said: "Hey, looks like something exciting going on/ They're going on an adventure.
D) They're going to
settle a new land & That sounds great, don't like life here so much
anyhow" Not really committed to Jehovah
just into new thing
1) So some of this mixed multitude were those who
were just looking for something new, something novel, something exciting
NOTE: Within the Church, there
are always the mixed multitudes.
A)Those
that aren't fully committed to Jesus Christ-Those that have made sort of a
half-hearted commitment/ "TRENDY
Christians" -
B)
Hey it's the thing to do- They go along with it as
long as it's exciting,
1)
But
- when it settles down to just really
beginning to walk w/ the Lord / daily grind – They give up
C) SO We are told in verse 4 how this mixed
multitude that had come out of Egypt with the Children of Israel
1)
began to yield to these intense CRAVINGS
NOTE: All have Cravings – The Point is what do you
do w/ them
James 1:13-15
13 Let no one say when he is
tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil,
nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn
away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it
gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
D) So the Mixed Multitude began to complain and At
the Crux of their Complaining was – They were tired of
the Manna { MEAT
1)
Manna Waffles / Sandwiches / Manna ccoti – Banana Bread
E) They Started craving for the things of Egypt once
again
remember those onions and garlics and leeks, melons
and cucumbers." "Oh, man could I go for some of that food now."
NOTE: Their problem is a common one.
They had selective memory.
A)Meaning As they began to remember the old life in
Egypt, they only remembered the good things.
B) Somehow they didn't remember all of the misery of
their slavery.
1)
They didn't remember the beatings by the taskmasters
C) They did not remember all of those tears that
they had shed as they were crying before the Lord for deliverance.
D) That is
why when God instituted the Passover that in the Passover meal they were always
to have the bitter herbs.
1) They were to eat those at the meal because God
wanted them to be reminded how bitter was their life
in Egypt.
E) They had the salty water at the Passover
meal. -The salty water was to remind them of the tears their fathers shed in that
bondage -
1) It was a miserable life....... It was a
horrible life. -It was a life
that was filled with tears.... It was a life that was hard
It's interesting that Satan so often puts a filter over our
memory bank so that as we remember sometimes the old life, {kicks but not Kick backs
A)We forget the destructive power of sin / We forget
what it was doing to us
B) We forget how it had brought us into the place of
slavery and bondage
1) We only think of the good times and "Oh, it was such an exciting time" and you look back with a false view of the past.
C) Selective Memory
often romanticizes the past; Israel fell
in love with an illusion from the past (how great Egypt was),
1) instead
of looking for what God had for them in
the future - the Promised Land, which was truly a land of milk
and honey /
D)
Waiting for them was all the great food they could ever want!
LISTEN
God’s best for us is always ahead, never behind us.
And when the complaining heart romanticizes the past, it
also exaggerates the problems of the present. V.6 Our
whole being is dried up?
A)What? Was God allowing them to waste away in the wilderness?
Was not God providing their every need - though not their every desire?
B) In fact, manna was an excellent provision; its
taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. Sort
of like a crispy crème donut,
1) yet it provided all necessary
nutrition for a long journey through the wilderness!{ Wasn’t Fattening – Heaven Donuts & Ice Cream
C)
So this Mixed Multitude Started Grumbling & Complaining – I am tired of
this manna I want something more exciting than this."
1)
It's bland, it's mild, it doesn't
really have any zest to it. " "This doesn't satisfy my
senses."
D)
And
the Mixed Multitude in the Church does the same thing
They are not fully
committed to the Crucified life & to walking in the Spirit { They are looking for those things that will
excite their senses
A)In
the Names of Relevance & Creativity They seek to bring the spice of the world into the church.
B) They start feeling like –Bible study is Bland -
They need things spicy and exciting to follow after.
1)
Shorter sermons – Drama Presentations / Testimonies of Celebrities /
Movie Clips – ( Anger – Billy Jack ) MTV – scene
C) What they are doing is – creating a Generation of
believers who can no longer sit – for 45 minutes to listen to a Bible study
1)
Churches where the Bible isn’t really studied & so people don’t feel
the need to bring them – { Sunrise Couple
D) A Generation of Believers who suddenly found
themselves alone in the Bush of Africa
Only had their Bibles – they would Know what to do –
1) They
wouldn’t Know what to do – They couldn’t survive
Listen we have a Mixed Multitude
in our Church & I am glad that we do It is a sign that you are reaching out
to friends – sharing w/ friends –
A)So
there are those here who are struggling – still in the world – something wrong
if that wasn’t the case
B)
But we are not going to CATER to the mixed Multitude
& we don’t want them to stay the way they are!!!
1)
Seeking to get them to
rise to another level – Higher degree of Commitment & Maturity
C)
There will be those who rise up & who grow / and then there will be those
who just say – I am tired of this – More
Excitement –
1)
They will try to find
a place that is going to Satisfy their Senses – but it won’t do anything for
their Souls
D)
We will see in a Minute how God the Lord allowed for their Cravings to be Satisfied – But later when the Psalmist
recounting this scene
Ps.
106:15 And
he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
E) That's always the tragic consequence of giving
yourself over to your lust.
You
suffer spiritually. { Spiritually Anorexic
1)
SO the Mixed Multitude was Complaining and v. 10 –15
Now I have to admit I really feel for
Moses here – I couldn’t imagine Pastoring 3 million People – especially ones
like this
A)I get my share of Complaints – But wow !!!
B) Now Moses
responds to God the way many of us do in trial: Why
have You afflicted Your servant? "God, here I am serving You. Why did You
bring this upon me?"
C) And When Moses in v. 12 likens himself to a
mother and the children of Israel as his children, he is using a fitting figure
of speech –
1) because
Israel is acting like a bunch of babies! V.13 For
they weep all over me -They were like childish tears from a temper-tantrum – I want meat
D) Moses is so tired & so Distraught – that he says to the
Lord v.15 – If this is the way it is going to be – Kill me Now!!!
E) Here is the thing that Blesses me – Although Moses
was going a bit overboard himself here – God doesn’t rebuke him { Moses Grow up
Now Moses was
right when he said I am not able to bear all
these people alone the burden was too heavy for me
A)Listen whenever we embark on any type of Spiritual
Enterprise – anything that has Merit in the Kingdom of God { Eternal
Significance –
B) We need to understand that we can’t do it alone –
Can’t do it in our Strength – We need two things: 1st Supernatural Power from God
1) And 2nd we need the Partnership of the Body of Christ – God gives both to
Moses v. 16,17
God helps Moses by allowing him to
gather together 70 elders to assist him. & to Help Him
Carry this Burden
A)These were men who already stood out as leaders
who had been appointed back in Ex 18 when Jethro Suggested – You need Help !!!
B) But now the Lord was going to supernaturally
empower them to help bear the Burden – the Lord declared
1) I will take of the
Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them:
C) This is such an important Picture -The elders
must have the same heart, the same vision & the same Spirit!!!
1) If not, there will be no agreement among the
leadership of the nation, and disaster can result.
D) SO The elders were there to help Moses carry the spiritual load - to help
him care for & minister to the people, & support for him in the
ministry.
1) God’s help was going to come to Moses through the
support of godly men - a customary way for God to meet our needs.
Look at more on Sunday –
Note v.10 again – Their grumbling not only angered Moses –
But more importantly – it angered the Lord
A)God was displeased that they would look fondly back
at Egypt and desire to go back to Egypt.
v.18-23/ 31-32
B)
SO God said to Moses:
"You go out and you tell those people: You want to eat
meat, I'll give you meat to eat. I'll
give you so much meat that you'll have
more than you can eat in one day, or two days or 5 days or 10 days or 20 days.
"I'll give you so much it'll take you a whole month to
eat it. You eat it until it comes out your nostrils, until you're sick of it.
C)And
the next morning God caused the wind to come in from the sea and with the wind
there came these quail, fluttering or hovering
about 3 ft. high
1)
The Men went out with their sticks & they began to play QUAIL BALL!!
D)They
started to bat these quail and for a whole 10 to 15 miles around the camp these
quail were coming in from every direction, around the camp, flying in at 3 ft.
high.
They batted these quail all day
long.... They even played under the lights!!
A)They
got torches and all night long they were out there batting the quail and all the next day until the
family that gathered the least amount of quail had gathered 860 gallons of
quail (10 homers - 86 gallons to a homer.)
B) Here we see an
ugly scene of men given over totally to their lusts.
1)
When a person gives himself over to lust he loses his whole sense of balance
& propriety
C)
It's a tragic thing to see a person who is really given over to lust because
their life becomes so unbalanced.
1)
There's no moderation at all.
D) NOTE: The tragic thing IN LIVING AFTER YOUR LUSTS is that you never find a place of Satisfaction .
1)
When you give yourself over to your lust the net result is that at the end your lust is only
greater. You can not satisfy your cravings.
You see, there is the realm of the flesh & there is the
realm of the Spirit.
A)They are mutually exclusive in that no man can
serve two masters.
B) You're going to be mastered either by your flesh
or by the Spirit.
1) These two are warring against each other.
C) Paul said, "Our
flesh is lusting against our spirit and the spirit is lusting against our flesh."
1) There is this battle that is going on for the
control of your life.
D) Whether or not you're going to be controlled by
your flesh or you're going to be controlled by the Spirit. You can't be
controlled by both.......
1) If you give yourself over to the flesh to be
controlled by the flesh, it brings you into the bondage of corruption.
E) It brings you into this desire that cannot be
satisfied but only grows. Although your Flesh is Fed – There is Leanness in
your Soul!!!
1) You can't have both.
Num. 11:33-34
Num 11:33-34
33 But while
the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the
LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very
great plague. 34 So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because
there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.
A)They buried that vast number of people and they
called the place Kibrothhataavah, which literally means "Buried in
their Lust".
1) What a
terrible grave to be buried in.
B) It could be that they were so hungry for meat that they
began to swallow it without even
chewing it and they choked to death.
1) Or it is possible that after a years time of this
bland diet that their bodies could not suddenly assimilate all of this meat
C) Or they just gorged themselves on the meat....
Filled their stomachs until they were just bloated and that could have wiped them out.
1)
In any event -Hundreds of them died there and they buried them in that
place and
called it Kibrothhataavah. graves of lust /graves of craving...
Today there are many people who are being buried by their
own lust.
A)Living in the fast lane of life. They're going after it - Whatever's out
there, they're going to get it. Living after their flesh
B) But How many of them have been wiped out in that fast lane.
1) Buried by their own lust.
C) Kibrothhattaavah is a horrible place to be
buried.- To be so controlled, to be so ruled by your lust that it destroys you.
But Contrast that by the person who is seeking after God –
Experiencing the Life of God
Prov 14:14 The
backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied
from above.
Ps 65:4 4 Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You,
That he may
dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of
Your holy temple.
Ps 36:7-9 How precious is Your
loving kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the
shadow of Your wings.
8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your
house,
And You give them drink from the
river of Your pleasures. 9 For with You
is the fountain of life;
Ps 17:15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be
satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
A)So this story is a Sad picture of what can happen
to a person who is Overtaken in a Lust -
B)How was this a help to Israel? If It taught them
to not be ruled by their craving, then it was a huge help to the nation.
1)
Warning to us of the Same thing
C) Promised land people must be ruled by more than
their physical or emotional appetites.