One Story That Leads to Jesus, Day 43
Numbers 11
11Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the LORD heard everything they said. Then the LORD's anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.H5971H596H7451H241H3068H3068H8085H639H2734H784H3068H1197H398H7097H42642Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the LORD, the fire stopped.H5971H6817H4872H4872H6419H3068H784H82573After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means "the place of burning"), because fire from the LORD had burned among them there.H7121H8034H1931H4725H8404H784H3068H11974Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. "Oh, for some meat!" they exclaimed.H628H7130H183H8378H1121H3478H1058H7725H559H1320H3985"We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted.H2142H1710H398H4714H2600H7180H20H2682H1211H77626But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!"H5315H3002H1115H4478H58697The manna looked like small coriander seeds, and it was pale yellow like gum resin.H4478H1407H2233H5869H5869H9168The people would go out and gather it from the ground. They made flour by grinding it with hand mills or pounding it in mortars. Then they boiled it in a pot and made it into flat cakes. These cakes tasted like pastries baked with olive oil.H5971H7751H3950H2912H7347H1743H4085H1310H6517H6213H5692H2940H2940H3955H80819The manna came down on the camp with the dew during the night.H2919H3381H4264H3915H4478H338110Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the LORD became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated.H4872H8085H5971H1058H4940H376H6607H168H639H3068H2734H3966H4872H7489H586911And Moses said to the LORD, "Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people?H4872H559H3068H7489H5650H4672H2580H5869H7760H4853H597112Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors?H2029H5971H3205H559H5375H2436H539H5375H3243H127H7650H113Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, 'Give us meat to eat!'H370H1320H5414H5971H1058H559H5414H1320H39814I can't carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy!H3201H5375H5971H905H351515If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!"H6213H2026H2026H4672H2580H5869H7200H745116Then the LORD said to Moses, "Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you.H3068H559H4872H622H7657H376H2205H3478H3045H2205H5971H7860H3947H168H4150H332017I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.H3381H1696H680H7307H7760H5375H4853H5971H537518"And say to the people, 'Purify yourselves, for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were whining, and the LORD heard you when you cried, "Oh, for some meat! We were better off in Egypt!" Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will have to eat it.H559H5971H6942H4279H398H1320H1058H241H3068H559H1320H398H2895H4714H3068H5414H1320H39819And it won't be for just a day or two, or for five or ten or even twenty.H398H259H3117H3117H2568H3117H6235H3117H6242H311720You will eat it for a whole month until you gag and are sick of it. For you have rejected the LORD, who is here among you, and you have whined to him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'"H2320H3117H3318H639H2214H3282H3988H3068H7130H1058H6440H559H3318H471421But Moses responded to the LORD, "There are 600,000 foot soldiers here with me, and yet you say, 'I will give them meat for a whole month!'H4872H559H5971H7130H8337H3967H505H7273H559H5414H1320H398H3117H232022Even if we butchered all our flocks and herds, would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all the fish in the sea, would that be enough?"H6629H1241H7819H4672H1709H3220H622H467223Then the LORD said to Moses, "Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!"H3068H559H4872H3068H3027H7114H7200H1697H713624So Moses went out and reported the LORD's words to the people. He gathered the seventy elders and stationed them around the Tabernacle.H4872H3318H1696H5971H1697H3068H622H7657H376H2205H5971H5975H5439H16825And the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again.H3068H3381H6051H1696H680H7307H5414H7657H2205H376H7307H5117H5012H325426Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle. Yet the Spirit rested upon them as well, so they prophesied there in the camp.H7604H8147H582H4264H8034H259H419H8034H8145H4312H7307H5117H3789H3318H168H5012H426427A young man ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!"H7323H5288H5046H4872H559H419H4312H5012H426428Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' assistant since his youth, protested, "Moses, my master, make them stop!"H3091H1121H5126H8334H4872H979H6030H559H113H4872H360729But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit upon them all!"H4872H559H7065H5414H3068H5971H5030H3068H5414H730730Then Moses returned to the camp with the elders of Israel.H4872H622H4264H2205H347831Now the LORD sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground.H5265H7307H3068H1468H7958H3220H5203H4264H3117H1870H3541H3117H1870H3541H5439H4264H520H6440H77632So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry.H5971H6965H3117H3915H4283H3117H622H7958H4591H622H6235H2563H7849H7849H5439H426433But while they were gorging themselves on the meat—while it was still in their mouths—the anger of the LORD blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.H1320H2962H8127H3772H639H3068H2734H5971H3068H5221H5971H3966H7227H434734So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means "graves of gluttony") because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt.H7121H8034H4725H6914H6912H5971H18335From Kibroth-hattaavah the Israelites traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed for some time.H5971H5265H6914H2698H2698
Numbers 12
12While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman.H4813H175H1696H4872H182H3571H802H3947H3947H3571H8022They said, "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Hasn't he spoken through us, too?" But the LORD heard them.H559H3068H1696H4872H1696H3068H80853(Now Moses was very humble—more humble than any other person on earth.)H376H4872H3966H6035H6035H120H6440H1274So immediately the LORD called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, "Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!" So the three of them went to the Tabernacle.H3068H559H6597H4872H175H4813H3318H7969H168H4150H7969H33185Then the LORD descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. "Aaron and Miriam!" he called, and they stepped forward.H3068H3381H5982H6051H5975H6607H168H7121H175H4813H8147H33186And the LORD said to them, "Now listen to what I say: "If there were prophets among you, I, the LORD, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams.H559H8085H1697H5030H3068H3045H4759H1696H24727But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust.H5650H4872H539H10048I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the LORD as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?"H1696H6310H6310H4758H2420H8544H3068H5027H3372H1696H5650H48729The LORD was very angry with them, and he departed.H639H3068H2734H321210As the cloud moved from above the Tabernacle, there stood Miriam, her skin as white as snow from leprosy. When Aaron saw what had happened to her,H6051H5493H168H4813H6879H7950H175H6437H4813H687911he cried out to Moses, "Oh, my master! Please don't punish us for this sin we have so foolishly committed.H175H559H4872H994H113H7896H2403H2973H239812Don't let her be like a stillborn baby, already decayed at birth."H4994H4191H1320H2677H398H3318H517H735813So Moses cried out to the LORD, "O God, I beg you, please heal her!"H4872H6817H3068H559H7495H41014But the LORD said to Moses, "If her father had done nothing more than spit in her face, wouldn't she be defiled for seven days? So keep her outside the camp for seven days, and after that she may be accepted back."H3068H559H4872H1H3417H3417H6440H3637H7651H3117H5462H2351H4264H7651H3117H310H62215So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they traveled again.H4813H5462H2351H4264H7651H3117H5971H5265H4813H62216Then they left Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.H310H5971H5265H2698H2583H4057H6290
Numbers 13
13The LORD now said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H5592"Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes."H7971H582H8446H776H3667H5414H1121H3478H376H4294H1H7971H259H53873So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.H4872H6310H3068H7971H4057H6290H582H1992H7218H1121H34784These were the tribes and the names of their leaders: Reuben Shammua son of ZaccurH8034H4294H7205H8051H1121H21395Simeon Shaphat son of HoriH4294H8095H8202H1121H27536Judah Caleb son of JephunnehH4294H3063H3612H1121H33127Issachar Igal son of JosephH4294H3485H3008H1121H31308Ephraim Hoshea son of NunH4294H669H1954H1121H51269Benjamin Palti son of RaphuH4294H1144H6406H1121H750510Zebulun Gaddiel son of SodiH4294H2074H1427H1121H547611Manasseh son of Joseph Gaddi son of SusiH4294H3130H4294H4519H1426H1121H548512Dan Ammiel son of GemalliH4294H1835H5988H1121H158213Asher Sethur son of MichaelH4294H836H5639H1121H431714Naphtali Nahbi son of VophsiH4294H5321H5147H1121H205815Gad Geuel son of MakiH4294H1410H1345H1121H435216These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)H8034H582H4872H7971H8446H776H4872H7121H1954H1121H5126H309117Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: "Go north through the Negev into the hill country.H4872H7971H8446H776H3667H559H5927H5045H5927H202218See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many.H7200H776H5971H3427H2389H7504H4592H722719See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps?H776H3427H2896H7451H5892H3427H2007H4264H401320Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see." (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)H776H8082H7330H3426H6086H2388H3947H6529H776H3117H3117H1061H602521So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.H5927H8446H776H4057H6790H7340H935H257422Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.)H5927H5045H935H2275H289H8344H8526H3211H6061H2275H1129H7651H8141H6440H6814H471423When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs.H935H5158H812H3772H2156H259H811H6025H5375H8147H4132H7416H838424That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means "cluster"), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.H4725H7121H5158H812H182H811H1121H3478H377225After exploring the land for forty days, the men returnedH7725H8446H776H7093H705H311726to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.H3212H935H4872H175H5712H1121H3478H4057H6290H6946H7725H1697H5712H7200H6529H77627This was their report to Moses: "We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.H5608H559H935H776H7971H2100H2461H1706H652928But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!H657H5971H5794H3427H776H5892H1219H3966H1419H7200H3211H606129The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley."H6002H3427H776H5045H2850H2983H567H3427H2022H3669H3427H3220H3027H338330But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. "Let's go at once to take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!"H3612H2013H5971H4872H559H5927H5927H3423H3201H320131But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. "We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!"H582H5927H559H3201H5927H5971H238932So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: "The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge.H3318H1681H776H8446H1121H3478H559H776H5674H8446H776H398H3427H5971H7200H8432H582H406033We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that's what they thought, too!"H7200H5303H1121H6061H5303H5869H2284H5869
Psalm 43
43Declare me innocent, O God! Defend me against these ungodly people. Rescue me from these unjust liars.H8199H430H7378H7379H3808H2623H1471H6403H4820H5766H3762For you are God, my only safe haven. Why have you tossed me aside? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?H430H4581H2186H1980H6937H3906H3413Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.H7971H216H571H5148H935H6944H2022H49084There I will go to the altar of God, to God—the source of all my joy. I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God!H935H4196H430H410H8057H1524H3658H3034H430H4305Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!H7817H5315H1993H3176H430H3034H3444H6440H430
Columbus, OH
to stand there with you.H3068
