Week 52, Day 1: Taberah & Kibroth-hattaavah

Today’s Reading:  Numbers 11:1-35

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

After three days journey from Mt. Sinai Israel begins to complain like thoese who “complain of adversity”.  Adversity?  Marching for three days is adversity?  You can see that from very early on the journey was not going well and would not go well.  Israel’s attitude was not one to have or express confidence in Jehovah.  Because of their complaining God consumed some of the outskirts of the camp with fire.  Thus this place was called “Taberah” or “burning”.   Part of the people’s complaints was that they only had manna to eat.  They started to say how good they had it back in Egypt.  So God said he would give them meat.  He would not give them meat for just a few days but for an entire month.  Moses knew how daunting a task this was.   Moses expressed this when he basically asked God how could this be done for a group of people of 600,000 (vs. 21).  Would it be enough to kill all the flocks and herds (vs. 22)?  But God would provide the meat through quail.  He would send the quail right to their feet.  And here again comes a time when God’s anger was kindled and he struck the people with a severe plague.  When they began to eat the quail God struck them again for their complaining and greed.  This place was called “Kibroth-hattaavah” or “the graves of greediness”.  This kind of an event is very sad to see because of what could have been.  Israel could have petitioned God for meat.  Israel could have trusted in God to carry them safely through their journey and provide well for them, but they didn’t.  How sad.

Question:  Are there times in our lives that we can be guilty of similar complaining or greediness?  Remember Heb 13:5-6

Popularity: unranked [?]