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Prayer Time

Make a list of issues within your own congregation, or within the larger church, where the special guidance of the Spirit is needed, and pray daily about these issues.

How the Drama Develops NUMBERS 7–21

If our drama is going to develop properly, we have to get the Israelites to the promised land, since that is where their destiny is to be worked out.

Faith and impatience are sworn enemies. To have faith means to be willing to wait.

—From Strong Was Her Faith: Women of the New Testament (2007, 2012); page 22.

But it’s a difficult journey. And most of the difficulties have to do with common problems. One might think these biblical personalities would portray issues of titanic importance, in the style of a Greek drama. Instead, we’re dealing with matters like the water supply, unhappiness with the menu, a committee that malfunctions, and a variety of people who are jealous of the leader. That display of problems might seem trivial, but it also sounds familiar. And it indicates, on one hand, how “normal” the Israelites were, and on the other, how the everyday issues of life can be monumental in their long-term results.

Part of the trouble came from some people who are described in our translation as “the rabble” (Numbers 11:4). They were non-Israelites who had followed the Jews out of Egypt, or perhaps had joined the company along the way. Probably they were adventurers, the kind of people who had nothing to lose. So they recklessly threw themselves in with this new enterprise. They may also have been ne’er-do-wells, the kind of people who go from one uncertain venture to another.

I expect a student of human nature would say such persons would probably be the first to complain. The diet of manna grows tiresome; and suddenly they have a strong memory of the fish, the garlic, the leeks, and the onions they used to enjoy in Egypt. That kind of talk is contagious. Grumbling is one of the most infectious of all human diseases. I’ve known times in my life when I joined chorus with grumblers when, in truth, I wasn’t even unhappy. And the fallout from grumbling is unbelievable. See that when the people begin grumbling so fiercely, Moses himself becomes a grumbler, turning on God: “Why have you treated your servant so badly?” (11:11).

I expect it is this grumbling that gave fuel to the complaints of Miriam and Aaron (Numbers 12) and the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16). Those who begin revolutions generally do so only if they sense a market for their wares. It’s interesting that in both cases the rebellion was based on an appeal for democracy, of sorts; in each instance the leaders insisted God might speak through them as well as through Moses (or in the later case, Moses and Aaron). Mind you, these persons weren’t making an argument for the mass of people—just for themselves!

The greatest debacle, of course, came in the exploration committee. It all seemed so logical. With the land of promise within reach, a blueribbon committee—a man from each tribe—was sent to spy out the land and bring back a report. (Might the committee have done differently if it had included some women?) The twelve were agreed on one thing, the wonderful fruitfulness of the land; that data was hard to resist. The issue at odds was, it seems to me (and forgive me for seeming to oversimplify), a matter of faith. The majority group was convinced that they would be overwhelmed by the enemy, while the minority—Joshua and Caleb—were confident that, the Lord being with them, they could conquer.

And that’s the way it is on the way to the promised land.