The Grumbling Again Flares Up: Murmuring For Meat Instead Of Manna (Numbers 11:4-15).
What follows brings home to us something of the condition of many of the people. They were not on the whole a people of quiet faith, but a people full of doubts and worries, and in no mental condition to face the rigours of the desert. They had been delivered from slavery and did not have the backbone for what they had to face. That was why Yahweh had sought to counter this at Sinai, both by His firm covenant and His giving of the Dwellingplace as a visible sign among them. But they had on the whole not responded in true faith and were thus vulnerable.
The passage is constructed as follows:
a The rabble sinfully desire delicacies (Numbers 11:4 a).
b The people cry, ‘who will give us flesh to eat?' (Numbers 11:4 b).
c The description of their complaint (Numbers 11:5-6).
d Description of the manna (Numbers 11:7-8).
d The manna falls (Numbers 11:9).
c The description of Moses complaint (Numbers 11:10-12).
b The people weep saying, ‘Give us flesh that we may eat' (Numbers 11:13).
a Moses sinfully desires to die (Numbers 11:14-15).
‘And the rabble who were among them were filled with strong cravings (lusted exceedingly), and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, “Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt which cost us nothing; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic, but now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all save this manna to look on.'
What was more there were ‘rabble' among them who were seeking to stir things up. The rabble are often considered to be ‘the mixed multitude' of Exodus 12:38 but there are no real grounds for blaming the mixed multitude here. That was the result of the racism of the LXX translators who looked for somewhere to put the blame. Indeed most of the mixed multitude had probably been absorbed into Israel as a result of Sinai. The term used here is totally different from Exodus 12:38. Here it is the ‘rabble', the low life among the people (asaphsuph - the ‘gathering of reeds', useless things, promising much but offering little), who were involved, those possessed by pure greed and godlessness, and full of their own importance and jealous of Moses.
There are always a troublesome minority among all peoples. In this case these were the ones who started the complaints and stirred up the people, so that dissatisfaction soon spread and clearly deeply upset a people already traumatised by the conditions they were travelling under. It had caught them unprepared, even though Yahweh had tried to prepare them. The stronger were undermining the weaker. We must all be careful when we begin to murmur that we do not undermine the faith of others. Those who are strong need to bear the burdens of those who are weak (Romans 15:1), not undermine them.
But the malcontents could not have succeeded if Israel had been looking to Yahweh and the things of the Spirit. Note that while the Israelites mentioned ‘flesh' they were thinking rather of a change of diet, as their list of the pleasures of Egypt brings out. In their list they did not actually mention meat specifically, but fish and vegetables. What they wanted was something different from the manna. It is true that they could have eaten their cattle and sheep (although see Numbers 11:22), but they would be reluctant to do that when they were not actually starving. Those were necessary for the future ahead. Such eating was not essential. They had the manna to keep them alive. But what they wanted were delicacies, and a change of diet. Note their contemptuous dismissal of ‘this manna'. When they had been starving they had delighted in it. Now their stomachs were full they were not satisfied with it. They were lacking in appreciation and gratitude because enjoyment of food had become more important to them than appreciating God.
The point was not that they were hungry, as they had been in the Wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16:3), but that they were living on a permanent diet of manna. It was the struggle of the flesh against the spirit. Had their hearts been set on Yahweh they would have rejoiced to receive the manna from His hands. They would have been full of joy continually. But greed for delicious food was so strong that they wept. Their thoughts were purely selfish. They did not want to have to wait for ‘milk and honey' in the future, they wanted it now. The manna had once been welcomed enthusiastically. Now it was taken for granted. It had become monotonous and prosaic. They just felt that they had had enough. They wanted the good things of life. They had reached a low level.
So their minds went back to the freely available fish in Egypt that they could catch in the Nile and its tributaries, the abundance of watermelons with their rich, cool satisfying taste, so plentiful in their season that even the poorest could afford them, and all the other delicious foods that they had once enjoyed. Forgotten was the penury and servitude. Their eyes were gluttonous and fixed on food. The foods described are all of a type that the poor in Egypt would eat. Onions flourished better in Egypt than elsewhere, and had a mild and pleasant taste. According to Herodotus ii. 125, they were the ordinary food of the workmen at the pyramids. They still form a basic food for the poor there, and are also a favourite dish with all classes, either roasted, or boiled as a vegetable, and eaten with meat. Garlic is mentioned by Herodotus in connection with onions, as forming a leading article of food with the Egyptian workmen
We may look askance at Israel but we are not so different. Even today the Bread of Life (John 6:35) can become monotonous and prosaic to us because of our sinful hearts, so that it results in extremes in religion which are not helpful. Men become bored with true goodness, and meditation on the word of God. They want excitement that panders to the flesh, dressed up as spirituality. Or they seek to the flesh pots of Egypt.
‘And the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance as the appearance of bdellium.'
The manna is described. It was in deliberate contrast to the luxuries of Egypt. All they had was this one small ‘seed'. It was in shape and size somewhat like coriander seeds. Coriander seeds are from the fruit of the Coriandrum sativum (of the natural order Umbelliferae), which was a plant indigenous around the Mediterranean and extensively cultivated. It was used for medicinal and culinary purposes from at least 1500 BC. The fruits are aromatic and were thought to assist flatulence. They are of a greyish-yellow colour, ribbed, globular and oval, and in size about twice that of a hemp-seed being about four millimetres in diameter. Bdellium is a pale yellow transluscent resin. Exodus 16:14; Exodus 16:31 says that the manna was flaky like hoar frost, white and tasting like honey. Thus manna was like small flaky seeds, and probably whitish-yellow and smooth.
More modern examples have been cited of an unidentified white substance which one morning covered a fairly large area of ground in Natal and was eaten by the natives, and also of falls of whitish, odourless, tasteless matter in Southern Algeria which, at a time of unusual weather conditions, covered tents and vegetation each morning. While not being the same as the Manna, or lasting over so long a period, these do indicate the kind of natural phenomena which God may have used to bring about His miracle.
‘The people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it, and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.'
It was collected in pots and ground in their hand-mills or beaten in mortars, it was then boiled or turned into cakes and tasted like the taste of fresh olive oil, reminding the people of honey. So they clearly tried different ways of making it enjoyable. But nothing could fully relieve its monotony. However, as long as they were not greedy it never made them ill (Exodus 16:20). Had their faith been strong they would have accepted it gladly from the hand of God because their satisfaction was elsewhere and was spiritual. But they were carnal and their food meant a lot to them, while God did not. So they broke down at the thought of what they were missing, they ‘wept'. They felt sorry for themselves.
“The taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.” It was good and wholesome. But the people did not want what was good and wholesome, they wanted what tickled the palate. They wanted the lusts of the flesh and not the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16 onwards).
‘And when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.'
It fell during the early morning after the dew. It was probably the result of the unusual weather conditions at the time, coming from we know not where. But in the end it was ‘from heaven'. The reason for giving this information about the manna was in order to remind the readers of how good God was being to His people.
‘And Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent, and the anger of Yahweh was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased.'
The influence of the rabble, no doubt deliberately spread among the remainder so as to undermine Moses, had reached deep into the hearts of the ordinary people. This comes out in that Moses heard them weeping ‘throughout their families' in their tents. That is quite a disturbing statement and illustrates the state that some of them were in. We must not underestimate it. Their faith had collapsed, and they were totally disillusioned.
We must not see these as people in a fairly good state of mind just muttering because they were dissatisfied. Rather, because their thoughts were not on God, they were very vulnerable and were being deeply affected by the rabble. They had begun to feel very sorry for themselves and did not have sufficient faith to sustain them. They were collapsing inwardly. They were not used to standing up for themselves.
The picture is quite vivid. The whole of Israel were weeping. This was hardly natural, but after all their sufferings this round of discontent had proved one step too much. The traumatic effect of making their way through the desert and the wilderness, together with the boring nature of the manna, had clearly been brought home to them in a forceful way through the complaining of the rabble so that they were genuinely on the point of despair, and in a desperate state of mind. All their fears and worries were coming out as a result. They were on the verge of break down. They had passed the point of being able to cope. But had their hearts been fixed on Yahweh it would not have happened. The problem was that all their thoughts were fixed on themselves.
Yahweh saw it and was ‘angry'. That is, in His righteousness He felt an aversion to their behaviour, for He knew what lay at the root of it, unbelief. He had delivered them from Egypt, He had provided them with the manna, and they were so ungrateful and so worldly minded that they were actually despising both and wishing He had never bothered. They were forgetting, as He had not, how desperate they had been then (Exodus 2:23). All that He had planned for them now mattered to them not a jot. All they wanted was to enjoy filling their bellies with delicious food. How strange man is that he can allow temporary longings to so replace his confidence in eternal realities for such an unimportant reason.
Moses too was ‘displeased'. That is, he was upset within himself. The whole situation was getting on top of him, as what follows demonstrates.
‘And Moses said to Yahweh, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favour in your sight, that you lay on me the burden of all this people?'
Moses was aware of how the people were feeling, and how deeply it had gone. As he walked around the camp and heard their distress he found it hard to bear. He felt the pressures piling up on him too as he witnessed their condition. And he went to Yahweh with his problems. He did have sufficient faith, but it needed bolstering.
He asked Yahweh why He had brought on him the burden of this people, a burden he was finding too difficult. Why had Yahweh dealt so ill with him? Why had Yahweh's graciousness to him been so lacking? He was finding it hard to cope with their misery. Why had he been given the responsibility of a father for children not his own?
This prayer of Moses itself follows a chiastic pattern:
a ‘Why have you evil entreated your servant?' (Numbers 11:11 a)
b Why have I not found favour in your sight? (Numbers 11:11 b)
c That you lay the burden of all this people on me. (Numbers 11:11 c)
d Have I conceived all this people? Have I brought them forth (Numbers 11:12 a)
e That you should say to me carry them in your bosom -- (Numbers 11:12 b)
d From where should I have flesh to give to all this people? (Numbers 11:13)
c I am not able to bear all this people alone -- (Numbers 11:14)
b Kill me out of hand if I have found favour in your sight (Numbers 11:15 a)
a Let me not see my wretchedness (Numbers 11:15 b)
‘Have I conceived all this people? Have I brought them forth, that you should say to me, “Carry them in your bosom, as a nursing-father carries the sucking child, to the land which you swear to their fathers?”
He used the illustration of a father and mother who recognised their responsibility for their own children. But, he pointed out, he was not their father, he had not conceived them. Nor was he their mother who had brought them forth into the world. They were not relations of his. Why then should he have to act towards them as a nursing-father, carrying them in his bosom like a father carries his babes in a sling? Why had he to be the one to bring them to the land of their fathers which Yahweh had sworn to their fathers to give them? Why should he have to carry their burdens?
Moses probably intended here an indirect reminder to God of Who it was Who was their father, Who it was Who had begotten them and brought them forth (Exodus 4:25; Deuteronomy 1:31; Deuteronomy 14:1; Deuteronomy 32:18; Isaiah 1:2; Isaiah 63:16). They were really God's problem not his. He was pointing out that while God could cope with them, he could not.
We note here an interesting commencement to the building up of the picture of the undeserving of Israel. Here Moses was exasperated with them. In Numbers 14:11-12 it would be Yahweh Who became exasperated with them, and in Numbers 14:26-35 it would be Yahweh Who was so exasperated that it would be fatal for that generation of Israel.
It is clear that the people's distress had really bitten deeply into Moses. Up to this point he had been mainly sustained by seeing their gratitude to be free of Egypt, and their willingness in spite of some failures to respond, and by his desire to bring glory to Yahweh. But now it appeared to him that all that had gone and he was being made responsible for it all. The people were not behaving as he had expected. And he felt unable to cope. He felt at a total loss. He felt it was no longer worth while.
How often we begin something enthusiastically when all seems to be going well. But then the problems set in and people become lethargic and even grumble and murmur. It is at that point that we often feel like giving up. But if it is of God we have no right to consider giving up. What we must do is what Moses did. Cast ourselves on God, grit out teeth, and go on.
“From where should I have flesh to give to all this people? For they weep to me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.”
The heart of Moses comes out here. He had a real concern for the people, and his inability to meet their needs was really hurting. He too had begun to cease looking to Yahweh. Instead his eyes were on the people and their need, and he could not cope with it. It was breaking his heart. That is why he wanted to be done with it.
It is a reminder that when we face the great need of others we must beware of being so taken up with the need that we forget God, otherwise it will be too much for us. It will get us down too. Sometimes we can only survive by fixing our minds on doing God's will rather than letting people's conditions affect us. Otherwise it will destroy us like it was destroying Moses. Sometimes, when conditions are really bad, love has to be harsh, and keep itself held in, in order to survive. There are limits to what a man can take. God alone can keep us under such conditions.
So in his love for the people Moses felt totally inadequate. He felt that he was just unable to help them. The situation was impossible. They were deeply upset, and clearly on the edge of breaking down. But where on earth was he going to get meat for all these people in the wilderness? The whole situation was getting on top of him, and he felt very much alone.
“I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.”
He frankly told God that he could no longer carry all this burden on his own. It was too much for him. The burden was too heavy. When we find ourselves in what seems an impossible position it pays to be frank with God. It will not make Him any different, but it will help us considerably.
“And if you deal with me in this way, kill me, I pray you, out of hand, if I have found favour in your sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.”
Indeed he was so upset that he asked God that he might die. He was staring failure in the face. If God had any pity on him let Him kill him as He had once sought to do (Exodus 4:24). He could not bear any longer seeing his own inadequacy in the face of the crying needs of these people. He could not bear the wretchedness and helplessness that he felt. He could not bear the thought of letting God down. He wanted out.