Numbers 11:4 - Meaning and Application

These verses show how badly things had fallen out of order in Israel. The people were restless, and so was the leader. Here we see the people grumbling and speaking against God himself, as Psalm 78:19 explains, even though he had shown his glory and help to them.

The trouble began with the mixed crowd that had come out of Egypt with Israel, and then spread to the Israelites themselves. The mixed crowd were people who had attached themselves to Israel, hoping for the promised land, but not for the hard testing along the way. They were like hangers-on, joining the journey because they did not know how to live well at home and wanted a better life elsewhere. Such people can do great harm in the best communities if they are not checked and discouraged.

Even so, the children of Israel joined in with them. The holy people joined themselves to those who were acting wickedly. The mixed crowd was not counted among Israel, but set aside as people God did not specially regard. Yet Israel forgot their own calling and identity, and followed their example as if the outcasts of the camp should guide the camp itself. A people so near to God, and so highly favored, still brought shame on him. So no one should think that outward profession or privilege will protect them from temptation or judgment, as 1 Corinthians 10:1, 10:2, and 10:12 warn.

Their sin was craving and complaining. They had just been corrected for the same sin, and many had already died under God’s judgment, yet they went right back to it. They praised the food they had in Egypt as if God had wronged them by bringing them out. While they were there, they groaned under heavy slavery, but now they talked as if they had lived like princes. They remembered cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, but they forgot the brick kilns, the taskmasters, the cries of the oppressed, and the whip.

They also grew tired of the good food God had provided. Their food was manna, bread from heaven, angel’s food, and the description in Numbers 11:7-9 shows how unreasonable their complaint was. It was good to eat, pleasing to the eye, wholesome, and nourishing. It was free, since it fell while they slept, and it came by God’s immediate power and kindness, not by ordinary means. It was fresh every morning, and while they ate it, they lived as people almost released from the curse that man must eat bread by the sweat of his face. Still, they spoke of it with contempt and said, “Our souls are dried up.” Discontented hearts always find fault, even with gifts that are better than they deserve.

They also would not be satisfied unless they had meat. They had brought large flocks and herds out of Egypt, but they either would not kill them because they wanted to keep their wealth, or they wanted something more refined than ordinary meat. Bread was not enough, and food was not enough, they wanted a feast. They had already eaten from the peace offerings and shared in God’s table, but that was still not enough for them. This shows how strong the fleshly mind is when we keep pushing for every pleasure to the highest level. Proverbs 23:1-3 warns us not to crave rich food. If God gives us what is suitable, we should be thankful, even if we do not have the best of every delicacy.

They also doubted whether God could provide for them. “Who will give us meat to eat?” meant, in effect, that they did not think God could do it. Yet he had already given them meat once before, when he saw fit, as in Exodus 16:13. They could have expected the same mercy again if they had prayed instead of complaining. It offends God when our desires stretch beyond our faith. They were also impatient and demanding, craving with great force until they wept again in frustration. They would not bring this desire to God, but wanted satisfaction from anywhere else. We should not indulge any desire that we cannot honestly turn into prayer, as Psalm 78:18 says about asking for food for selfish cravings.

For this sin, the Lord was greatly angered against them. Scripture records it for our warning, so we should not crave evil things the way they did (1 Corinthians 10:6). Meat is a good gift, and people may lawfully eat it. Yet they are said to have lusted after evil things, because what is lawful in itself becomes wrong for us when God has not given it to us, and we still hunger for it.

Moses himself, though a very meek and good man, was upset by this situation. Moses was displeased. We should admit that their complaint was very serious. Their grumbling dishonored God, and Moses also felt the insults aimed at him. He knew he was doing all he could for their good, and that he could do nothing apart from God’s direction. Still, to be constantly worn down by such unreasonable and ungrateful people would have strained even Moses’ temper. God understood this, and we do not read that He rebuked Moses for feeling troubled.

Even so, Moses spoke in ways that were not fitting for him, and in these complaints he fell short of his duty to God and Israel. He did not give enough weight to the honor God had given him by making him the remarkable servant of His power and grace in delivering and leading that special people. That honor should have been enough to outweigh the burden. He also complained too much about a real but small hardship, taking the noise and fatigue too heavily to heart. If he could not bear the work of ruling, which was like running with foot soldiers, how would he bear the terrors of war, which would be like contending with horses?

He could have found plenty of reasons to treat their complaints lightly and not make much of them. He also seems to have made too much of his own efforts, as if the whole burden of the people rested on him alone, when in fact God was easing him of it. Moses did not need to worry about finding their lodging or their food, because God provided those things. And if a difficult matter came up, he did not need to be in distress, because he had the Lord’s oracle to consult, God’s wisdom to guide him, God’s authority to support him, and God’s power to hand out reward and punishment.

He also did not seem as mindful as he should have been of the duty placed on him by God’s command. Since they were not his own children, he implied that he was not bound to care for them like a father, though God had appointed him to act as a father to them. He also took too much on himself when he asked, “Where am I to get meat for them?” (Numbers 11:13), as if he were the household provider and not God. Moses did not give them bread (John 6:32), and he was never expected to give them meat except as God’s instrument. If he meant, “Where is God going to get it for them?” then he was limiting the power of the Holy One of Israel.

He spoke in distrust when he despaired of being able to bear all these people (Numbers 11:14). If the task had been much smaller, he could not have done it in his own strength. But if it had been much greater, he could have done it with God strengthening him. Worst of all, he passionately wished for death and asked to be killed at once because life had become hard for him at that moment (Numbers 11:15). Is this Moses, the meekest of all men on the earth? Even the best believers have weaknesses, and they sometimes fail in the very grace for which they are best known.

Yet God graciously overlooked Moses’ outburst at this time, so we should not be harsh in judging it. Instead, we should pray, “Lord, lead us not into temptation.”