HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 503
NUM B ER S 12
page 133
24 So Moses went out and reported the Lord’s
words to the people. He gathered the seventy
elders and stationed them around the Tabernacle.* 25 And 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.
26 Two 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. 27 A young
man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’
assistant since his youth, protested, “Moses, my
master, make them stop!”
29 But 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!” 30 Then Moses returned to the
camp with the elders of Israel.
The LORD Sends Quail
31 Now 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.*
32 So 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. 33 But 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. 34 So that place was called
Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of
gluttony”) because there they buried the people
who had craved meat from Egypt. 35 From
Kibroth-hattaavah the Israelites traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed for some time.
The Complaints of Miriam and Aaron
While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam
and Aaron criticized Moses because he
had married a Cushite woman. 2 They said, “Has
the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he
spoken through us, too?” But the Lord heard
them. 3 (Now Moses was very humble—more
humble than any other person on earth.)
4 So 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. 5 Then the Lord descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the
12
11:24 Hebrew the tent; also in 11:26. 11:31 Or there were quail
about 3 feet [2 cubits or 92 centimeters] deep on the ground.
11:32 Hebrew 10 homers [2.2 kiloliters]. 12:4 Hebrew the Tent
of Meeting. 12:5 Hebrew the tent; also in 12:10. 12:10 Or
with a skin disease. The Hebrew word used here can describe
various skin diseases.
entrance of the Tabernacle.* “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward. 6 And
the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say:
7
8
“If there were prophets among you,
I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions.
I would speak to them in dreams.
But not with my servant Moses.
Of all my house, he is the one I trust.
I 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?”
9 The Lord was very angry with them, and
he departed. 10 As 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, 11 he cried out
to Moses, “Oh, my master! Please don’t punish
us for this sin we have so foolishly committed.
12 Don’t let her be like a stillborn baby, already
decayed at birth.”
13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “O God,
I beg you, please heal her!”
14 But 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.”
15 So Miriam was kept outside the camp for
seven days, and the people waited until she was
• Conflict
N U M B E R S 12:1-2
How do we best handle disagreements?
We can best handle disagreements by
focusing on the real issue. Miriam and
Aaron criticized Moses for his wife,
something totally unrelated to their real
issue of pride and jealousy. Miriam and
Aaron were jealous that Moses had so
much influence on the people. But since
he was leading the people so well, they
couldn’t find anything to criticize him for
on that issue. The Lord came into this
family conflict and resolved it. When you
have a family disagreement, pray for the
Lord to help you resolve it. Pray also
that you focus on the real issue and not
get sidetracked on secondary things.
Be particularly careful not to attack
someone’s character in order to sidestep
what is really bothering you. The more we
focus on humbling ourselves before God
and others, the less we will be dragged
down by petty issues.