Old Testament - Numbers 11-12 -- May 9, 2022

 5/9/2022 – Numbers 11-12

Numbers 11

The first line of the first verse is: “And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord”. Their complaints were so loud and long that the Lord’s “anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.”

That got the Israelites even more worried, and riled up, and crying for Moses to do something. Moses’s answer was to go to the Lord in prayer again…and “the fire was quenched”. 

But unfortunately, the Israelites were not satisfied for very long, as they started to cry and complain that even though they had manna every single day, they missed eating meat and fish, and melons, and cucumbers, leeks, onions, garlic…. That did it for Moses. He went back to the Lord asking why he had to deal with ALL OF THEIR PROBLEMS! Moses told the Lord that he, Moses, was not their mother! And there was not any way that he could deal with all their multitude of picky complaints, and their not even remembering the amazing blessings of the daily manna always there for them now. 

The Lord recognized that Moses had more than he could handle, and told Moses to call 70 men to help carry the load of these childish people, and He also promised in v 17 that He would then “come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.”  

The Lord then taught the Israelites a lesson: He gave them what they were asking for: meat! And then he promised “Ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord….Ye shall not eat one day, not two days, nor five days, neither ten days, not twenty days, but even a whole month , until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt.” 18-20. The Lord was certainly helping them, but they wanted the Lord not just to help them, but to do it ALL for them. And that is not how the Lord works.

The student manual gives a good explanation about what is going on here: “As the Israelites traveled in the wilderness, Moses grew weary of their murmuring and sought help from the Lord.” That’s the good news…the way to fix problems…seeking help from the Lord. And those efforts worked for Moses. But the things that didn’t work out well came from Miriam and Aaron who spent their efforts in criticizing Moses. That’s when the Lord stepped in again and chastised Miriam and Aaron for speaking against the Lord’s chosen servant.  The Lord will answer our prayers, but He does so in a way that will help us learn and grow. He does help us, but He also requires our efforts. When we fail to recognize His blessings, we then begin to be ungrateful servants to the Lord—and that is not a good place to be in. The best place to be in—whether in good times or difficult times—is to be spiritually prepared, and close enough to our Father, to receive, and to recognize His revelations to us, and to follow His promptings.

Numbers 12

This chapter continues to teach us by noting in the scriptures the wrong way to respond to the Lord. “Miriam and Aaron [who were there to help Moses] spake against Moses … Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us?” v’s 1-2.   V 3 confirms that “Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.”  That’s quite a statement!

The Lord is once again ticked with the behavior of the Israelites, and He “spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam” (v 4) He spoke out of a cloud and called Miriam and Aaron to come forward”. “Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” He goes on to speak particularly of Moses: “With him will I speak mouth to mouth.” (v’s 6 & 8)

In v’s 10-16 we see that the Lord punishes Miriam with leprosy. Moses who had been blamed and belittled by Miriam immediately pleads with concern and love for the Lord to heal her. The Lord responds to Moses appeal by sending the leprous Miriam out of the camp for 7 days, and then she was able to return to the group without leprosy, AND without anger against Moses and having learned more about following the Lord.

Boyd K Packer explained: “The Lord’s house is a house of order. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that ‘it is contrary to the economy of God for any member of the Church, or any one [else], to receive instruction for those in authority, higher than themselves’ [Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 21]. “You may receive revelation individually, as a parent for your family, or for those for whom you are responsible as a leader or teacher, having been properly called and set apart. “If one becomes critical and harbors negative feelings, the Spirit will withdraw. (I want to remember that statement!) Only when they repent will the Spirit return. My experience is that the channels of inspiration always follow that order. You are safe following your leaders” (“Personal Revelation: The Gift, the Test, and the Promise,” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 61).