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| 1 And the people were as murmurers, speaking evil in the ears of Jehovah: and when Jehovah heard it, his anger was kindled; and the fire of Jehovah burnt among them, and devoured in the uttermost part of the camp. |
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| 2 And the people cried unto Moses; and Moses prayed unto Jehovah, and the fire abated. |
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| 3 And the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of Jehovah burnt among them. |
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| 4 And the mixed multitude that was among them lusted exceedingly: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? |
A lusting – Typifying God's people seeking worldly doctrines (specifically, Evolution) instead of religious (spiritual) food. R5267:3*
Wept again – To murmur is to dispute the divine wisdom and promises and to long for food of one's own provision. R5306:2,6
The prayers of murmurers, when answered, often bring sorrow. R3061:2
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| 5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt for nought; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlics: |
Remember the fish – How apt are all to remember the pleasures of the sinful condition and to forget its hardships. R3036:3
The world's theories. R5307:1
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| 6 but now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all save the manna to look upon. |
Beside this manna – Representing the living Bread supplied to the world by God in Christ. T122; R4037:5
Divine truth. R5307:1
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| 7 And the manna was like coriander seed, and the appearance thereof as the appearance of bdellium. |
Manna – Meaning "What is it?" R4012:4
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| 8 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. |
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| 9 And when the dew fell upon the camp at night, the manna fell upon it. |
Manna fell upon it – Evidently deposited in, or from, the dew by some power of God working in harmony with the natural laws of chemistry not yet thoroughly understood. R3036:4
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| 10 And Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent: and the anger of Jehovah was kindled greatly; and Moses was displeased. |
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| 11 And Moses said unto Jehovah, Wherefore hast thou dealt ill with thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? |
Moses – Who acted representatively in making the Law covenant with Israel, as Christ acted representatively in bringing it to an end. R1725:3-5
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| 12 Have I conceived all this people? have I brought them forth, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing-father carrieth the suckling child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? |
As a nursing father – God dealt with Moses in making the Law covenant; he stood in the position of a father to the nation and they were regarded and treated as children under age. R5046:3, R1725:3
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| 13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. |
Give us flesh – Desires for worldly doctrines (specifically, Evolution) instead of religious (spiritual) food--Manna. R5267:3*
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| 14 I am not able to bear all this people alone; because it is too heavy for me. |
Is too heavy for me – Moses, instead of being a schemer after power and authority, was really an overworked servant. A47
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| 15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight; and let me not see thy evil. |
Kill me – Moses urged that if this burden must remain with him it would be better for him to die. R5306:4
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| 16 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with thee. |
70 men of the elders – Supposedly the original Sanhedrin. R4037:2, R5306; 4
Elders of the people – The civil government which was established was virtually a democracy. HG533:6
A form of government calculated to cultivate the spirit of liberty. HG534:2
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| 17 And I will 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. |
I will take – Showing Israel's government to be a Theocracy. A46
Put it upon them – Fecundating their minds mechanically, without affecting them in any moral sense. E175
Bear the burden – God granted the prayer of Moses as a proper one. R5307:4
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| 18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore Jehovah will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. |
Ye have wept – The murmurings of the people were classed as their prayers. They got what they desired, but with it a punishment. R5307:4
Let us take heed how we pray. R5307:4
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| 19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days, |
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| 20 but a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you; because that ye have rejected Jehovah who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt? |
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| 21 And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. |
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| 22 Shall flocks and herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to suffice them? |
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| 23 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Is Jehovah’s hand waxed short? now shalt thou see whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. |
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| 24 And Moses went out, and told the people the words of Jehovah: and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the Tent. |
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| 25 And Jehovah came down in the cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, but they did so no more. |
They prophesied – This became a sign to the elders themselves and to all who heard it that they shared responsibility of leadership. R5306:5
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| 26 But there remained two men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but had not gone out unto the Tent; and they prophesied in the camp. |
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| 27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. |
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| 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. |
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| 29 And Moses said unto him, Art thou jealous for my sake? would that all Jehovah’s people were prophets, that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them! |
And Moses – Foreshadowing Christ's willingness to share the honors of the divine nature with the Church. R3553:1
Enviest thou for my sake? – An example of true and guileless statesmanship and meekness. A47
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| 30 And Moses got himself into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. |
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| 31 And there went forth a wind from Jehovah, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and a days journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above the face of the earth. |
Two cubits high – Every spring they come in great flocks and, wearied with the long flight across the Red Sea, fly so low, about two cubits from the ground, that they are easily captured. R4012:3, R5306:5; PD34/45
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| 32 And the people rose up all that day, and all the night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. |
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| 33 While the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the people, and Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague. |
Smote the people – Those who fill themselves with Higher Criticism and Evolutionary theories perish as New Creatures. R5307:1
Very great plague – An insidious pestilence, a fever from overeating. R5306:6, R3061:2
Errors produce a fever which consumes the New Creature. R5307:1
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| 34 And the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people that lusted. |
Kibroth-hattaavah – "Graves of greediness." R5306:6 Buried the people -- Thus did the Lord permit the murmurers to do themselves injury--a lesson for spiritual Israel. R5306:6
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| 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed unto Hazeroth; and they abode at Hazeroth. |
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