Despite the blessings the Israelites received from the Lord, their fear and lack of faith often caused them to wish they had not left Egypt. Their yearning for Egypt delayed and complicated their journey to the promised land.
The Lord sent the Israelites quail and smote them with a plague (Numbers 11)
Numbers 11:4-6 – Even though manna was a great
blessing from the Lord, the Israelites began to think about the meat and other
foods they had enjoyed while in Egypt, so they began to complain about the
manna. Wanting more than we already
have can be dangerous to our temporal and spiritual welfare.
In their whining over the lack of meat and what they missed
about Egypt, they lost sight of their goal to obtain the promised land and they
began to regret leaving Egypt. In our times, we can observe people giving up
great blessings and opportunities in order to satisfy their immediate lusts and
desires. While this may be expected
among some, we need to think seriously sometimes about how we can avoid such
mistakes and misguided priorities.
Studying the scriptures and understanding the lessons taught therein, we
should focus ourselves on the plan of salvation and eternal goals that are
worthy of our attention.
Numbers 11:18-20; 31-33 details how the Lord answered their desire for meat and the consequences that accompanied their lustful consumption of the quail.
Numbers 11:14-17 shows that Moses became so burdened by the sins of his people, he asked the Lord to take his life. The Lord gave him some relief as seventy men were called to assist Moses.
Numbers 11:24-29. The seventy elders of Israel were
given the spirit of the Lord and the gift of prophecy.
Miriam and Aaron were chastened for speaking against
Moses (Numbers
12)
Numbers 12:2 - Miriam and Aaron criticized
Moses, their presiding authority, for taking an Ethiopian woman as a wife. They
pointed out that they too had received revelation.
Numbers 12:5-10 contains the Lord’s reply to
Aaron and Miriam’s complaints. His anger was kindled against them as is shown
by Miriam’s immediate punishment of leprosy.
Speaking about the limits of our rights to receive
revelation, Elder James E. Faust said: “The prophets, seers, and revelators have had and
still have the responsibility and privilege of receiving and declaring the word
of God for the world. Individual
members, parents, and leaders have the right to receive revelation for their
own responsibility but have no duty nor right to declare the word of God beyond
the limits of their own responsibility” (Ensign, Nov. 1989,
8).
Numbers 12:3 says that “Moses was very meek”. President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “Meekness implies a spirit
of gratitude as opposed to an attitude of self-sufficiency, an acknowledgement
of a greater power beyond oneself, a recognition of God, and an acceptance of
his commandments” (Ensign, Aug. 1988, 3-4).
Numbers 12:13-15 shows Moses’ meekness when he saw
Miriam’s punishment for rebelling against him.
Rather than being pleased with his authority to preside over his sister,
he pleaded with the Lord to heal her.
He even had their journey halted until she was healed. As we consider his example, we should
cultivate the attribute of meekness so that we may demonstrate it when others
criticize or turn against us. Responding in meekness is consistent with the
later teachings of Jesus to turn the other cheek.
A dozen men were sent to search the land of Canaan (Numbers 13-14)
Numbers 13:17-20 records Moses’ actions when they
reached the border of Canaan.
Numbers 13:23-27 tells us that the spies reported
the land was flowing with milk and honey!
Numbers 13:28-33 - ten of the men had returned in
fear and caused the people to murmur against Moses. As President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “Ten of the spies were
victims of their own doubts and fears. They gave a negative report of the
numbers and stature of the Canaanites…They compared themselves as grasshoppers
to the giants they had seen in the land…We see some around us who are
indifferent concerning the future of this work, who are apathetic, who speak of
limitations, who express fears, who spend their time digging out and writing
about what they regard to be weaknesses which really are of no consequence.
With doubt concerning its past, they have no vision concerning its future” (Ensign,
Nov. 1995, 71).
Obviously, we need to be extremely careful that we do not
fall into such a faithless pattern of behavior.
Numbers 13:30; 14:6-9 – The report from Caleb and
Joshua differed from their 10 companions. They were unafraid because they knew
the Lord was with Israel.
Referring to such situations as this where faith needs to
overcome any doubts, President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “There is no place in this
work for those who believe only in the gospel of doom and gloom. The gospel is good news. It is a message of triumph. It is a cause to be embraced with enthusiasm. The Lord never said that there would not be
troubles. Our people have known
afflictions of every sort as those who have opposed this work have come upon
them. But faith has shown through all
their sorrows. This work has
consistently moved forward and has never taken a backward step since its
inception… This is an age of pessimism.
Ours is a mission of faith. To
my brothers and sisters everywhere, I call upon you to reaffirm your faith, to
move this work forward across the world.
You can make it stronger by the manner in which you live” (Ensign,
Nov. 1995, 71-72).
Numbers 14:10 demonstrates just how faithless
the people were as they desired to stone Caleb and Joshua after those brethren
testified to them and tried to motivate and encourage them.
*Numbers 14:22-23, 26-37 (portions cited above)
says the Lord banished the unbelieving men from the promised land because they
provoked him repeatedly. The “evil congregation” was to
die in the wilderness. The other ten
spies died “by
the plague”, yet Caleb and Joshua lived on in faithfulness.
Moses made a serpent of brass and told
the people to look at it to be healed (Num. 21:1-9)
Numbers 21:6-7 records that the Lord sent fiery
serpents among them when the Israelites continued to murmur even after the
Canaanites had been defeated because of the protection of the Lord. To their credit, the murmuring people got
the message and responded with repentance.
Numbers 21:8-9 – To overcome the danger of the
serpents, Moses was instructed to mount a brass serpent on a pole and inform
the people to look to it when they were bitten and they would be healed.
In the Book of Mormon, Nephi and Alma taught that many
Israelites died rather than look upon the brass serpent. 1 Nephi 17:41
and Alma 33:18-20 tell us why they refused to look—because they had
hardened their hearts and besides that, looking at a brass serpent was just too
simple and easy.
John 3:14-16, Helaman 8:13-14 tells us
that the raised serpent was a type of Christ being raised up on the cross. Just as the children of Israel needed to
look to the brass serpent to live, we need to look to the Savior to receive
eternal life. Looking to Christ means that we must look to him for guidance,
for his example, his teachings and commandments, and his counsel through his
prophets on how we are to live righteously. Speaking of our need to look to
Christ, Elder Carlos E. Asay said: “We, like Israel of old, must rivet our eyes and
minds upon…Christ if we hope to gain eternal life…Our looks must not be allowed
to wander across the way or to become fixed upon the perishable things of the
world. The eye…must be trained to look
upward. We must look to God and live!” (Ensign,
Nov. 1978, 54).
Alma taught that just as the way to be healed from the fiery
serpents was easy, the way to eternal life is easy (Alma 37:46). In the sense that the saving principles of
the gospel of Jesus Christ are simple, clear, and can be followed by all, the
way is easy. The complications usually
attributed to trying to live the gospel are frequently the result of people
trying to live only parts of the gospel while still retaining some worldly ways
and unholy attitudes. The gospel way is truly easy if we have faith in Christ,
repent and chose righteousness, accept baptism of water and of the spirit, pray
for guidance and strength daily, and obey the commandments faithfully. The key is to focus our lives on the
Savior.
Look past the things of the world and be unafraid of the “giants” that
distract us from the things that are most important. If we will “look upon the Son of God
with faith” (Helaman 8:15) and follow his prophets, we will
be blessed in this life and in the life to come.
These
lessons are posted on the Internet at http://www.neumanninstitute.org/