Some Challenging Directions from the Lord to the Brother of Jared

And it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel. (Ether 2:5)

It is interesting that the Lord directed the brother of Jared to take the people into an area where man had never gone before. Now, people are pretty adventurous, so when there’s a place no one has gone before, it is usually because the route looks really forbidding and desolate. So it might have looked like there was a really good reason no one had gone that way.

But if the Lord wanted them to take that route, it was because He knew more about it than man did, that He saw it had the resources to supply their needs even if it didn’t appear to.  (And if it didn’t, He could provide by miracle and build their faith.)  It would take faith to follow the Lord’s directions, trust that it would be alright when appearances were against it.

Not everyone has the faith to do this kind of thing. In Numbers 20:1-8, the children of Israel were led to the desert of Zin where there was no water, and they gathered against Moses to complain, wishing they had died before then and wondering why they had been led there. A miracle brought them water, but even if they hadn’t complained, they would have needed the miracle anyway.  But it would have been better for them if they could have refrained from complaining at all and simply recognized their need for a miracle.

So, lesson #1 – The Lord may lead us in ways that don’t look very possible, and it takes faith to follow.

Lesson #2 – The Lord wants us to learn to depend on Him, so He will bring us by ways that require us to do that.

Lesson #3 – The Lord brings us to places where miracles are required so that we can experience what He is capable of doing. But these places also require a lot of faith from us too.

Lesson #4 – It is best not to murmur when we are stuck and simply realize we need miracles and ask for them.

Elder Maxwell on Doubts

Gotta love Elder Neal A. Maxwell.

The following quotes about doubts came from a section in the Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book, which also cites the individual books those quotes came from:

The shouts and barbs from those in doubt are sometimes not criticism at all, but frustration at not yet having found the “iron rod”—something solid in a world of too many marshmallow men and too many chameleon causes. (A Time to Choose, p.6)

Notice at the bottom of this kind of doubt is frustration at a lack of certainty.  From my experience of having had a crisis of faith, that lack of certainty can be very painful. And from that perspective, the results of living the doctrine can seem uncertain too, cloaked, as it seems, in the mist of the future.  How much does one dare to trust it?  Will God make good on His promises?  (Yes, He does, but our faith must be tried.)

Elder Maxwell also notes that this is a world of “too many marshmallow men and too many chameleon causes.”   Acquaintance with too many of these can make us think that the kingdom of God is one of them.  Or if we leave the church for some other cause that seems more weighty, we will find to our sorrow that once we have fully weighed it, it is still found wanting, leaving our own wanting unfulfilled.

To host an if is like hosting an insect that breeds and multiplies in the sun of circumstance. Soon one is crawling with ifs and is thereby overcome. (Even As I Am, p74)

The “if” that Maxwell talks about is more like a “what if.”  I would add that when hosting an if, it may feel as if you are feeding off it, but it is feeding off you and sucking out the vitality of faith. He compares it to hosting an insect because these doubts are parasitic. They don’t add anything or help you do anything. 

There are two ways to deal with them.  1) Forget about them and get to work living the practical gospel. Acting to keep commandments builds faith.  “Tis better far for us to strive, our useless cares from us to drive.” 2) Treat them like ticks and confront them with the tweezers of faith-filled argument: write them down and then eviscerate them on paper. 

Doubters often pool their doubts by associating with like-minded individuals, each bringing his own favorite “dish” as if to a potluck dinner. (That Ye May Believe, p. 191)

Thus, even if you badly want validation when in the midst of doubts, don’t go looking for other doubters to kvetch with. That’s kind of like going to a doctor-less hospital in which sick people go around infecting each other in the name of palliative care.  Instead, you need strong, thinking believers with big hearts.   You need people willing to share their reasons for belief, and who love in such a way that you’ll see there’s room for you in the church.

By not being actively involved in the process of faith, doubters simply do not receive reinforcing rewards. They also resent the lack of sympathetic vibrations from the faithful each time doubters themselves oscillate in response to what they suppose is some “new evidence” to the contrary. (Lord, Increase Our Faith, p.89)

It seems to me that if people find themselves oscillating in response to “new evidence” they think contradicts their faith, it is time to take a careful look at what the foundations of their testimony is and whether they are keeping the commandments as given in the Beatitudes.  Testimony has to be rooted in Christ and the prophets.  It is kept strong by doing the commandments. 

24 ¶Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Matt. 7:24-27)

Murmur Not

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My husband and I are reading old conference talks as part of our scripture study at the end of the year. 

We ran across this gem of a talk from Elder Neal A. Maxwell in the October 1989 conference entitled “Murmur Not.”   It is as applicable today as it ever was when it was given.

A basic cause of murmuring is that too many of us seem to expect that life will flow ever smoothly, featuring an unbroken chain of green lights with empty parking places just in front of our destinations!

In its extremity, murmuring reflects not only the feelings of the discontented, but also the feelings of the very conflicted:

“Their sorrowing was … the sorrowing of the damned, because [they could not] take happiness in sin.

“And [yet] they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they would struggle with the sword for their lives.” (Morm. 2:13–14.) . . . .

First, the murmurer often lacks the courage to express openly his concerns. If the complaint concerns a peer, the murmurer seldom follows Jesus’ counsel, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” (Matt. 18:15.)

Second, murmurers make good conversational cloak holders. Though picking up no stones themselves, they provoke others to do so.

Third, while a murmurer insists on venting his own feelings, he regards any response thereto as hostile. (See 2 Ne. 1:26.) Furthermore, murmurers seldom take into account the bearing capacity of their audiences.

Fourth, murmurers have short memories. Israel arrived in Sinai, then journeyed on to the Holy Land though they were sometimes hungry and thirsty. But the Lord rescued them, whether by the miraculous appearance by quail or by water struck from a rock. (See Num. 11:31; Ex. 17:6.) Strange, isn’t it, brothers and sisters, how those with the shortest memories have the longest lists of demands! However, with no remembrance of past blessings, there is no perspective about what is really going on. . . .

Perhaps when we murmur we are unconsciously complaining over not being able to cut a special deal with the Lord. We want full blessings but without full obedience to the laws upon which those blessings are predicated. For instance, some murmurers seem to hope to reshape the Church to their liking by virtue of their murmuring. But why would one want to belong to a church that he could remake in his own image, when it is the Lord’s image that we should come to have in our countenances? (See Alma 5:19.)

The doctrines are His, brothers and sisters, not ours. The power is His to delegate, not ours to manipulate!

One especially fundamental fact about murmuring is contained in this verse: “And thus Laman and Lemuel … did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.” (1 Ne. 2:12.)

There are some extreme forms of murmuring that are skewed in this quote, but there are also some less-extreme forms to watch out for, if you read the rest of the talk.

A couple questions I have found I can ask myself to diagnose whether I am murmuring or not is to ask, “Am I talking to someone who can actually do something about this? What do I want to have happen as a result of expressing this?”  If I’m not talking to someone who can actually help, or if I don’t expect any change, then it is not productive and I should stop murmuring/complaining/venting/whining.

I hope you will take the time to read the whole talk. It’s so good.

Murmuring and Rebellion about Priesthood Leadership in Numbers 16

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Numbers 16 holds a story about murmuring that is still applicable today to the extent that we have people demanding the priesthood.

1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:

2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?

Who are these people who are rising up against Moses? 

These were Levites who had charge of transporting the sacred things of the temple.  There were also descendants of Reuben, and they may have resented Moses’ leadership, thinking that they should have had that place.

What is their problem with Moses?

They think he is taking too much power and lifting himself up above everyone.  They argue that “all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them” and so no one has any right to be above anyone else.

The problem with this argument is, considering the history the Israelites have of murmuring and rebelling, they aren’t holy. 

You have to wonder why they don’t remember the incident when Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses and how that resulted in Miriam getting stricken with leprosy. 

4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:

5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;

7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.

8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:

9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?

10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?

11 For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?

Moses sees that these men are angling for greater authority than they already have.  We get an extra insight from the JST of verse 10, which shows us they were seeking the high priesthood, which lets us know they already had the Levitical priesthood.

Moses communicates an important principle in the above verses:

“the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy”

“the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy”

Moses knows from his own experience that a person doesn’t call himself to priesthood office.  After all, the Lord chose him to be a prophet, and he would have refused the call if he could.  He knows the Lord does the choosing, regardless of what man wants, and he knows that the Lord demonstrates who has been chosen.

Korah and his people seem to have thought that it wouldn’t matter one way or another to the Lord who was given the high priesthood.  They may have thought one person could do those duties just as well as any other.  (They may have been thinking too much of physical qualifications and not enough about the spiritual qualifications, like humility and meekness.)

Moses knew different, so he proposed a test: all the 250 could come to the temple, each with their own censer and incense and they could all perform the priest’s duties of burning incense and he promised them that the Lord would show them who He had chosen to be priests. 

The question would have arisen in their minds—“How will I know if the Lord has chosen me or not?”  They didn’t know beforehand what the sign of God’s choice would be, but I don’t think they took it seriously.  (They were rebelling against Moses, after all.)  When you think about it, the Lord could do two different things to indicate His choice—He could especially bless the person He chose and none of the others, or He could destroy those He didn’t choose and leave His chosen unharmed.   (As it happens, the Lord does both of these; He destroys the presumptuous first in Numbers 16 and then shows where His particular choice is in Numbers 17 with the miracle of Aaron’s rod that budded.)

But first Moses tried to remind Korah and his people of the privileges they already enjoyed.  They were permitted to come near the Lord as they took care of the tabernacle and helped minister to the congregation.  But they didn’t seem to think this was anything special.  With that kind of attitude, it is a sure bet that if they had been given what they wanted, they would have come to despise that as well.

Moses also tried to show them that by complaining about who the priesthood was given to or not given to, they weren’t murmuring against Aaron because Aaron was just the instrument of God.  They were murmuring against the Lord who did the choosing.

12 ¶And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:

13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?

14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.

It seems that some of the ringleaders refused to participate in the test that Moses proposed on the grounds it was another instance of Moses grabbing power.  They further complained that Egypt had been a good place to live and they had been led away from it and there was nothing to show for all Israel’s journeying.   Moses had promised them a land flowing with milk and honey but hadn’t delivered.

They seem to have forgotten that they had been brought to the borders of Canaan but had refused to enter after the spies’ report had scared them.  (This blatant forgetfulness seems even more obvious to Bible readers because that account comes just two chapters before this.)  They didn’t believe the Lord could help them conquer Canaan, they refused to go up, and then they accused Moses of not leading them where they refused to go?  Sheesh!

This is a place where we love to come down hard on the Israelites, but if we do that, we lose the value of the story.  It’s there as instruction for us, so we need to look really carefully at our lives to see if there is some way that we do the same thing.  Do we hang back from following the Lord and then complain that his promises aren’t being fulfilled when it is our disobedience that has prevented the blessing?

15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

Here we have another example of Moses blowing off steam to the Lord, which is much better than taking it out on the rebels.  We may be a little surprised at his request to the Lord that He “respect not…their offering,” but this shows us how desperate Moses was for the Lord to vindicate him.  Moses knew he had done no one any harm, but rather done them much good, and it was only their jealous perspective that made them dissatisfied.  Jealousy causes people to feel wronged when they haven’t actually been.

16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:

17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.

18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.

19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation.

20 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

Moses simply repeats the invitation to Korah and his rebellious followers that they come offer incense at the tabernacle and find out who has been chosen. 

So they come.  And as they gather, the Lord appears and says He will consume the whole congregation in a moment.  This may seem extreme to us, especially since so often the Lord in this and other instances allows Himself to be persuaded to be merciful, but I think it has an instructive purpose.  It is a reminder to us that these people (and by extention us too) were not yet worthy to enter back into the Lord’s presence.  If judgment came at that moment, they (and we) would be all consumed.  Moses and Aaron’s plea to spare the people is a type of Christ’s intercession giving more probationary time for repentance.   It’s a reminder that we all figuratively walk on thin ice and have to be careful not to offend the Lord.

Moses and Aaron plead for the people.  They argue, “Shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?”  It seems they realized that there wasn’t a majority convinced by Korah and his people; it was instead a very vocal minority making this trouble. 

23 ¶And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.

27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.

It is very interesting that these verses speak of “the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”  It sounds like it might just mean their tents, but I suspect that Moses wanted us to understand that by rebelling against the Lord and the organization of the priests at the tabernacle, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram had set up their own tabernacle in opposition to the Lord’s tabernacle.

Moses told the congregation to remove themselves away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram to prevent becoming consumed in all their sins.  This is very good advice even today.  When there are people who rebel against church leaders or cause division and contention with their stories of grievance, the smartest thing we can do is “touch nothing of theirs” or refrain from taking up their case, lest we become personally consumed and obsessed by it. 

As everyone moves away from them, Dathan and Abiram come out and stand in the door of their tents with their wives and their sons and their little children.  From things I’ve read about what happens at the door of tents, this seems to be a cultural method of making a public statement.  We see their discontent infected their whole family because their whole family stood together.  If it had been for something good, this could have been a nice story of family solidarity and standing for the right, but as it was to uphold their grievance against the prophet, it is a sad example of stubbornness.

28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.

29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me.

30 But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.

31 ¶And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:

32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.

If Korah and his people were looking for a sign, they got a sign alright, but it was to their condemnation. 

Moses did not have power on his own to cause the earthquake to happen which swallowed the rebels up.  It happened because the Lord backed Moses up.

You don’t often hear of these kinds of signs happening when the prophet says something is going to happen and then it does almost immediately.  Usually the prophecy and the fulfillment have much more space between them, which requires us to exercise our faith.  If we can do that, then we receive blessings.  In this case, the fulfillment came immediately and brought condemnation because they were not willing to exercise their faith.

35 And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

Here we see that the Lord indicated His displeasure toward those who aspired to the high priesthood and offered incense contrary to their assigned duties.  They were like Cain, who offered an offering contrary to what had been commanded, and just as the Lord didn’t have respect to Cain’s offering, the Lord did not have respect to these 250 men, though here the penalty was immediate and more severe.

36 ¶And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.

38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.

39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:

40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses.

It seems really odd that the 250 censers would be considered holy and would be beaten into a covering for the altar.  I think it may have to do with the principle that the men were punished for their own sins and justice had been satisfied, such that the censors weren’t cursed. 

Making the censers into an altar covering makes sense if you look at the spiritual lessons it could teach.  The altar covering would be a barrier that would protect the altar from being defiled and protect people from touching it in a sinful state.  The covering would also remind people of the story of rebellion to warn them, essentially acting like a barrier to prevent them from committing the same sin. 

41 ¶But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.

The effrontery of this accusation is staggering to us.  The Lord judged and punished the rebels in a miraculous way and now the rest of the people accuse Moses and Aaron of killing “the people of the Lord?” 

What we see here is a total mismatch of perspectives between the Lord’s way and the people’s way.  The people are not concerned with being holy.  They operate from a place of social practicality that ignores offenses that are permitted according to their previous traditions, and they look at what happened to Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and the 250 thinking that the punishment was all out of proportion to the offense.  You can almost hear them protesting, “They were good people and you killed them!”  The Lord, in contrast, wants His people to be holy so they can be brought back into His presence.  When holiness is the goal, there is no room for little traditional sins, or any sin for that matter.  Any sin merits death and our life continues only on His sufferance in hopes we will repent.  If after knowing the truth of the gospel we demonstrate determination to rebel and sin anyway, He is right to remove us from the scene as it mercifully caps the amount of sins we will have to suffer for. 

Unhappily, when the people question the obvious judgment that the Lord brought upon the rebels, they set themselves in opposition to the Lord.  And that leads to consequences.

42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.

43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.

44 ¶And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.

46 ¶And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun.

47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.

48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.

50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

I notice that so often when the Israelites begin to murmur, judgment from the Lord comes in the form of a plague.  The disease would not have spread if the people had been following the cleanliness rules of the Law of Moses regarding who and what to wash when.  Their lack of confidence in Moses led to laxness in following his counsel about sanitation (among other things), which led to conditions that transmitted and spread disease.

Aaron clearly acted as a type of Christ, advocating for Israel when he burned incense among the congregation, making atonement for them instead of separating himself from them.  Also, the way he came among them, prefigured how Christ condescended to come among mortal men and atone for us, becoming as one who might die.  As Aaron stood as a divider between the dead and the living, Christ is the border between the dead and the living because to go from the dead side to the living side you have to go through Him.

As I’ve been reading through the Old Testament, it is amazing to me how many types of Christ there are.  Some I’ve known about before, others I’m discovering in unexpected places. 

Lessons from the Murmuring (and Over-Indulgence) in Numbers 11

Numbers 11 has two separate instances in it of murmuring and complaining.  I think it will be helpful to look at the whole chapter.  Here is the first incident in v1-3:

1 And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.

2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched.

3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the Lord burnt among them.

This incident is notable because the people are complaining, but there is no record of what they are complaining about.  We can only conclude it was general kvetching over camp life.  If it were a real problem undoubtedly they would have gone to Moses about it.  Yet, having read through Exodus, Leviticus, and the beginning of Numbers one sees that they were in fairly comfortable position: They had food.  They had water.  They had priesthood leadership through Moses.  They were free of the Egyptians. They had the tabernacle of the Lord.  They had the Lord traveling with them.  The camp was organized.  What’s to complain about?

Can we see ourselves in this story?  Do we see how even in comfortable circumstances we become so used to it that we begin to cast about for things that could be better and resent when things aren’t absolutely perfect even when they are pretty close to excellent?

Well, the Lord hears their complaining and does the kindest thing He could do—give them something real to be bothered about, in this case, a fire.  It shows them how good and peaceful things were before.  Crisis certainly does help us appreciate having a “boring” life.  I’m reminded of this when I get sick; I realize I didn’t appreciate my health as I should have.

I notice they go to Moses and Moses prays for them and then the fire is quenched. On one hand this makes Moses’ advocacy a type of Christ’s intercession for us.  On another hand, the people don’t seem to have discovered the ability to pray for their own problems.  It is nice to know that we have the right to go to the Lord about our problems and we can take them to our leaders when it becomes too much for us.

Then comes the second incident of complaining, which arises from lust for foods that are no longer available: 

4 ¶And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:

6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

7 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.

8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.

10 ¶Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.

The first thing I notice is it says they “fell a lusting” instead of “began lusting.”  Using “fell” there evokes the fall of man and reminds us there were negative spiritual consequences for this intense yearning; it took them away from the Lord.

I can understand food fatigue, but I don’t understand how they could cry about it.  It is almost as if they believe they will never get a chance to eat anything else but manna the rest of their lives and they are grieving over it!

In their distorted thinking, they start to exaggerate the positives of Egyptian captivity, solely on the grounds of what they could eat, and they conversely diminish the positives of the manna, which must have actually been quite nutritious considering it was keeping them healthy as the only thing they ate.  (How many foods do we know of that pack the same healthy punch unassisted?) 

How often do we look back with nostalgia on little positive details in generally negative experiences that were the equivalent of Egyptian captivity for us?  When I find myself missing something about high school, I remind myself that it was generally a painful experience and while the positive parts were enough to help me survive, no way would I want to go back. 

I will give the Israelites credit for doing what they could to create variety for themselves; they tried preparing their manna all different kinds of ways, yet also we get a description of what it tasted like to show us that manna was pretty tasty and their complaints were not valid.  It is not like the Lord was raining on them something that tasted disgusting.  They were just dissatisfied.  And they were very vocal and public about it too—v10 tells us the people were weeping throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent.  It’s like it was a public protest.

It says Moses was displeased, but judging by his prayer, “displeased” may have been a major understatement.  Moses must have really been at the end of his rope.  I am very interested in his prayer, which is recorded for us.

11 And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?

12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?

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.

14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.

15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.

There are some commentaries online that come down hard on Moses for complaining here.  They think he didn’t have a proper respect for his office or some rot like that.  I see something much different though.

Moses called it an affliction from the Lord to lead the people and he was right because the people were complaining and finding fault with the very blessings that were enabling them to survive.  Leading people may be an honor, but if those people are uncooperative and complaining it is NOT FUN.  In fact, if the people being led are always uncooperative, then having leadership of them may be said to be a curse rather than a blessing.  And Moses was starting to feel that curse aspect of it.  (As an aside, this line strikes me as a Messianic type: “wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?”)

Moses asks rhetorically, “Have I conceived all this people?”  It sounds vaguely like Cain’s “Am I my brother’s keeper?” but Moses is better than Cain, so we must find something better in it.  I think Moses had a testimony that God was the Father of all, so he may have been bringing that testimony to bear as an argument that he couldn’t be everything to Israel because that was God’s job, not his anyway.

“have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child…?” – Moses could see that most of Israel were still babies spiritually.  They were still having troubles with that very first principle of faith in God.

If you remember, Israel’s complaint was “Who shall give us flesh to eat?” and Moses was profoundly aware of his own inadequacy as a provider.  By himself he didn’t have the resources to provide flesh for the whole camp of Israel to eat.  Moreover, he felt the injustice of their demands in the face of the constant miraculous providence of manna, so he probably didn’t feel like he could ask for Israel to be given flesh in full confidence of having his prayer answered.  Yet they were putting so much pressure on him. He was caught between a rock and a hard place and he couldn’t just walk away from his responsibilities.  Only death would release him from his prophetic calling.  This is why he says, “kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.”  He just wanted to be released.

Happily, the Lord sees through Moses’ frustrations and doesn’t grant his request for death.  He sees Moses needs to offload some of that pressure to other men who can bear the burden with him.  It truly makes a difference when there are multiple testimonies to the truth to quench the whiners and complainers.  Not only that, the Lord decides to give the Israelites what they want, though we will see this has mixed results.

16 ¶And the Lord 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 tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

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.

18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;

20 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?

The Lord promises Moses seventy elders of Israel who will help him bear the burden of Israel.  They are to have a portion of the same spirit that helps Moses lead.  This gathering to the tabernacle must have been like a big priesthood leadership training meeting to help them catch the vision of what they were to do so they could all be unified in that great work.

The Lord also commands the Israelites to sanctify themselves for the next day with the promise that they will be given flesh to eat for a whole month until it comes out of their nostrils and becomes loathsome.   I don’t know about you, but that promise sounds more like a warning than good news.  And the command to sanctify themselves for it hints that if they do not repent quick the food that comes will be to their condemnation rather than blessing.  And we will see that this turns out to be the case.

As I was reading v20, at first I thought it was just predicting food satiation would happen again, but later I started to see that it was actually a spiritual problem being described.  The Lord understood that if the Israelites despised His first gift of manna He rained on them, they would similarly come to despise any other gift of food He rained down on them as well.  The problem wasn’t in the Lord’s gift but in fallen man.  The Lord gives bountifully and we sin by being eventually disgusted by it. 

This made me stop and think if there was something the Lord was giving me bountifully but which I was despising.  The Lord has given me a lot of time right now and I complain far too often about being bored and lonely when I should be using that gift as best I can.  Other times I have been blessed with good work and people to be around, but I have complained about not having enough time for the projects I wanted to do. 

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.

22 Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?

23 And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.

Some commentaries I have read blast Moses here for relying on the arm of flesh and doubting the Lord, but I don’t see it that way.  It is clear that Moses is calculating the amount of meat required to feed the camp of Israel for a whole month and is wondering just where that meat is going to come from.  Who wouldn’t do that in his spot?  But it is almost as if Moses goes into problem-solving mode, trying to think of ways he can do his part to help the Lord provide flesh for the people, which reminds me of the brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon who brings a possible solution to the Lord for a problem that has to be solved of how to get light for his barges.

Notice, Moses is no longer asking to die; he’s back in the saddle and engaged in the work, counseling with the Lord.  I’d say that’s a pretty quick recovery.  He’s a pretty spiritually resilient man with the Lord’s help.

Moses comes up with an obvious solution—just slaughter all the camp animals—but the Lord has something else in mind that won’t require that.  And if you notice, the Lord doesn’t tell Moses what He’ll do, so Moses has to go to work and gather the 70 elders and proclaim the promise of meat to Israel without knowing how it will come to pass.  I have to hand it to Moses; that took a lot of faith.   

24 ¶And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.

25 And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

26 But there remained two of the 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 went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.

27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.

28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.

29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!

Next we have a little dust-up because all the 70 elders were supposed to go to the tabernacle to meet with Moses, yet two of them—Eldad and Medad--remained in the camp and prophesied there.  Joshua was all for forbidding Eldad and Medad from prophesying separately from the rest of the 70.  It is likely that he disapproved that they hadn’t come to the tabernacle with the rest when they had been commanded to come and worried it indicated rebellion and worried Eldad and Medad were causing dissention. 

Happily, Moses gives this great line in response—“Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!”  It shows us that Moses wanted everyone to enjoy the spiritual gifts and felt Israel would be better off if it could be so. 

It helps to remember that the spirit of prophecy is defined by John in Revelation as the testimony of Jesus.  Moses also knew that if Eldad and Medad had the same spirit as Moses and the other 68, they were prophesying aright and saying the same things as Moses and the other 68 elders.  There would be automatic unity.  It is likely that he realized that if all the camp of Israel could have attained to that spirit of prophecy and testimony, the complaints about the manna would never have happened at all and his own job would be much easier.

Eldad and Medad probably hadn’t made it to the tabernacle because there was someone who needed their prophecy/testimony.  (It would be like a bishop not making it to a priesthood leadership meeting because someone in the ward had a sudden faith crisis and needed counsel.)

That the spirit came upon Eldad and Medad the same as the other 68 elders shows us that the Lord knew who was on Moses’ list and blessed them all, regardless of where they were.  This teaches us that geographical proximity is not required for the Holy Ghost to be meted out.  (I’m assuming they were all previously ordained..)

30 And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

31 ¶And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.

32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.

33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.

34 And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.

35 And the people journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.

I like that Moses called it “a wind from the Lord.”  It may have been very destructive, blowing down tents and such, but they knew it was from the Lord when they saw it brought all that quail and fulfilled the Lord’s promise they would have meat.  This reminds me that sometimes I can only tell at the end of an experience that it was from the Lord when I can finally see how it fulfilled promises. 

All that meat and the people go absolutely crazy and gather all they can.  You’d think they were starving or they were never going to see meat ever again the way they stayed up 36 hours straight gathering quail.  Except they weren’t starving; they were just greedy.  Intemperate.  Self-indulgent.  Excessive.  Grasping.  Gluttonous. 

We don’t do anything like that, do we?  (Cough.. Black Friday shopping.. cough) 

It says that the person who gathered the least amount gathered ten homers, which is supposedly ten donkey loads.  That’s a lot.  And they spread all those quail out around camp, probably to dry and preserve it. 

What are we to make of v33 where it says there was a very great plague from the Lord, which hit the people while the meat was still in their mouths?  I have to wonder if all the dead meat lying around bred some kind of deadly bacteria or something.  Maybe their efforts to preserve the meat were badly done? 

So they called the place Kibroth-hattaavah, which the footnote says means, “The graves of lust.”  It seems a lot of people died of that plague.  Was getting all that meat worth it if it meant dying from eating it?  No.  Would they have survived if they had been more temperate?  Probably. 

In addition to the danger of complaining, there’s a nice little principle that this teaches us—over-indulging our appetites kills.  I think that’s precisely what the name of the place was supposed to teach—Lust leads to the grave.  Thus, a reminder to keep desires, appetites, and passions within the bounds the Lord has set is only meant to keep us safe, not rain on our parade.

I think this is a very helpful lesson for us in first world countries where there is an over-abundance of food, material goods, and entertainment options.   It’s easier and easier to overindulge and get addicted to all kinds of things, so we all have to learn for ourselves what are those bounds the Lord has set and learn to ration appropriately.  Sure, we’ll look strangely abstemious to people, but if that means we stay alive spiritually, it’s all worth it.

I’m pretty good (though not perfect) at eating moderately, though it requires care.  I try to eat moderate amounts, stopping only when I feel satisfied, which comes before I feel full.  (That is hard at the occasional buffet when there are so many interesting foods to try.)  I also eat desserts rarely, and when I do, I have them in very limited amounts.   I’m sharing this with some trepidation, since it seems like whenever I share successes I tend to lapse into bad behavior afterward..  So I’ll need to take extra care now.. 

I’m not so good at moderation in other things.  I am a bookworm, so I have to ration my reading so that other things get done.  I’ll set a timer so I know when it is time to put my book down.  I have some troubles with reading the internet too much.  Sometimes I’m good, other times I’m not so good.  If I read books or internet too long, I feel really guilty and lazy.  Too much internet in particular makes me feel like I’m wasting my life.  When I find a TV show I like, I may go on a TV-watching marathon, but afterward I feel like it has taken over my mind and that makes me annoyed.  Thankfully that doesn’t happen often. 

How about you?  Where have you managed to institute moderation and how?  Where do you struggle?  What kind of problems have you seen from your over-indulgence?