Numbers 11:24-35 / God Still Cares
📖 Scripture
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent.
25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp.
27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
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 on them!”
30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
31 Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction.
32 All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp.
33 But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.
34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there.
✅ Scripture Summary
✅ Memory verse
✅ Reflection
God in a Box (11:24–30)
Joshua tells Moses to stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying. While Joshua no doubt speaks out of loyalty to Moses, he essentially tries to confine God to his own expectations. God often works in surprising and unexpected ways; He is not obligated to act according to how people think He should. God sees the end from the beginning and not even the smallest event escapes His notice and control. For this reason, we can trust Him even when we cannot understand what He does. In all of His actions, He is faithful to His purpose: the glory of His name, and the welfare of His people. His character and His power are reason enough to surrender our expectations to His will.
How do you respond when God allows something you think should not be allowed? Ask God to strengthen your knowledge of His character so that your faith in Him would grow.
Provision and Discipline (11:31–35)
Even when the Israelites complain about their circumstances, God still provides for them. This pattern repeats all through Israel’s journey in the wilderness: they complain and God keeps providing what they need while also disciplining them. Even when they fail to respond to His discipline, God continues to care for them because He will not break His covenant. He does not stop caring for them even when He has to punish their rebellion. Like God covenanted Himself to the Israelites, He has also established a new covenant with those who believe in Christ, and He will remain faithful to His covenant. When His children rebel against Him, He disciplines them but He never abandons them.
How has God shown His care for you this week? Thank Him for both His provision and His discipline.
“God’s works and ways make sense — beautiful, wise, and fitting sense — just not always to us.”
– Joshua Bremerman
✅ Prayer
✅ Essay
Bearing Each Other’s Burdens
I have recently been reading Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen. In it, the author traces Keller’s life from his childhood until his death. Keller was always a reserved person, not someone who fit most people’s idea of a leader. But God raised Keller up to be a leader for urban revival not only in New York City, but around the world. Even after his passing, he still remains an influential figure in Christianity. His early ministry was in a rural setting but he eventually answered the call for urban ministry. At a critical time in his church’s growth, Keller began to feel overburdened with all his ministry tasks. So, he decided to find people that could take much of the burden off of him. This example has biblical precedence. Back in the Early Church, the apostles found themselves in a similar situation. In Acts 6, we read about how the apostles had to divide their time between teaching the Word and serving their community with works of charity. So, they decided that they needed others who could focus on providing material help to the vulnerable while they themselves continued to focus on teaching the Word. Leaders sometimes feel that seeking help means they are doing poorly. But it is necessary that one person not take it on themselves to care for the needs of everyone else. Even Jesus chose people to assist Him during His earthly ministry. Do not be afraid to ask for help; God may have already placed people around you for that purpose.
Written by James Eppley