Numbers 11:4-6
Dangers of the Mixed Multitude
Introduction:
In Exodus 12:38 we read that there a mixed multitude joined the Israelites when they left Egypt. The Hebrew word for multitude is rab meaning "great," "many," or "large." In the Targum the phrase is vaguely rendered "many foreigners," and as "a medley of outlandish people", as 'strangers' and 'proselytes.' The Vulgate translates as 'to mix, to intermingle', that is, people who do not belong to the population of the country.
Mixed Slaves:
Scholars maintain that the expression describes the group of people that accompanied the Hebrews, which consisted of a great mixture of nationalities that were enslaved in Egypt. This mixed multitude may be the slaves from Egypt, children born out of mixed marriages (Nehemiah 13:3, Jeremiah 25:20, 24, 50:37). They are God’s new humanity. They are varied groups of forced laborers, people of different origins, seized the moment and left Egypt with the Israelites. A Few Hellenistic literature confirm that Egyptian lepers left with them. The slaves worked in Egypt identified themselves with the Hebrews and their God, and joined with the Israelites. According to Ibn Ezra, these were the people from the bottom of Egypt's social strata who took the opportunity to escape from their fate. After seeing the series of miracles that God performed in Egypt, many locals, Egyptians, and others, decided to leave with the Israelites and joined them.
Mixed Marriages:
Another possibility is that the mixed multitudes were the result of mixed marriages that took place in Egypt (Leviticus 24:10). The text describes a quarrel between two people: One, a blasphemer, whose mother was an Israelite and his father was an Egyptian; and the other one exclusively of Israelite descent. Joshua 8:35 mentions the people who witnessed the recitation of the blessing and curses by Joshua, among them the resident alien. Jerome in his comments on the LXX suggests it refers to the "people of the region who were not Egyptian, but strangers and aliens."
Partakers of Grace:
The mixed multitude was present at Mount Sinai. They were present at the giving of the Law. They were fellow travelers with Israel, experiencing with them the power of God as He destroyed the most powerful nation on earth (Deuteronomy 4:20, I Kings 8:51, Jeremiah 11:4). They ate manna and drank water from the Rock. They were baptized in the Red Sea (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).
The Dangers:
The Talmud Yoma divides the Israelites’ gathering into three groups: righteous, average, and wicked. The Talmud Yerushalmi says there were four groups Moses had to deal with at the Red Sea. One group wanted to fall into the sea. The second group wanted to return to Egypt. The third group wanted to fight the Egyptians. The fourth group wanted to scream at the Egyptians (Exodus 14:13).
1. The desire for food:
Numbers 11:4-5, “The mixed group in their midst felt a gluttonous craving; and then the Israelites wept and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish that we used to eat free in Egypt.” The story tells of how the Israelites, spurred on by an obscure group called the Mixed (?asafsuf), complain about the lack of meat, which leads to God bringing quail, and eventually to the deaths of many of the complainants. It is thus with the Lord's people in the present day the worldly element in their midst perpetually recalls and revives the tastes, delights, and desires of Egypt. They were the ultimate in carnal-mindedness. They had forgotten the cruelty of their captors and the hopelessness of slavery and were remembering only the pickles and onions.
2. The Discontent:
They speedily became discontented with their condition. They are not born-again Christians: They came in response to miracles, signs, and wonders. They are not for God but to achieve the desires of their flesh. They are full of murmurings and complaints. Their eyes and desires are still in the world. They attend church out of attraction by the entertainment of the pretty girls. They do not walk by the Spirit but in the flesh (Romans 8:7).
3. The seeds of Destruction:
God told Israel not to pick up the habits and customs of the Canaanites, rabble, outsiders, and foreigners. The unsaved are the source of most of the complaining and bickering within the congregation. People who haven’t come to the cross in humility, repentance, and faith have little appreciation for submission, love for their enemies, and obeying their leaders.
Conclusion:
Jacob entered Egypt with 75 people (Acts 7:14, Exodus 1:5). Some of them were not direct descendants of Abraham such as the wives of the 12 patriarchs. After four generations at the exodus, Israel’s army had over 600,000 men excluding women and children, (Exodus 12:37, Numbers 1:46) showing that Israel obviously consisted of many non-biological Jews who had joined. Moses married a Midianite (Exodus 2:16-21). Rahab was a Canaanite (Joshua 2:1, 2).
Discussion: Who is your companion in the Church?
