“Follow the Leader”
Numbers 11 - 16
Intro: Everyone lift you feet up in the air off of the floor. Okay, I may step on some toes this morning, so if you keep you feet up in the air, I won’t step o your toes!
#Illust: Man went to monastery - only 2 words a year - 1st yr “Beds Hard,” 2nd yr - Food Cold, 3ry yr - I Quit - to which the Father replied, well it’s no wonder--all you’ve done since you came here was to complain.
As we have been reading through the books of Leviticus and Numbers, we are reminded just how much like the children of Israel we are. We have seen this week in our reading that they were a people who loved to complain. Now, I’m sure that you don’t know anyone like this, but there are some people out there who like to complain. Once again, I’m sure it’s nobody you know. On the job, people complain about their bosses, their hours, their pay, their bonuses, their benefits. People who stand in the road holding up signs while others do the work complain that the sun is hot.
In regions of Mexico hot springs and cold springs are found side by side, and because of the convenience of this natural phenomenon the women often bring their laundry, boil their clothes in the hot springs, and then rinse them in the cold springs. A tourist watching this procedure once commented to his Mexican guide, “They must think God is generous to provide so much free hot and could water!” The guide replied, “No, s˜enor, there is much grumbling because he does not supply the soap!”
The children of Israel are no different: they grumble constantly. Let’s look at their grumbling and learn from their example. In 1 Cor. 9:10 we are reminded of the seriousness of their grumbling. The chapter starts with the account of their grumbling, then states, “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did-- and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel.
Let’s look at
I. The accounts of complaining - if you have your Bibles, look at Numbers 11. In verses 1-3 we see the first account. Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
A. *the people complain because of hardships - do you know of anyone who grumbles when things get hard? The Israelites did. They didn’t like walking through the wilderness. They would have rather taken the plane with the dinner and movie.
The truth is that hardship is good for us. Lives of ease and comfort lead us to forget our God. That doesn’t mean that we should pray for hardness, but when it comes, Timothy tells us we are to Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
B. Numbers 11: 4-6,+
The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, `Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.
31 ¶ Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. 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.
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. Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.
*the people complain because they wanted meat, they weren’t content.. They weren’t happy with what they had to eat. You can fix the greatest meal, and some people just won’t be happy. If you fix steak, they wanted chicken. God had provided a miraculous meal for them every day. All they had to do was walk out in the morning and their breakfast was all ready for them. But they wanted more. They focused on what they didn’t have.
I could walk across the street, knock on the door, and give the neighbors a $10 bill. They would thank me profusely. The next day at the same time I could go again, and again they would be grateful. If I kept up this routine, pretty soon they would come to expect my visit and be watching for me. After a while, if I missed a day, they would be mad at me because I forgot to come and bring them the $10 I normally do. Why? No because they earned it, but they wanted it and expect it.
The children of Israel expected more and more out of God. They weren’t content with what they had. Paul writes, But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
C. Look next at Num. 12: in verse 1. Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn’t he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this. (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. 9 - The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them. When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam--leprous, like snow. Aaron turned towards her and saw that she had leprosy;
*the people complain because of of personalities. They made up their minds they didn’t like Moses’ wife, so they decided they didn’t have to follow his leadership any more. After all, they could speak for God too! So often we base our decisions on how we feel about others.
D. Next, Num. 13:1 - The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders." 17 - When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.) - 23 - When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
Once again we see the Israelites complaining. This time because of giants. They are fearful. Often complaining is simply a cover-up for fear. We are afraid of something, so we start to complain and grumble. Once again, we see them not responding as they should.
The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?
E. Next, look at Num. 14. That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." Then Moses and Aaron fell face down in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? - 21 - Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times--not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No-one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out towards the desert along the route to the Red Sea." - 36 - So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it- these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD. Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
*once again, complaining, this time because everyone else was complaining. Complaining is contagious. Let one employee in a factory get upset, and pretty soon the whole factory is complaining. 12 spies go out, and 2 give good reports, but the other 10 men get some 2-4 million people complaining.
F. Now to Num. 16: 1 - Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites--Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth--became insolent
2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.
3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?"
4 When Moses heard this, he fell face down.
5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will make that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him.
6 You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!" - 17 - Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it-- 250 censers in all--and present it before the LORD. You and Aaron are to present your censers also." So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire assembly. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Separate yourselves from this assembly so that I can put an end to them at once." But Moses and Aaron fell face down and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?" Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to the assembly, `Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’" Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. He warned the assembly, "Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins." So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents. Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt." As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to swallow us too!" And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
*This time the people are complaining about their leadership. One of the biggest targets of complaints in any group is leadership. If you want people to say mean and untrue things about you, just become a leader. Try being a pastor - you’ll get all sorts of criticisms.
There are some people who just don’t like to follow anyone’s leadership regardless of how good a leader they are. They just don’t want anyone telling them what to do. They just want to be left alone.
G. Finally, Num. 16:41 - The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You have killed the LORD’s people," they said. But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned towards the Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the LORD said to Moses, "Get away from this assembly so that I can put an end to them at once." And they fell face down. Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started." So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, for the plague had stopped.
*Here the people are complaining about the consequences of their complaining. They like to complain, but they don’t want anyone to correct them or tell them that they are wrong. They don’t want any accountability. They want no responsibility for their actions.
Well, we have seen a lot of complaining. It is amazing at how much the people of Israel complain. But what is also interesting is looking at the
II. Attitudes of those complaining - why did they complain? What did they want? If we go back through each of these accounts, let’s see what they really wanted.
*11:1-3 They wanted pleasure - they wanted things to be easy
*11:4+ They wanted provision & plenty - they wanted to “stock up” and not rely on God daily
*12 They wanted prestige - they wanted to be look up to as the leader
*13 They wanted protection - they wanted no threat to their safety
*14 They wanted peer approval - they wanted to “fit in” with the crowd
*16 They wanted power - they wanted to tell others what to do
*16:41- They wanted to place the blame - they didn’t want to bear responsibility for their acts
In each case, we can see that their complaining was because of wrong motives in their heart. The godly response is not to complain. There are times that we go to God and question, and that is fine. But when we speak to others simply to complain, we are acting wrongly.
III. Advantage of complaining - NONE!!
What advantage is there to complaining? None! In each case, there are severe consequences for complaining.
*the fire from the Lord falls and destroys part of the camp
*plague falls and the grumblers are destroyed
*Miriam develops leprosy for her complaining
*40 years of wandering in the wilderness
*10 spies are killed
*the ground swallows up the group defying authority
*a plague comes through the camp destroying 14,700 people
IV. Admonitions regarding complaining
So, what do we learn from all this? Initially I had thought to preach about leadership and following leadership. As I got into the text, I saw the overwhelming emphasis on complaining. But the two go hand in hand together.
*complaining comes when we fail to accept the leadership God has provided
*even leaders will complain and set bad examples
*1 Cor. 10 reminds us if we think we are standing, beware lest we fall
*don’t be pulled into complaining by others who are complaining
*be content with what you have
*be grateful for what has been given to you
*don’t presume to be something you are not.
Concl: Attitude is the key! Remember that what is inside your heart will evidence itself in your life. Prov. 23:7 - For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he
1 Sam. 16:7 - Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for [the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD look
Prov. 20:27 - The spirit of man [is] the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
**Let’s guard our hearts and have attitudes of rejoicing and thankfulness.
