Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / God Provides Quail - The Book of Numbers
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and
- 0:02Speaker 1: brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by
- 0:06Speaker 1: the camp, as if it were a day's journey on
- 0:09Speaker 1: this side, and as if it were a day's journey
- 0:11Speaker 1: on the other side, round about the camp, and as
- 0:15Speaker 1: it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.
- 0:20Speaker 1: Numbers 11.31 Lord, as I continue my journey to the
- 0:25Speaker 1: promised future, strengthen my mind, body, and soul, so that
- 0:31Speaker 1: I do not get weary leading myself and those called
- 0:34Speaker 1: to be with me to our promised land. I thank
- 0:39Speaker 1: you for assembling the right team that will help me
- 0:42Speaker 1: execute with excellence the task set before me. As I
- 0:47Speaker 1: look at the book of Numbers 11.4-11.35, when times get
- 0:51Speaker 1: hard on my journey to my destiny, I will be
- 0:55Speaker 1: careful not to look into my past and long for
- 0:59Speaker 1: the things that brought me comfort. Instead, I will look
- 1:03Speaker 1: forward with my eyes towards the prize and promise that
- 1:07Speaker 1: awaits me in my upcoming season. I declare that I
- 1:12Speaker 1: will not sacrifice my legacy for temporary luxury, because I
- 1:17Speaker 1: know that doing so will only leave me with the
- 1:21Speaker 1: pain of regret. So, I speak to my mind and
- 1:27Speaker 1: declare peace over it. I will speak to my heart
- 1:30Speaker 1: and command it to remember all of God's provision and
- 1:34Speaker 1: deep love for me. I confess that I only want
- 1:39Speaker 1: what you want for me, Lord. And thank you that
- 1:43Speaker 1: you never disappoint. In Jesus' name, amen. Thanks for making
- 1:52Speaker 1: prayer a priority in your life. To hear the Bible
- 1:55Speaker 1: come to life, stay tuned for The Bible in a Year,
- 1:59Speaker 1: brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
- 2:10Speaker 2: God provides quail. In our last story, we learned about
- 2:15Speaker 2: Israel begging God to stay in their presence and not
- 2:18Speaker 2: to leave because of their stubbornness. God reestablished his covenant
- 2:23Speaker 2: with Israel, and they built him a tabernacle. In this story,
- 2:27Speaker 2: we pick back up with the Israelites wandering the desert
- 2:30Speaker 2: and their continued distrust in God's provision, as inspired by
- 2:35Speaker 2: the book of Numbers.
- 2:38Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of The Bible
- 2:41Speaker 3: in a Year. In yesterday's reading, we learned that God
- 2:45Speaker 3: led the Israelites into the desert again, headed towards the
- 2:48Speaker 3: promised land. God instructed the Israelites in the building and
- 2:52Speaker 3: setting up of the tabernacle, the place where His presence
- 2:55Speaker 3: would dwell with them on the earth. And as we
- 2:58Speaker 3: closed out the book of Exodus, God was leading the
- 3:01Speaker 3: Israelites through the deserts, His presence once again appearing as
- 3:05Speaker 3: cloud and fire to guide them and to tell them
- 3:08Speaker 3: when to stop and when to go. Today, we'll enter
- 3:11Speaker 3: the book of Numbers, and once again, we'll hear how
- 3:14Speaker 3: the people continue to complain and express their lack of
- 3:18Speaker 3: faith in God. Their impatience and distrust will wear on Moses,
- 3:23Speaker 3: and God will see that he needs help. Leading these
- 3:26Speaker 3: people is no small task. It is a great task. So,
- 3:31Speaker 3: let's listen to today's reading.
- 3:33Speaker 2: Moses continued to lead the thousands of people through the
- 3:37Speaker 2: wilderness towards the promised land, and God continued to provide
- 3:41Speaker 2: for his people. Moses and the Lord were close and
- 3:45Speaker 2: spoke daily. However, the mantle of leadership began to wear
- 3:49Speaker 2: on Moses. His eyes looked weary, and his body was
- 3:52Speaker 2: tired from tending to all the needs of Israel alone.
- 3:56Speaker 2: The people of Israel began to moan in hunger. Like
- 3:59Speaker 2: children needing food, they groaned and held their stomachs. Moses
- 4:04Speaker 2: could hear their childish sounds from inside his tent. He
- 4:07Speaker 2: got up from his tent and went out to find
- 4:09Speaker 2: people grabbing him and complaining. When we were in Egypt,
- 4:13Speaker 2: we had fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. Oh,
- 4:18Speaker 2: that we would be able to eat meat again. For
- 4:21Speaker 2: weeks we have had nothing but manna. They wailed in
- 4:24Speaker 2: anxious complaint. Their childish weeping angered God and irked Moses
- 4:29Speaker 2: as well. Annoyed, tired and feeling overwhelmed moses snapped at
- 4:35Speaker 2: god shouting have i done something wrong that you would
- 4:37Speaker 2: lay the burden of all these people on me am
- 4:40Speaker 2: i their mother did i carry them in my womb
- 4:43Speaker 2: no yet you would have me breastfeed them all the
- 4:46Speaker 2: way to the promised land i cannot carry all these
- 4:49Speaker 2: people on my own it's too much you should kill
- 4:51Speaker 2: me now so i don't do something i am going
- 4:53Speaker 2: to regret god took moses seriously for his burden was
- 4:58Speaker 2: great over 600 000 people were in his care Issues
- 5:02Speaker 2: of family strife, sexual abuse, fights and arguments over property
- 5:07Speaker 2: plagued Moses daily. It was truly a burden too great
- 5:11Speaker 2: for him to bear alone. So the Lord had Moses
- 5:14Speaker 2: appoint seventy men out of the elders of Israel to
- 5:17Speaker 2: be his officers to relieve his burden. All but two
- 5:21Speaker 2: came to Moses' side. Moses gathered them all in his tent,
- 5:25Speaker 2: and the Spirit of God descended on each and every
- 5:28Speaker 2: one of them, even the ones who had remained at home.
- 5:32Speaker 2: Joshua watched as even the two who had not come
- 5:35Speaker 2: received God's Spirit and began to prophesy. Confused, Joshua yelled,
- 5:41Speaker 2: We must make them stop! However, Moses had a smile
- 5:45Speaker 2: on his face brighter than the sun. The wrinkles on
- 5:48Speaker 2: his face lifted up as he laughed. Moses put his
- 5:51Speaker 2: hand on Joseph's shoulder and said, Are you jealous for
- 5:55Speaker 2: my sake? Don't be, for I would rather the entire
- 5:59Speaker 2: camp be filled with prophets. Moses was elated, finally not
- 6:03Speaker 2: bearing the burden of all these people alone. The next day,
- 6:07Speaker 2: a tempest from the east sprang forth. The mighty winds
- 6:11Speaker 2: raged and carried with it was a flock of quail.
- 6:15Speaker 2: The quail ran through camp like a tsunami. For miles
- 6:19Speaker 2: and miles there were quail. The people had complained greatly
- 6:23Speaker 2: to God about having no meat, and now there was
- 6:26Speaker 2: too much for them to eat. Yet with the quail
- 6:29Speaker 2: came a price. A plague descended upon the people. Sickness
- 6:33Speaker 2: riddled the people of Israel for days, and the anger
- 6:36Speaker 2: of God was made known. Their hearts had longed for Egypt,
- 6:40Speaker 2: to return to the bitterness of slavery, all because they
- 6:43Speaker 2: missed having meat. The wrestling match between Israel and God continued,
- 6:49Speaker 2: as did God's mercy, discipline, and blessings.
- 6:56Speaker 3: As we open today's reading from Numbers 10, Moses is leading...
- 7:00Speaker 3: tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of Israelites through
- 7:04Speaker 3: the desert. God never failed to take care of them,
- 7:07Speaker 3: to provide for them. But once more, the people began
- 7:10Speaker 3: to moan and groan and complain. They grew tired of
- 7:15Speaker 3: the same food every day, the manna, though it was
- 7:17Speaker 3: supernaturally delivered from heaven each day. They began to see
- 7:22Speaker 3: only the negative and forgot about God's miraculous provisions. They
- 7:26Speaker 3: started to think about the meat they ate in Egypt
- 7:29Speaker 3: and wish they had never left. Their ingratitude offended God
- 7:34Speaker 3: and is wearing on Moses. The constant complaints and quarrels
- 7:38Speaker 3: among the people chipped away at him. And so he
- 7:41Speaker 3: did what he would always do, and that is to
- 7:43Speaker 3: go to God. He's tired. He's irritated, and he doesn't
- 7:48Speaker 3: hold back. He asks God why he's bringing all this
- 7:50Speaker 3: trouble on him. He then reminds God that it was
- 7:53Speaker 3: God that brought them out of Egypt. Moses says he's
- 7:56Speaker 3: about to snap and do something stupid. Maybe you've been there.
- 8:01Speaker 3: I know I have in the past. We're frustrated, afraid,
- 8:05Speaker 3: and don't know what to do. It's chaos. So we
- 8:08Speaker 3: can appreciate Moses' frustration. God doesn't chastise him or tell
- 8:13Speaker 3: him he's not being a good leader. He comes to
- 8:16Speaker 3: his rescue and instructs Moses to call 70 men to
- 8:19Speaker 3: appoint his officers to help lighten the load. God tells
- 8:23Speaker 3: Moses that the spirit that is upon Moses shall be
- 8:26Speaker 3: upon them too so that they can lead others as
- 8:29Speaker 3: officers and leaders of Israel. This is a great plan.
- 8:33Speaker 3: It is the relief that Moses needed, lest he burn
- 8:37Speaker 3: out completely. When we earnestly come to God for help,
- 8:41Speaker 3: he always delivers. and he gives us the means to
- 8:44Speaker 3: overcome our situation, as he did for Moses. But now
- 8:48Speaker 3: God will deal with the ungrateful hearts of his people.
- 8:51Speaker 3: He tells Moses that he's going to give them more
- 8:54Speaker 3: meat than they can handle. Moses asks how God thinks
- 8:57Speaker 3: he's going to do that. There are over 600,000 people.
- 9:01Speaker 3: God's response is one that we should keep in mind
- 9:04Speaker 3: when we think something sounds impossible. Numbers 11.23 says this,
- 9:08Speaker 3: The Lord said to Moses, Is the Lord's power limited?
- 9:14Speaker 3: Now you will see whether my word will come true
- 9:16Speaker 3: for you or not. God tells Moses to stay faithful,
- 9:20Speaker 3: to keep watching. And that's a good word for us.
- 9:23Speaker 3: When things seem unlikely, improbable, or even impossible, we need
- 9:28Speaker 3: to turn our eyes upon the Lord and see what
- 9:31Speaker 3: God can do because God's power is not limited. God
- 9:34Speaker 3: can do anything but fail. Just as God promised, he
- 9:39Speaker 3: sent me. Quail came down upon their camp. They were
- 9:43Speaker 3: up to their knees in quail. The people spent the
- 9:46Speaker 3: day gathering it, and there was no way they could
- 9:49Speaker 3: eat all of it. Clearly, there was no doubt that
- 9:52Speaker 3: God would provide and did provide for his people. It
- 9:56Speaker 3: is so very important that we never mumble or grumble
- 10:01Speaker 3: or complain about God's provision. God will always take care
- 10:05Speaker 3: of his children. We should not complain or doubt that.
- 10:09Speaker 3: Imagine how different this story would have been if people,
- 10:12Speaker 3: the people of Israel, had just trusted God and turned
- 10:15Speaker 3: to him. But as we end today's reading, the people
- 10:19Speaker 3: are overwhelmed with meat, and then a plague hits that
- 10:22Speaker 3: wrecks havoc on the entire camp. And it's all because
- 10:25Speaker 3: they forgot that their God can do all things and
- 10:28Speaker 3: that he is faithful to provide for our every need.
- 10:32Speaker 3: Dear God, thank you for today's reminder that nothing is
- 10:35Speaker 3: impossible for you, that you can do anything beyond what
- 10:38Speaker 3: we can even think or imagine, that you abundantly supply
- 10:42Speaker 3: our every need. Lord, may we never grumble, but rather
- 10:46Speaker 3: be grateful for all that you have provided for us
- 10:48Speaker 3: and to give thanks for the multitude of blessings that
- 10:52Speaker 3: you have given to us. Amen. Thank you for listening
- 10:56Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack
- 10:59Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app and make
- 11:04Speaker 3: prayer a priority in your life. If you enjoyed this podcast,
- 11:08Speaker 3: share it with someone you know, someone you love, because
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- 11:14Speaker 3: in someone's life in Jesus' name. And if you want
- 11:18Speaker 3: more resources on how to tap into God's life, God's power,
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- 11:28Speaker 3: God bless you.
- 11:34Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by MediShare. an innovative health care
- 11:37Speaker 1: solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.