Numbers 11:1

_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._ When the people complained ... Unaccustomed to the fatigues of travel, and wandering into the depths of a desert, less mountainous but far more gloomy and desolate than that of Sinai, without any near prospect of the rich country that had been promised, they fell into a state of vehement discontent, which was vented at these, irksome and apparently fruitless journeyings. 'There is considerable difficulty in tracing the course of their matchings on their departure from Sinai. But comparing the account in Numbers 33:1 of "their goings out, which Moses wrote by the commandment of Yahweh," with the details elsewhere given, it can be very nearly, if not exactly, ascert

1._And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord. _(11) The ambiguous signification of the participle (12) causes the translators to twist this passage into a variety of meanings. Since the Hebrew root און,_aven, _is sometimes trouble and labor, sometimes fatigue, sometimes iniquity, sometimes falsehood, some translate it, “The people were, as it were, complaining or murmuring.” Others (though this seems to be more beside the mark) insert the adverb _unjustly; _as if Moses said, that their complaint was unjust, when they expostulated with God. Others render it, “being sick, (_nauseantes, _”) but this savors too much of affectation; others, “lying, or dealing treacherously.” Some derive it from the root תואנה, _thonah, _and thus explain it, “seeking occasion,” which I reject as

1-3 Here is the people's sin; they complained. See the sinfulness of sin, which takes occasion from the commandment to be provoking. The weakness of the law discovered sin, but could not destroy it; checked, but could not conquer it. They complained. Those who are of a discontented spirit, will always find something to quarrel or fret about, though the circumstances of their outward condition be ever so favourable. The Lord heard it, though Moses did not. God knows the secret frettings and murmurings of the heart, though concealed from men. What he noticed, he was much displeased with, and he chastised them for this sin. The fire of their wrath against God burned in their minds; justly did the fire of God's wrath fasten on their bodies; but God's judgments came on them gradually, that they might take warning. It appeared that God delights not in punishing; when he begins, he is soon prev...

CHAPTER XI _The people complain, the Lord is displeased, and many of them_ _are consumed by fire_, 1. _Moses intercedes for them, and the fire is quenched_, 2. _The place is called_ Taberah, 3. _The_ mixed multitude _long for flesh, and murmur_, 4-6. _The manna described_, 7-9. _The people weep in their tents, and the Lord is displeased_, 10. _Moses deplores his lot in being obliged to hear and bear with_ _all their murmurings_, 11-15. _He is commanded to bring seventy of the elders to God that he_...

See the marginal rendering. They murmured against the privations of the march. THE FIRE OF THE LORD - Probably lightning; compare Psalms 78:21. IN THE UTTERMOST PARTS - Rather, in the end. The fire did not reach far into the camp. It was quickly quenched at the intercession of Moses....

EXPOSITION THE PLACE OF BURNING (Numbers 11:1). NUMBERS 11:1 AND WHEN THE PEOPLE COMPLAINED, it DISPLEASED THE LORD. There is no "when" in the original. It is literally, "And_ _the people were as complainers evil in the ears of the Lord." This may be paraphrased as in the A.V.; or it may be rendered as in the Septuagint, ἧν ὁ λαὸς γογγύζων πονηρὰ_ _ἔυαντι κυρίου_ _(cf. 1 Corinthians 10:10), where πονηρά_ _means the wicked things they uttered in their discontent; or the "evil" may mean the hardships they complained of. The Targums

AND [WHEN] THE PEOPLE COMPLAINED,.... Or "were as complainers" p; not merely like to such, but were truly and really complainers, the כ, "caph", here being not a note of similitude, but of truth and reality, as in Hosea 5:10. This Hebraism is frequent in the New Testament, Matthew 14:5. What they complained of is not said, it being that for which there was no foundation; it is generally supposed to be of their journey; but if they were come but eight miles, as observed on Numbers 10:33; they could not be very weary; and especially as they were marching towards the land of Canaan, it might be thought they would be fond and eager of their journey. Some think it was for want of flesh, being weary of manna, and that this was only t

Numbers 11:1. _And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD:_ Interpreters cannot make out what they had to complain of. The curse of labour had been removed; they did not earn their bread with the sweat of their face, for it fell from heaven every day. They were at no expense for clothing; and though they journeyed, their feet did not swell. I suppose that they complained of the weather. It was too cold; it was too hot; it was too wet; it was too dry. They complained when they stood still; they were much too long in a place. They complained when they marched; they moved too often. In fact, they were very like ourselves; they often complained most when they had least to complain of. Discontent is chronic to our humanity; and I do not believe that the poorest are the most discontented. It is often the very reverse. When a man is put in a place where be has nothing to compla

II. THE JOURNEY STARTED: ISRAEL'S UNBELIEF, FAILURE AND PUNISHMENT 1. The Departure and the First Failure CHAPTER 10:11-36 _ 1. The cloud moves (Numbers 10:11)_ 2. The standard of the camp of Judah (Numbers 10:14) 3. The standard of the camp of Reuben (Numbers 10:18) 4. The standard of the camp of Ephraim (Numbers 10:22) 5. The standard of the camp of Dan (Numbers 10:25) 6.The first failure (N

( JE). THE CHASTISEMENT OF THE PEOPLE AT TABERAH. The occasion was discontent at some hardship, the nature of which is not explained. The agency by which the discontent was punished was probably lightning (_cf._ Exodus 9:23; Job 1:16; 2 Kings 1:10). The place is unknown. NUMBERS 11:1. Render, And the people were as mourners at misfortune. Numbers 11:3. Taberah: _ i.e._ Burning, from the Heb. root _ba_-'_ ar_, to burn....