Numbers 11:1-13:33

The people complain to Moses that they do not like the food God is providing for them; they remember the better tasting food they used to get in Egypt.  God becomes angry and sends fires into the camp, Moses prays for the people and God removes the fires.  70 leaders are then commissioned by Moses.  God responds to the peoples complaint and sends a great flock of quail.

Miriam and Aaron become jealous of the standing of Moses before God and demand that God speaks to them as well.  God becomes furious the Miriam and curses her with leprosy.  Moses prays for Miriam and God heals her.  God then instructs the Israelites to explore the land of Canaan.  Moses sends 12 scouts into the land; one from each of the 12 tribes.  The scouts report that the land is filled with great produce, but it is also filled with giant adversaries.  One of the 12 scouts, Caleb, encourages Moses to enter the land, but the other scouts fear that they will be destroyed if they attack.

The people complaining that all they have to eat is manna struck a chord with me.  Manna was a daily miracle that God was  providing the people.  Through this miracle the people were still alive and had not died of starvation.  But this miracle had become such a common occurrence that the people no longer saw it as God providing for them.  How often do we overlook the miracles God is sustaining us with every day.

Recently, while working out my personal theology, I have been asking the question, “if God moves through normal, expected, natural events, has God moved?”  Is God moving when the sun comes up in the morning?  Is God responsible for the coming of spring?  Is God at work when the grass grows?  At this point I think I would answer yes.  It would be good for us to recognize when God is working miracles to provide for our everyday needs.

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