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Series E -- God’s Laws |
Discipline BeginsThe Coming of the QuailsFrom Numbers 11 “Life was difficult in the wilderness, so before long the people began to complain. But the Lord was angry because of their complaints and He sent fire among the people, destroying those at the far end of the camp. The survivors rushed to Moses, crying out for help. When Moses prayed, the Lord stopped the fire. After that, the place was named Taberah, (the Place of Burning,) because the Lord’s fire had burned among the people there. Not long after that, the foreigners who lived among the people of Israel began to hunger for the good food they had enjoyed in Egypt. The more they talked about it, the more the people of Israel hungered for those things. If only we had meat to eat! They complained. Remember the fish we had there without any cost to us and the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic? Now we have no strength left and all we can find to eat is this manna. The manna looked like a resinous gum the size of coriander seed. When the people gathered it, they ground it in mills or beat it with mortars. After boiling it, they made cakes with it and these tasted like wheat or barley cakes baked with oil. The manna came upon the ground during the night, appearing with the dew in the early morning. Before long Moses became aware of the complaining people as they stood at the doorways of their tents, crying about the food they didn’t have. The Lord was angry because of this, as was Moses. Why have You burdened me with all these people and their problems? Moses asked the Lord. Did I give birth to them? Am I responsible for them as a father is responsible for his children? Why are You asking me to carry them in my arms, like nursing children, until we reach the land You promised to our ancestors? Where will I find meat for all these people? They cry out to me, begging for meat which I don’t have. I can’t carry the burden of all these people myself; it is too heavy for me to bear. I would rather die than go on this way. Bring seventy leaders of Israel to the tabernacle, the Lord replied. As they stand there with you, I will come down and talk with you. Then I will take some of the spirit which is upon you and place it upon them, so they may bear the burden of the people with you and you will no longer have to bear it alone. Tell the people to consecrate themselves, for tomorrow they will have meat to eat. Tell them I have heard their cries for meat and will give them enough meat, not merely for one or two days or even five or ten or twenty, but for an entire month. They will have so much meat that it will come out of their nostrils and will become repulsive to them; for they have rejected Me even while I am among them and have longed for Egypt. They have cried out, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’ But, Lord, there are six hundred thousand men whom we have numbered, Moses protested. Yet You say that You will give them all enough meat for a month. Will we need to slaughter all our flocks and herds to do this? Or will we gather all the fish out of the sea to satisfy their hunger? Has My hand become weak and helpless? the Lord replied. You will see whether My promise is true or not. Moses left the tabernacle and told the people what the Lord had said. Then he assembled the seventy leaders and placed them around the tabernacle. The Lord came down in the cloud and took some of the spirit that rested upon Moses and placed it upon the seventy. The leaders prophesied for some time, but after a while they ceased. However, two of the seventy, Eldad and Medad, were still in the camp. When the spirit came upon them, they too began to prophesy. One of the young men rushed to tell Moses about this. Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, said the young man. Stop them! Said Joshua the son of Nun, one of Moses’ close associates. Are you jealous for my sake? Moses asked Joshua. I only wish that all the people were prophets so that the Lord would put His spirit upon them. So Moses and the leaders returned to the camp. The Lord sent a great wind through the wilderness, carrying quails from the sea. The quails began to fall toward the ground, swarming about three or four feet above the ground for as far as the people could walk in a day in any direction. Throughout that day and night and throughout the next day the people caught and killed quails. Nobody gathered less than ten homers (about a hundred bushels). There were dead quails everywhere, spread out all around the camp. But as the people began to eat the meat, the Lord’s anger rose against them and He caused many of them to die of a plague. Thus the name of the place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, (The Graves of Craving,) because they buried the people there who had craved meat and had longed for Egypt. From that place the people of Israel journeyed to Hazeroth, where they remained for some time.”
CommentaryLife They Left Behind: Fishing in Ancient EgyptThe waters of Egypt were filled with edible fish. Fish made up a main part of the Egyptian menu after grains and bread. Because it was so important, there were many fishermen. A fisherman’s life in Egypt was not one to be envied. The work was hard, sweaty and dirty. Working in the hot sun every day, often fishing from still or muddy water, he smelled worse than a crocodile; or so claimed one Egyptian writer. The Nile fisherman got to know the crocodile very well: the river was full of the large creatures. He might sometimes see fish nibbling on the body of someone killed by them. He worked in daily fear of their murderous jaws. A certain quota of fish had to be caught each day. To make sure the catch was a good one; fishermen often worshiped gods and creatures of the lakes, rivers and seas. They sometimes offered sacrifices and even burned incense to their nets. These people had several different ways to fish. Many of them were not very different from fishing methods of today. Sometimes they used a hook, line and sinker, though probably not a pole. Larger fish were harpooned with spears, the way it is still done in parts of the world. But by far the most popular way to catch fish was by using nets. The nets were made of linen strands or string. Fishermen often made their own nets. When the day or night of fishing was over, the careful fishermen washed out their nets. If a large or vigorous catch had torn or broken the nets, they would be carefully mended with special netting needles and bobbins. The largest and strongest nets were used in sea fishing. Other large nets were used by lake fishermen. Smaller nets were used by those who fished in shallow waters. Boat fishermen would drop their nets over the side and when the nets were full, would haul in their squirming catch. Sometimes they would drag the nets through the water and pick up fish on the move. The nets, heavy, wet and loaded with their catch, had to be carefully pulled back into the boat. The big fishing boats of the present day use machinery for much of this. But essentially, fishing thousands of years ago and in the modern world are not really very different from each other. The nets were emptied and the fresh fish taken in baskets to a nearby market. If they were not going to be eaten immediately or were going to be taken a long distance in the hot climate, the fish were dried and salted to preserve them. Sometimes they were smoked. Broiled, boiled, fried, salted or smoked; fish were desired then as a delicious food, just as they are today.
Test Yourself1.) What does “Taberah” mean?
2.) What aspect of their lives did the Israelites start complaining about in this reading?
3.) How many leaders were Moses instructed to bring to the Tabernacle?
4.) What objection did Moses have when God told him that there was going to be meat the next day?
5.) Which of these elders was prophesying in the camp?
6.) What form did the meat sent by God, come in?
7.) What was the minimum amount of quail gathered by each person?
8.) What does Kibroth-hattaavah mean?
9.) The Egyptian fisherman’s odour was comparable to what aquatic beast?
10.) What was the most common fish-catching tool in ancient-Egypt?
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