Numbers 11:31-35 – It’s important to wait for God’s plan

Let us return to the complaint of the children of Israel captured in Numbers 11:4-6. Like a monotonous chant, they cried out in a unison choral saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat for free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna!” So now in Numbers 11:31-35, we see the response of God.

In referring to this incident, Psalm 106-13-16 so succinctly captured the essence of the whole problem. The Psalmist said:

“They quickly forgot His works;
They did not wait for His plan,
But became lustfully greedy in the wilderness,
And put God to the test in the desert.
So He gave them their request,
But sent a wasting disease among them.”

In response to their lustful craving, God sent a strong wind that got an unimaginably huge horde of quails from the sea crashing into the camp. These were migratory birds that would not be there if not for the strong gush of wind sent by God. The number of quails that was available to them was impossible to count. Just imagine three feet of the ground for a traveling distance of two-plus days covered by quails waiting to be picked up. One cannot even begin to estimate the number of warehouses required to store the meat God had provided.  

On the day that the quails came dropping all over the camp, the children of Israel took the whole day and night plus the next day to gather them. The least that one Israelite had collected was about ten homers. Homer is a measurement in volume. How many birds would that be is anybody’s guess! But suffice to say that they had collected a lot. In days where there was no refrigerator, the quails were left outside their camp to dry. It is chilling to read verse 33. We are told that even before the people could chew the meat of the quails, God’s anger was kindled. Many were afflicted with a plague and smitten dead. That day the place came to be known as Kibroth-hattaavah or the grave of lust.

It is painful to think about how hurtful it must have been to God. His patience was tested time and again. The number of miracles God had granted them should have led them to trust Him but apparently, they did not. Never mind about them, what about us?  God, we can be sure, is more interested to know if we have learned from their experience. Will we also forget His work in our lives? Will we wait patiently for His plan to be fulfilled in us? We must not allow our lives to be driven for an instant gratification mentality. Let’s allow God to work His will in our life. And in His time, He will make all things beautiful. We need to be patient. Why? For those that wait upon the Lord shall not only renew their strength, but shall also soar like an eagles .So we wait on Him patiently.