Warm up in pairs:   When the going got tough, the Israelites recalled “the good old days” in Egypt.    Were the good old days for you really that good?   What was good about them and what was not so good?

Numbers 11:4-9

1. What do you think of when you think of riffraff? Here is refers to a group that gathered to complain.  Some believe they were part of the non-Israelites who left Egypt with them.   See Exodus.12:38
2. Was the Israelites cry for meat a result of the riffraff or not? Certainly, that group had some influence on them.
3. What did the Israelites remember from their days in Egypt? The good food.  What did they forget?   The slavery and mistreatment.   Why did they choose to remember only the good and forget the bad?   One possible answer is that it is just human nature to escape the unpleasantness of a current situation by remembering the good part of the past, while ignoring the bad.
4. Were the Israelites exaggerating or overreacting to their present situation? While traveling in the desert is not easy, there were perhaps exaggerating how bad things were, provoked by the riffraff.
5. What was their attitude towards the manna? See 11:6.   What can we learn about contentment from these verses?   See I Timothy 6:6-8

Numbers 11:10-15

1. What was the response of the Lord to the weeping of the people? The response of Moses?  See 11:10
2. What was Moses general feeling in 11:11-14?    Discuss further.
3. Who was Moses blaming for his troubles? The Lord.   Do we sometimes blame the Lord for our troubles?
4. What kind of behavior was Moses accusing the Israelites of? Acting like babies.
5. Who do you remember wondering where they could get food for a large crowd? The disciples.   See Mt. 15:33.
6. Did the Lord really expect Moses to carry the people by himself? No, that was his choice.   He was unwilling to delegate.
7. Can you think of a previous example when Moses failed to delegate and his father-in-law gave him so good advice? See Exodus 18:31
8. Did you think Moses was a reluctant leader from the beginning? See Exodus 3:11
9. Do you think Moses was serious about asking the Lord to kill him so he didn’t have to see his misery anymore?

Numbers 11:16-17

1. How many men did the Lord tell Moses to gather?    Who sent out a group of seventy?   Jesus in Luke 10:1.
2. Was there any significance to having them gather in front of the tent of meeting with Moses?    To be next to God’s presence.
3. Why was the Lord going to put the Spirit that was on Moses on the 70?   To empower them to do the work they were called to do.  What parallel is there to the gifts of the Spirit to the body of Christ-the church?   Each member of the body of Christ has a role in building God’s kingdom on earth.
4. Why are we reluctant to ask for help when life is overwhelming us? Pride is one reason.   What are others?    Does the Lord expect us to go life alone?    Certainly not.   He created us to be relational creatures and after we are saved, he gave us the body of Christ to be a part of.