“Say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, and you will eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore Yahweh will give you meat, and you will eat. You will not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils, and it is loathsome to you; because you have rejected Yahweh who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?” ’ ”
Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot; and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month.’ Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?”
Yahweh said to Moses, “Has Yahweh’s hand grown short? Now you will see whether my word will happen to you or not.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21 Prepare yourselves that ye be not unclean.
Prepare yourselves that ye be not unclean.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21, 22, 23 Num 11:18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify…
Num 11:18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for [it was] well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
Ver. 18. Sanctify yourselves.] Ironice dictum; or, Sanctify; that is, Prepare yourselves for the day of slaughter, as in Jer 12:3.
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For ye have wept in the ears.] Tears, of what sort soever, have a voice in them, {Psa 39:12} as blood hath. {Gen 4:10}
For it was well with us in Egypt.] Such is the murmuring of those malcontents, that say, It was a merry world before there was so much preaching and teaching.
And ye shall eat.] Flesh with a vengeance; which ye shall eat on earth, but digest in hell. {a}
{a} In terris manducant quod apud inferos digerant. - August.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21, 22, 23 Sanctify yourselves, i.e. prepare yourselves, either to receive the…
Sanctify yourselves, i.e. prepare yourselves, either to receive the miraculous blessings of God, the flesh you desire; or rather,
Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel, in the way of his judgments, and to receive the punishment which God will inflict upon you; for it is evident, from Num 18:20, that God answered them with a curse instead of a blessing. Prepare yourselves by true repentance, that you may either obtain some mitigation of the plague, or, whilst your bodies are destroyed by the flesh you desire and eat, Num 11:33,34, your souls may be saved from the wrath of God. Sanctifying is oft used for preparing, as Jer 6:4; 12:3; 51:28.
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In the ears of the Lord; not secretly in your closets, but openly and impudently in the doors of your tents, Num 11:10, calling heaven and earth to witness your cries and complaints.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv18–23 And say thou unto the people,.... For what follows…
And say thou unto the people,.... For what follows respects them, as what goes before regarded himself:
sanctify yourselves against tomorrow; or prepare yourselves, as the Targums of Onkelos, and Jonathan, either to receive mercies, or to meet the Lord in the way of his judgments; so Jarchi interprets it,"prepare for punishments,''for what is said should be, and what they had, was not as a blessing, but in a way of punishment:
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and ye shall eat flesh; which they lusted after, wept for, and could not be easy without:
for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord; complaining of him, and which he has taken notice of:
saying, who shall give us flesh to eat? for though they so earnestly desired it, they despaired of it, and even called in question the power of God to give it:
for it was well with us in Egypt; where they had their fleshpots, as well as their cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, Exo 16:3; but they forgot how ill it went with them by reason of their hard bondage, when their lives were made bitter by it, notwithstanding their fleshpots, and of which there is not much reason to believe any great share came to them: like to them were their posterity in later times, Jer 44:17,
therefore the Lord will give you flesh; to show his power:
and ye shall eat; to your shame and confusion, not for pleasure or profit.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21 Sanctify themselves - Prepare to meet thy God, O…
Sanctify themselves - Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel, in the way of his judgments. Prepare yourselves by true repentance, that you may either obtain some mitigation of the plague, or, whilst your bodies are destroyed by the flesh you desire and eat, your souls may be saved from the wrath of God. Sanctifying is often used for preparing, as Jer. vi, 4; xii, 3. In the ears of the Lord - Not secretly in your closets, but openly and impudently in the doors of your tents, calling heaven and earth to witness.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv22–23 Verse 22. Shall the flocks and the herds be…
Verse 22. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain] There is certainly a considerable measure of weakness and unbelief manifested in the complaints and questions of Moses on this occasion; but his conduct appears at the same time so very simple, honest, and affectionate, that we cannot but admire it, while we wonder that he had not stronger confidence in that God whose miracles he had so often witnessed in Egypt.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21, 23 Num 11:18. Sanctify yourselves — Prepare to meet thy…
Num 11:18. Sanctify yourselves — Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel, in the way of his judgments. Prepare yourselves by true repentance, that you may either obtain some mitigation of the plague, or, while your bodies are destroyed by the flesh you desire and eat, your souls may be saved from the wrath of God. Sanctifying is often used for preparing, as Jer 6:4; Jer 12:3. In the ears of the Lord — Not secretly in your closets, but openly and impudently in the doors of your tents, calling heaven and earth to witness.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21, 22, 23 Sanctified. Prepare yourselves to receive flesh. The word is…
Sanctified. Prepare yourselves to receive flesh. The word is often used in this sense, Jeremias vi. 4, &c. (Onkelos) --- Cease to murmur, and bewail your sin. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv18, 21 say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow,…
say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh--that is, "prepare yourselves," by repentance and submission, to receive to-morrow the flesh you clamor for. But it is evident that the tenor of the language implied a severe rebuke and that the blessing promised would prove a curse.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv18–23 18. Sanctify yourselves — As a preparation for this…
18. Sanctify yourselves — As a preparation for this extraordinary manifestation of the Holy One all physical and ceremonial defilement was to be put away from their clothes and persons. See Gen_35:2; Exo_19:10, notes.
For it was well with us in Egypt — This declared superiority of condition beneath the crushing yoke of Pharaoh to their present elevation in the service of the Lord, indicates a depth of moral degradation and spiritual stupor which provokes his just anger.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv18, 21 18. And say thou &c.] The combination of the…
18. And say thou &c.] The combination of the quail narrative with Num_11:16 f. has caused some such expression as And Jehovah said unto Moses to drop out from the beginning of this verse.
Sanctify yourselves] Free yourselves from ceremonial uncleanness. Cf. Exo_19:10; Exo_19:14 f.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 21, 22 (18) Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow.—(Comp. Exo_19:10.) The Israelites were…
(18) Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow.—(Comp. Exo_19:10.) The Israelites were required to sanctify themselves by purification for the more immediate manifestation of the Divine presence, although their request was a sinful one, and was granted in judgment as well as—or even more than—in mercy. Comp. Psa_106:15 : “And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21, 22, 23 Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow. By certain ablutions, and by…
Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow. By certain ablutions, and by avoidance of legal pollution. (see Exo_19:10, Exo_19:14, Exo_19:15) The people were to prepare themselves as for some revelation of God"s holiness and majesty. In truth it was for a revelation of his wrath, and of the bitter consequences of sin. There is about the words, as interpreted by the result, a depth of very terrible meaning; it was as though a traitor, unknowing of his doom, were bidden to a grand ceremonial on the morrow, which ceremonial should be his own execution. For it was well with us in Egypt. These false and wicked words, in which the base ingratitude of the people reached its highest pitch, are repeated to them in the message of God with a quiet sternness which gave no sign to their callous ears of the wrath they had aroused.
Vers. 18-20; 31-35. Self-will surfeited and punished.
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I GOD"S TREATMENT OF SELF-WILL. This is always to be well considered where instances of it are found in the Scriptures, because one of the great ends of God"s dealings with us is to establish his holy, wise, and righteous will in place of our low, jealous, ignorant self-will. The way of parents dealing with children is to curb and restrain them at once; but children grow to be men, and what then? We cannot deal effectually with one another, for self-will is in all of us, and so far as temporal circumstances are concerned, it not unfrequently gets much of its own way. When we come to the discipline of the whole man, God only can effectually deal with self-will. He might curb him in at once, but such would not be discipline fit for a man. It might break the spirit, but it would do nothing to enlighten and change; we see here that God"s treatment is to let people walk awhile in their own way. Self-will breaks out in complaints against the manna: self-will then shall have its desire, and what satisfaction it can get from the flesh for which it craves. Its mouth waters at the thought of the fish of Egypt; it shall have quails, which we may presume were an even greater delicacy. So when, in later years, Israel, in envy of surrounding nations, clamoured for a king, forgetting that the King of kings was theirs, God gave them their wish. The bulk of men will only learn by experience. The prodigal son must know the end of riotous living for himself. It is better to take God"s word at the beginning and not sow to the flesh; but men shall have the opportunity if they choose. So God causes his wind to blow and the quails come, an exceeding great multitude. (Psa_68:23-29)
II GOD"S TEST OF SELF-CONTROL. He gives the quails, not for one day"s luxury, but to be the food of a month. As nothing is said to the contrary, we must presume the manna was still continued. Indeed we can easily see the reason for its continuance. God in giving the quails, adds an express and solemn warning. They are to be taken with all their consequences. Sweet at first, they shall turn to objects of bitter loathing. They were given, not in complacency, but in anger, hence they had in them the efficacy of a test. Surely the whole of Israel was not rebellious and murmuring. There must have been men of the Nazarite spirit even then, and the question for them is: "Shall we go out after our wont and gather the manna (Exodus 16), or shall we, like the rest, gratify our appetites with these delicious quails?" Who can doubt that God was watching his own faithful ones, the Israelites indeed in whom there was no guile? There are doubtless many things in the world, the chief use of which is to test the disposition of man to obey God. (Gen_2:16, Gen_2:17) These quails were given, but there was no obligation to eat them. Every Israelite was free to refuse. A timely repentance, and another wind would have blown away the quails as rapidly as they came. There was a lesson if the people would learn it, from the submissive birds to the rebellious human beings.
III GOD"S PENALTY FOR SELF-INDULGENCE. There is a seeming contradiction between verses 19, 20, and verse 33, but it is only seeming. God hastened his judgment and thereby really showed his mercy. As David chose the brief pestilence, and to fall into the hand of the Lord, (2Sa 24) so here God comes with an immediate and sweeping visitation. Besides, it is possible the people neglected the command to sanctify themselves, and thus further provoked the anger already stirred up; when people get lust into their hearts all sense of law is apt to vanish. It was well the people should see clearly the close connection between disobedience and retribution. Thus did God show, even in these quails, the spirit of a good and perfect gift, Nothing in creation is a blessing in itself; God must make it so, and he can easily in his anger turn it to a curse. God, in making the effect of eating the quails so conspicuous and sudden, still further illustrated by contrast the glory of the manna, for this manna was a beautiful type of the true bread that cometh from heaven. The people had never gathered the manna with such greed and application as they had gathered the quails. When a man breaks the law he is at once guilty, and the punishment, if it be deferred, is so as a matter of expediency, not of right. The lapse of time only makes the connection between sin and punishment less obvious, not at all less certain. Y. (Psa_106:15 Gal_6:7-9)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v23 Is the Lords hand waxed short?
Num_11:23
Is the Lords hand waxed short?
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Gods challenge to the faith and co-operation of His people
I. These words have special reference to a divinely-revealed purpose which staggers human reason.
1. Let us look at this purpose. God hath sent His Son into the world,. . . that the world through Him might be saved.
2. The difficulties in the way of this gracious purpose, which excite mens fears. There is the inveterate carnality of the human heart, the stubborn resistance of the human will to the Divine; there is the stolid indifference ,of great masses in Christian lands to the practical duties and claims of religion; and the growing scepticism of the day regarding the verities of the gospel. Consider also the prevalence of idolatrous systems and heathen superstitions among great masses of mankind. Take also the subtle rationalism and keen-witted infidelity which prevail in civilised and semi-Christianised countries. It requires strong faith in a man to calmly survey this formidable host of evil in the world and then take his stand by the side of Christ, confident that His cause will triumph.
II. We have in these words an assertion of divine power which warrants human confidence. Gods purpose is a promise. He stakes His character on the fulfilment of His Word.
1. He cannot forget.
2. He cannot fail through insincerity.
3. He cannot fail through inadequate power to perform.
III. In these words we have Gods challenge to the earnest faith, prayer, and co-operation of his people.
1. The true attitude of the Christian labourer or the Church is to stand, with one hand of believing prayer taking hold of God, and the other hand of loving labour taking hold of fallen man, that the fallen may be raised, and the lost saved.
2. When we are ready for a blessing, God will not fail to bestow it. (John Innocent.)
The glorious right hand of God
I. With regard to the church as a whole, how often is it true that she so behaveth herself as if she had a question in her mind as to whether the Lords hand had waxed short? The mass of us would be afraid to go out trusting in God to supply our needs. We should need first that everything should be prepared for us, and that the way should be paved; but we are not ready to leap as champions upon the wall of the citadel, leading the forlorn hope and planting the standard where it never stood before. No, we can follow in the track of others. We have few Careys and few Knibbs, few men who can go first and foremost saying, This is Gods cause; Jehovah is the only God, and in the name of the Eternal let the idols be abolished. Oh, for more anointed ones to preach the gospel believing in its intrinsic might, assured that where it is preached faithfully, the Spirit of God is never absent! O Zion! get thee up, get thee up! Count no more thy hosts, for their strength is thy weakness; measure no longer thy wealth, for thy wealth has often been thy poverty, and thy poverty thy wealth; think not of the learning or the eloquence of thy ministers and missionaries, for full often these things do but stand in the way of the Eternal God. But come thou forth in simple confidence in His promise, and thou shalt see whether He will not do according to His Word.
II. When believers doubt their God with regard to providence, the question might well be asked of them, Is the Lords hand waxed short? I do not doubt that I am speaking to some who have had many losses and crosses in their business. Instead of getting forward they are going back, and perhaps even bankruptcy stares them in the face. Or possibly, being hard-working men, they may have been long out of employment, and nothing seems now to be before their eyes but the starvation of themselves and their little ones. It is hard to bear this. But dost thou doubt, O believer, dost thou doubt as to whether God will fulfil His promise wherein He said, His place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure? Thy God heareth the young ravens when they cry, and giveth liberally to all the creatures that His hands hath made, and will He forget His sons and His daughters--His people bought with blood, His own peculiar heritage? No; dare to believe Him now. His hand has not waxed short. Please not Satan, and vex not thyself by indulging any more those hard thoughts of Him. Say, My Father, Thou wilt hear my cry; Thou wilt supply all my needs; and according to thy faith, so shall it be done unto thee.
III. There is a third way by which this question might be very naturally suggested, and that is when a man who has faith in christ is exercised with doubts and fears with regard to his own final perseverance or his own present acceptance in Christ.
IV. This is a question which I may well ask of any here present who are convinced of sin, but are afraid to trust their souls now, at this very hour, in the hand of a loving Saviour. Oh, He cannot save me, I am so guilty, so callous! Could I repent as I ought, could I but feel as I ought, then He could save me; but I am naked and poor and miserable. How can He clothe, enrich, and bless me? I am cast out from His presence. I have grieved away His Spirit; I have sinned against light and knowledge--against mercy--against constant grace received. He cannot save me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lords hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether My word shall come to pass unto thee or not. Did He not save the chief of sinners, Saul of Tarsus? Why, then, can He not save you? Is it not written, The blood of Jesus Christ His Son, cleanseth us from all sin? Has that blood lost its efficacy?
V. And you say, do you, that God will not avenge your sins upon you, that ye may go on in your iniquities and yet meet with no punishment; that ye may reject Christ and do it safely. Well, soul, thou shalt see whether His word shall come to pass or not. But let me tell thee His hand is not waxed short; He is as strong to punish as when He bade the floods cover the earth; as powerful to avenge as when He rained hail out of heaven upon the cities of the plain. He is to-day as mighty to overtake and punish His enemies as when He sent the angel through the midst of Egypt, or afterwards smote the hosts of Sennacherib. Thou shalt see whether He will keep His word or not. Go on in the neglect of His great salvation; go to thy dying bed, and buoy thyself up with the false hope that there is no hereafter; but, sinner, thou shalt see; thou shalt see. This point in dispute shall not long be a matter of question to be cavilled at on the one side, and to be taught with tears on the other. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A strange question
It is a singular thing that such a question as this should ever be asked at all: Has the Lords hand waxed short? If we look anywhere and everywhere, apart from the conduct of man, there is nothing to suggest the suspicion.
1. Look to Gods creation! Is there anything there which would make you say, Is the Lords hand waxed short? What pillar of the heavens hath begun to reel? What curtain of the sky hath been rent or moth-eaten? Have the foundations of the earth begun to start? Hath the sun grown dim with age? or have the starry lamps flickered or gone out in darkness? Are there signs of decay to-day upon the face of Gods creation? Have not howling tempests, the yawning ocean, and death-bearing hurricanes, asserted but yesterday their undiminished might? Say, is not the green earth as full of vitality, as ready to yield us harvests now, as it ever hath been? Do the showers fall less frequently? No; journey where you will, you will see God as potent upon the face of the earth, and in the very bowels of the globe, as He was when He first said, Let there be light and there was light. There is nothing which would tempt us to the surmise or the suspicion that the Lords hand hath waxed short.
2. And look ye too in providence; is there aught there that would suggest the question? Are not His prophecies still fulfilled? Does He not cause all things to work together for good? Do the cattle on a thousand hills low out to Him for hunger? Do you meet with the skeletons of birds that have fallen to the ground from famine? Doth He neglect to give to the fish their food, or do the sea-monsters die? Doth not God still open His hand and supply the want of every living thing? Is He less bounteous to-day than He was in the time of Adam? Is not the cornucopia still as full? Doth He not still scatter mercies with both His hands right lavishly? Are there any tokens in providence any more than in nature, that Gods arm hath waxed short?
3. And look ye too in the matter of grace; is there any token in She work of grace that Gods power is failing? Are not sinners still saved? Are not profligates still reclaimed? Are not drunkards still uplifted from their sties to sit upon the throne with princes? Is not the Word of God still quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword? Where have ye seen the sword of the Lord snapped in twain? When hath God assayed to melt a h-art and failed in the attempt? Which of His people has found the riches of His grace drained dry? Which of His children has had to mourn that the unsearchable riches of Christ had failed to supply his need? How is it, then, that such a question as this ever came from the lips of God Himself? What could there have been that should lead Him or any of His creatures to say, Is the Lords hand waxed short? We answer, there is but one creature that God has made that ever doubts Him. The little sparrows doubt not: though they have no barn nor field, yet they sweetly sing at night as they go to their roosts, though they know not where to-morrows meal shall be found. The very cattle trust Him; and even in days of drought, ye have seen them when they pant for thirst, how they expect the water; how the very first token of it makes them show in their very animal frame, by some dumb language, that they felt that God would not leave them to perish. The angels never doubt Him, nor the devils either: devils believe and tremble. But it was left for man, the most favoured of all creatures, to mistrust his God. This high, this black, this infamous sin of doubting the power and faithfulness of Jehovah, was reserved for the fallen race of rebellious Adam; and we alone, out of all the beings that God has ever fashioned, dishonour Him by unbelief and tarnish His honour by mistrust. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
No failure of Tower with God
Amongst all the gods of the heathen Jupiter was in the greatest esteem, as the father and king of gods and was called Jupiter, quasi juvans pater, a helping father, yet (as the poets feign) be wept when he could not set Sarpedon at liberty; such was the imbecility and impotency of this master-god of the heathen. But the hand of our God is never shortened that it cannot help, He is ever able to relieve us, always ready to deliver us. Amongst all the gods there is none like unto Him, none can do like unto His works, He is God Omnipotent. (J. Spencer.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv18, 21 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues speaking to Moses.
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Who will give us meat to eat?
The Israelites had asked this question in order to complain and to express their desire for something other than manna to eat. It can be expressed as a statement. AT: "We wish that we had meat to eat." (See: Rhetorical Question)
until it comes out of your nostrils
Possible meanings are 1) God speaks of vomiting as if the food would come out through their nostrils. AT: "until you are sick and vomit" or 2) they would eat so much meat that it would be as if it would come out of their nostrils. AT: "until it feels like it would have to come out of your nostrils" (See: Metaphor)
Why did we leave Egypt?
The people had used this question to express regret and to complain. AT: "We never should have left Egypt." (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
consecrate
Egypt
reject
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.