Key Thought: When we are restless at heart, we struggle to walk by faith. Too little rest affects our emotions, causes bad choices, and unhappiness.
.July 10, 2021

1. Have a volunteer read Numbers 11:1-15.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What are the Israelites complaining about?
3. Personal Application: Why is it so easy to remember the past as better than it really was? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Why did the Israelites complain as much about being free from Egypt and slavery? Did they really want to be slaves in Egypt rather than free in the desert?” How would you respond to your friend?

2. Have a volunteer read Numbers 12:1-3.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What were Miriam and Aaron upset about? How does God respond to this complaint?
3. Personal Application: Is it better to pray for our church leaders or complain and criticize and wish we had different leaders? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “If we are forgiven from our sins, do we still have to live with the consequences of these sins? How does sin negatively affects us?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Numbers 14:11-15.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What opportunity does God offer Moses in the face of rebellion?
3. Personal Application: Are you more concerned with interceding with people who don’t seem to know God, or moving on to reach those who would be more interested? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Why did Moses respond the way he did to God? If he had went along with God’s proposal, would it have been done?“ How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read I Corinthians 10:1-11..

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What similarities do you see in Israel’s wanderings and God’s people living just before the second coming?
3. Personal Application: What is the difference between acting on faith and acting on presumption?” Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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The story begins on a positive note. The Israelites have finally reached the borders of Canaan, and 12 spies are sent to explore the land. Their report is extraordinary.

Read the spies’ report in Numbers 13:27-33. At which point are the expectations of the Israelites dashed?

In spite of Caleb’s intervention, the voices of the doubters and skeptics prevail. Israel does not set out to conquer what God had promised them. Restless at heart, they choose weeping and murmuring over marching and shouting for victory.

When we are restless at heart, we struggle to walk by faith. Restlessness, however, affects not only our emotions. Scientists tell us that there is a straight line of cause and effect between too little rest (including lack of sleep) and bad choices, resulting in obesity, addictions, and more restlessness and unhappiness.

Read Numbers 14:1-10. What happened next?

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Things move from bad to worse. Caleb’s desperate plea, “only do not rebel against the LORD” (Numbers 14:9), goes unheeded, and the entire assembly prepares to stone their leaders. Restlessness leads to rebellion, and rebellion ultimately leads to death.

“The unfaithful spies were loud in denunciation of Caleb and Joshua, and the cry was raised to stone them. The insane mob seized missiles with which to slay those faithful men. They rushed forward with yells of madness, when suddenly the stones dropped from their hands, a hush fell upon them, and they shook with fear. God had interposed to check their murderous design. The glory of His presence, like a flaming light, illuminated the tabernacle. All the people beheld the signal of the Lord. A mightier one than they had revealed Himself, and none dared continue their resistance. The spies who brought the evil report crouched terror-stricken, and with bated breath sought their tents.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prohets, p. 390.

Right then, however, the glory of the Lord manifests itself publicly. When we read the story in Numbers 14, it seems as if the entire scene has been frozen, and we are now privy to listen in on God’s conversation with Moses. God recognizes that even though the stones are meant for Moses and Caleb and Joshua, ultimately the rebellion is directed against God Himself.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Read Numbers 12:1-3. What are Miriam and Aaron upset about?

Ostensibly, Miriam and Aaron were unhappy about Moses’ Cushite wife. Zipporah was an outsider hailing from Midian (see Exodus 3:1). Even among Israel’s “elite,” the fallenness of our nature is revealed, and not in a very pleasant way either. (Is it ever?)

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The biblical text, however, clearly shows this to be a pretext. The main focus of their complaint is about the prophetic gift. In the previous chapter God had told Moses to appoint seventy of Israel’s elders who would help Moses carry the administrative burden of leadership (Num: 11:16, Num 11:17,  Num 11.24-25). Aaron and Miriam had been playing key leadership roles, as well (Exodus 4:13-15, Micah 6:4), but now they felt threatened by the new leadership development and said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” (Num: 12:2).

How does God respond to this complaint? Read Numbers 12:4-13. Why do you think God responds so decisively?

God’s response is immediate and leaves no room for interpretation. The prophetic gift is not a weapon used to wield more power. Moses was well suited for leadership because he had learned how extremely dependent he was on God.

The fact that Miriam is mentioned before Aaron in verse 1 suggests that she may have been the instigator of the attack on Moses. At this time, Aaron is already serving as Israel’s high priest. If he had been struck with leprosy, he would not have been able to enter the tabernacle and minister on the people’s behalf. God’s punishment of Miriam with temporary leprosy communicates vividly His displeasure with both of them and helps bring about the attitude change that this family needs. Aaron’s plea for her affirms that he, too, was involved (Num: 12:11), and now instead of criticism and restlessness, we see Aaron pleading for Miriam, and we see Moses interceding on her behalf (Num: 12:11-13). This is the attitude that God wants to see in His people. He hears, and He heals Miriam.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Israel must have felt restless and unhappy when they departed Sinai on their way to Canaan. More than one year had passed since they had left Egypt (Num: 1:1). They were ready to enter the Promised Land. They had been counted and organized. They had witnessed incredible displays of divine favor and clear signs of God’s presence. Yet, the first place following their departure from Sinai finds them complaining.

Read Numbers 11:1-15. What are the Israelites complaining about?

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The Israelites crave the meat, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic of Egypt. “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” (Num: 11:4-6). They must also have suffered from severe selective memory when they remembered the food and forgot the slavery and unbelievable hardship (compare with Exodus 1).

They had been fed by God’s manna for more than a year; yet, they felt restless and wanted something else. Even Moses is affected. Trying to lead a group of restless people is not easy. But Moses knows whom to turn to. “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me?” (Num: 11:11).

How does God respond to the complaints? Read Numbers 11:16-33.

God is not deaf to our needs when we feel restless. In Israel’s case, He gave them quail to satisfy their hunger for meat. But it wasn’t really the meat Israel wanted. When we are unhappy and restless and angry, what we are angry about is often just the detonator — not the cause of the conflict. We fight because there is something deeper amiss, affecting our underlying relationships. Israel rebelled against God’s leading, something that we all have to be careful about, no matter our immediate situation and context, for it’s easier to do than we think.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Num: 11:1-33, Num: 12:1-13, Num: 13:27-33, Num: 14:1-23, 1 Corinthians 10:1-11, Num: 14:39-45.

Memory Text: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Over the centuries, many people have reported strange, restless behavior in dogs and other domestic animals before major earthquakes.

Scientists have now established that animals are able to detect the first of an earthquake’s seismic waves — the pressure wave — that arrives in advance of the secondary shaking wave. This probably explains why animals have been reported acting confused, or restless, right before the ground starts to shake. Some animals, such as elephants, can perceive low-frequency sound waves and vibrations from foreshocks, which humans can’t detect at all.

A few minutes before the 5.8-magnitude quake that hit the Washington, D.C., area on August 23, 2011, some of the animals at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo started behaving strangely. Among those were the lemurs, who began calling loudly for about 15 minutes before the ground started shaking.

In this week’s study, we look at some examples of strange human restlessness that was brought about, not by impending natural disasters such as earthquakes but, rather, by the basic sinfulness of fallen human beings who were not resting in what Christ offers all who come to Him in faith and obedience.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 10.

Sunday–>

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