The Way
Graves of Craving
Mouths that demanded meat became graves
Story
Not long after they left Mount Sinai, the sound of complaining rose from the edge of the camp. Fire from the Lord blazed up at the outskirts, and the people cried out to Moses. Moses prayed, and the fire died down. They named the place where the fire had burned Taberah. But among the mixed crowd living with Israel, craving began to spread once more. The Israelites too wept again and said.
Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers and the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic. Now there is nothing to look at but this manna, like coriander seed. From the door of every tent came the sound of weeping. Moses poured out his heart before the Lord as if he were falling apart. I cannot carry this whole people alone. The burden is too heavy for me. The Lord had him gather seventy elders at the tent of meeting, and he shared with them the spirit that was on Moses.
Then a wind went out from the Lord and drove flocks of quail in from the sea. The quail lay all around the camp, a day's walk in every direction, two cubits deep above the ground. All that day and all night and all the next day, the people gathered them without stopping. But while the meat was still between their teeth, the anger of the Lord came down, and a great plague struck the people. The place where those who had craved were buried was called Kibroth Hattaavah, the graves of craving.
Walk this scene on the map →God's Words
Is my arm too short? Now you will see with your own eyes whether my word comes true or not.
I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and give it to them, so that you will not carry the burden of the people alone.
Are you jealous for my sake? I wish all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them all.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Num 11:1–35
Background
Kibroth Hattaavah means graves of craving. Its exact location is unknown, but it is thought to lie somewhere northeast of Mount Sinai. Quail are migratory birds that cross the Sinai Peninsula in spring and autumn, and flocks exhausted from crossing the sea often come down low near the ground.
Pause and Reflect
Am I complaining while taking for granted the grace I receive every day?