Numbers 11

v1-3: Don’t think that very favourable outward circumstances will put an end to the grumbling and murmurings of our hearts. “Those who have a discontented spirit will always find something or other to quarrel with.”

v4-15: If there are within the church, “a few dissenting, discontented, and disagreeable people,” they can “cause a great deal of trouble” for the rest, and even draw others to follow after their ways.

v16-17: Unless leaders are qualified, called, and equipped by God, they will more likely turn out to be a hindrance rather than a help.

v18-23: Worldly pleasures do not satisfy and we will eventually tire of them, even becoming sick of them. “Spiritual delights… are the opposite. We will never tire of them and they satisfy us deeply.”

v24-30: “When God is served and glorified and good is done” it ought to please us, “even when it lowers our prestige” or “that of our group.”

v31-35: God satisfied the Israelites with the meat they craved and then struck them with a severe plague. There is a danger that comes with desiring “something excessively” and sinfully. If we end up obtaining it, it may “cause us grief and be a burden to us.”

Numbers 12

v1-3: “Striving to be greatest is a sin which disciples easily fall into, and it is extremely sinful.” It is so often the case, that when others surpass us, envy shows itself. “Even those who have been promoted far are rarely pleased if others are promoted even farther than them.”

v4-9: If God were to leave us, we would be ruined. “But he never leaves us until we have first driven him away by our sin and foolishness.”

v10-16: “We should learn from this judgment on Miriam and take it as a warning to beware of making any insults against our Lord Jesus. If she was punished in this way for speaking against Moses, what will become of those who sin against Christ?”