Chapter 13 – The Cherubim by Fay Berry – Num 7- 11

Chapter 13 – The Cherubim by Fay Berry – Num 7- 11

When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, then the leaders of Israel, the heads of families brought gifts before the Lord and presented them before the tabernacle.

(Num 7:3). Each day, one leader brought his offering for the dedication of the altar (Num 7:11 ). The leaders of the twelve tribes were Nahshon son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah, Nathaniel son of Zuar, the leader of Issachar, Elias son of Helen, the leader of Zebulun, Elizur son of Shedeur, the leader of Reuben, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, the leader of Simeon, Eliasaph son of Deuel, the leader of Gad, Elishama, son of Ammihud, the leader of Ephraim, Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, the leader of Manasseh, Abidjan, son of Gideoni, the leader of Benjamin, Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, the leader of Dan, Paige’s, son of Okran, the leader of Asher, Ahira, son of Evan, the leader of Naphtali.

All of these brought offerings for the dedication of the altar after it was anointed, and Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with Michael the Archangel, and he heard Michael’s voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law and this is the way God spoke to Moses as they journeyed in the wilderness (Num 7:89).

The Lord spoke to Moses in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt, he commanded Moses to “have the Israelites celebrate the Passover,” and they did so and in spite of the fact that some of the people were not clean and prepared for keeping the Passover, God was prepared to accept their worship, Num 9:1-3)

On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud of the Cherubim covered it. From evening till morning it looked like fire and during the day, the cloud covered it (Num 9:16). When they set out from the mountain of the Lord and traveled, the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them and the cloud of the Lord was over them by day and the fire of the Cherubim by night. When ever the ark set out, Moses said, “Rise up, Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you. Whenever it came to rest, he said, “Return, Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel,” Num 10:35-36)

The people in spite of now having a tent of meeting where they could worship God, soon forgot God’s blessings and began to complain about the hardships of the way. They began to turn back in their minds to Egypt, longing for the old familiar foods; the meat, the melons, leeks and onions and they despised God’s “light bread from heaven” and lusted after the fruit of the earth and particularly they longed for and lusted after meat.

For Moses it was all too much and the burden too heavy and he longed for the peace of death. God told Moses to go to the tent of meeting and take with him 70 of the elders of Israel. Then Michael the Archangel came down in the cloud of Cherubim and spoke with him there. Michael took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the 70 elders and they prophesied. Just once did they prophesy, and did not do so again.

Two of the seventy, Elias and Medad, remained within the camp and did not come out with the 68 elders who went out with Moses to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. In spite of that God put some of Moses’ Spirit upon them as well, and they too prophesied.

Joshua, who “had been Moses’ aide since youth,” said, “Moses, my lord stop them.” But God reinforced Elias’ and Medad’s appointment equally with the 70 elders and the 68 returned to the camp and joined with Elias and Medad and they thenceforth they became Moses assistants to relieve some of the weight of the burden in the care of the people.

When Joseph brought his family into Egypt, Jacob’s sons in Egypt numbered seventy, including Joseph’s two sons who were born in Egypt. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, he gave Moses seventy elders to help him bear the burden on the nation. He gave each of the seventy a portion of Moses Spirit, to the 68 outside of the camp and two inside the camp. It would appear to me that the 70 elders who left Egypt were like the 70 sons of Jacob who entered Egypt (Gen 46:27) and the number seventy is representative of the Sons of Israel throughout scripture.

When the people complained to Moses about the lack of meat, the Cherubic wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea and the nation had the meat they had been craving.

Without thanking God for his wonderful provision, the people tore into the quails with their teeth eating the meat with the blood thereof, and God struck them down with a plague and many thousands of Israel were buried there that day of the people who craved “other” food, and they called that place Kibroth Hattaavah,” which means ” the graves of the greedy.”