March 2: Numbers 11:1 – Numbers 13:33

The People Complain – Numbers 11

• The Hebrew people complain, and God hears them. His anger is kindled, and the fire of the Lord burns among them and consumes some of the outlying parts of the camp. The people appeal to Moses, and he prays to God. The fires then die down.
• The people again complain, this time that they want meat, fruits, and vegetables to eat (instead of the manna they are always given).
• Moses hears the people weeping at the doors of their tents. The anger of the Lord blazes hotly, and Moses is displeased. He asks God why he has not found favor with Him and gives an account of everything he had done as instructed. Moses begs God for meat for the people, claiming he cannot bear the burden he has been given alone.

Elders Appointed to Aid Moses

• God tells Moses to gather for Him seventy of the elders of Israel and bring them to the tent of meeting, and He will come down and talk with them there. God tells Moses that He will take some of the Spirit placed on Moses and place it on the elders. Moses is then to tell the people to consecrate themselves, for tomorrow they will eat meat. They will have meat for a month, until they are tired of it, because they have rejected the Lord.
• Moses does as instructed. The Lord comes down in a cloud and rests upon the seventy elders, and they prophesy, but they do not continue doing it.
• The Spirit rests on Eldad and Medad, who are still in the camp. They prophesy in the camp, and a man comes to the tent of meeting to tell Moses. Joshua tells Moses to stop them, but Moses refuses, saying he wishes all the men would receive the Spirit of the Lord. Moses then returns to the camp.

Quail and a Plague

• A wind blows in, bringing quail  from the sea. The people gather the quail for a day and a half and spread it for themselves all around the camp. Because of their greed, God's anger is kindled, and He strikes the people with a plague. The people then journey on to Hazeroth.

Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses – Numbers 12

• Moses has married a Cushite woman, and Miriam and Aaron speak against him. The Lord hears their complaints, and calls Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to the tent of meeting. There, He comes down as a pillar of cloud, stands at the entrance, and calls Aaron and Miriam to Himself. He points out that He trusts Moses completely and questions why they weren't afraid to criticize Moses, then leaves.
• When the cloud removes from over the tent, Miriam is leprous. When Aaron sees this, he apologizes and begs Moses to ask God to heal her. Moses does so, but God tells him that she should be shamed for seven days. So she is put out of the camp for seven days, and the people don't march until she is brought back into the camp. They then set out for the wilderness of Paran.

Spies Sent into Canaan – Numbers 13

• God tells Moses to send spies into the land of Canaan—twelve men, one from each tribe. The spies are:
1. Shammua, from the tribe of Reuben
2. Shaphat, from the tribe of Simeon
3. Caleb, from the tribe of Judah
4. Igal, from the tribe of Issachar
5. Hoshea (Joshua), from the tribe of Ephraim
6. Palti from the tribe of Benjamin
7. Gaddiel, from the tribe of Zebulun
8. Gaddi, from the tribe of Mannaseh
9. Ammiel, from the tribe of Dan
10. Sethur, from the tribe of Asher
11. Nahbi, from the tribe of Naphtali
12. Geuel, from the tribe of Gad
• Moses sends the men into the Negeb to get an overview of the land and its people and fruits. The men spy the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, then into the Negeb. In the Valley of Eschol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes and carry it on a pole. They also gather figs and pomegranates. 

Report of the Spies

• After forty days, the spies returned to Moses in the wilderness of Paran. They bring word to the Hebrew people that the land "flows with milk and honey, and with this fruit," but that the people who dwell there (the Nephilim, Hittites, Jebusites, Amalekites, Amorites, and Canaanites) are strong and the cities are large and fortified.
• Caleb quiets the people and insists that they should go and occupy the land, because they are well able to overcome it. The other spies (aside from Joshua) insist that they would not be able to overcome the inhabitants there.