WEBVTT - Whining to God 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.279 Previously on the chosen people. 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:10.720 Ah, that'd sell a finger for one drop of dew 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:11.920 on my tongue. 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:17.200 They've let us in, our children, straight into the desert 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:17.840 with no plan. 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:23.720 What about our children? God just parted an entire sea 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:24.520 for you people. 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:28.000 As we speak, a cloud of smoke is before us 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:29.600 to guide us to paradise. 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:32.519 You'd hear you are whining like children. 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:38.320 We won't last at this raid anyway. We don't have 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:38.920 any food. 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:42.519 That's why this thief wanted to steal my goats. 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:44.520 The Egyptians were the lucky ones. 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:47.280 They got to die a swift death under the sea. 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:50.280 We're going to wither away under the sun. 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:56.280 Remember when we were in Egypt, we sat around pots 0:00:56.320 --> 0:00:58.120 of meat and ate all the food we wanted. 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:03.040 Your constant complaining is kept me up at night. Your 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:07.880 childish whining is an insissant drip at won't end lucky 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:09.760 for you. I am not God. 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:14.040 If I was, I wouldn't be so patient. 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:17.759 We're nearly out of water, Moses, what are you gonna 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:18.440 do about it? 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:20.680 Give us water to drink? 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:23.520 And what have you been keeping from us? Why do 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:25.920 you quarrel with me as if I'm the one withholding 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:26.319 from you. 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:33.120 Each day God provided food, But each day the people 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:37.240 grew anxious and tried to save more. Yet day after 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:41.720 day God provided for their needs. They were His children, 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:46.920 his chosen people. He would not let them fall. 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:55.200 Why have you put this burden on me? 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:55.600 God? 0:01:55.920 --> 0:02:00.200 Am I their mother? What a refrain from Moses or 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:04.000 the weight of an entire nation on his shoulders? Shallo, 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:06.800 my friends from here in the Holy Land, I'm yea 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:11.520 el Exstein with International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Welcome 0:02:11.840 --> 0:02:15.799 to the Chosen People. Each day we'll hear a dramatic 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:20.600 story inspired by the Bible, stories filled with timeless lessons 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:25.360 of faith, love, and the meaning of life. Through Israel's story, 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:29.240 we'll find this truth that we are all chosen for 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:34.079 something great. Now let's begin. The people of Israel are 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:37.480 free at last, But freedom has a cost. The Chosen 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:40.519 People aren't ready for the wilderness, not its hunger, not 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:44.519 its thirst, not its silence. And it's in this silence 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:48.120 that their cries sound once more, not cries of faith, 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:53.239 but of complaint. When does longing become entitlement? When does 0:02:53.520 --> 0:03:00.320 desperation turn into disdain for the one who delivers? 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:03.880 Caleb Strode blithely through the camp in the dim pre 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:07.880 dawn light, nodding to the other soldiers stationed here. On 0:03:07.960 --> 0:03:11.360 the eastern side of the Israelite camp. The men of 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:15.960 tribes Judah, Isuka, and Zebulun were greeting him as eagerly 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:20.239 as he was greeting them. Despite the long, weary watch 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:23.720 in the desert night, the sight of Caleb approaching lifted 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:27.280 the spirits of every soldier. Since the battle with the 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:32.000 Amalekites two years prior, Caleb had earned not just experience 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:36.080 but the respect of his men. Rising swiftly through the 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:40.120 ranks of Judah's leadership, he had secured a place in Nashon, 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:45.080 son of Aminadab's trusted circle. As Caleb made his way 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:48.640 to relieve the night watch, he greeted early rises and 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.320 comrades alike with a smile, a grasp on the shoulder, 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:55.960 bore a friendly word. He glanced at the pillar of 0:03:56.080 --> 0:03:59.680 fire glowing above the tabernacle, soon to change to a 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:04.080 clod at dawn. It always filled him with awe, a 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:08.320 reminder of God's guiding presence and the faithful rituals Aaron 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:12.560 and the priests led in their mourning ascension Offering this 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:17.920 daily surrender to God brought Caleb comfort. Though desert life 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:22.599 was routine, marching, packing the morning Manner and the Divine Pillar, 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:26.880 he found solace in the repetition, knowing that the real 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:31.320 adventure would come when they claimed the promised land. As 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:35.000 the sky brightened over the peaks, dew formed on the 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:40.159 sand and shrubs, heralding the arrival of Manner, Caleb paused 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:44.080 at the camp's edge where early risers began collecting their share, 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:48.840 and nodded to his fellow tribesmen. The soldier named Nariah. 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:52.600 He was sitting with a few other soldiers and two 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:56.039 other lieutenants from their neighboring tribes on the eastern front 0:04:56.080 --> 0:05:00.400 of camp Egal of Tribe Isaka and Gadie Yell of 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:01.400 Tribe Sepula. 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:05.360 Lieutenant Caleb, come join us around the fire before you 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:08.120 take your post. If you haven't yet broken your past, 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:10.479 you can wait for the monitor, boil and eat with us. 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:14.000 Caleb sat beside the men and warmed his hands over 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:17.360 the crackling fire while they waited for the sticky manner 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:19.000 to solidify in the hot water. 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:22.640 Thank you, Mariah, that's very generous of you. I have 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:23.840 some time before I meet. 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:28.960 It must be nice to be in charge, begging the 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:31.240 pardon of my superiors Egal and Gaddiel. 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:35.960 Here Ego, a lieutenant like Caleb, rolled his eyes but 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:41.160 showed no offense. He seemed all too familiar with Narah's complaining. 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:46.520 You'd never beg anyone for anything, you proud fool. 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:51.919 Well, you're both still on night watch with me, so 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:54.320 you can't be that important to your tribal leaders. 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:59.640 That's true enough. And we're all eating the same lassy manner, 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:01.680 no matter our ranking. 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:06.279 From foot soldiers to captain, we're all eating mana, nothing 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:09.000 but bland, dull mana. 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:13.000 For years now, Caleb knew the night Watch left the 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:16.600 men in low spirits. The desert's harsh cold was as 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:20.480 brutal as the day's heat. The extremes of this land 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:25.600 still amazed him, so unlike Egypt's mild, nile tempered climate. 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:30.799 The men's biting sarcasm clashed with Caleb's even keel nature. 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:33.280 He had no patience for cynicism. 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:38.640 Brothers. Just think, once we take the land, promise to 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:42.000 us we will never need to eat manna again. You 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:45.120 will feast on the fruit of our crops and recline 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:49.200 on wool stuffed bed rolls from our plump herds. You 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:53.080 will finally have a land to call our own and 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:55.599 enjoy the yield of all our hard work. 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.440 Don't even get me start it on the condition of 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:03.160 my bed. Everywhere we can, I managed to find the 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:05.160 rockiest place to pitch my tent. 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:10.400 Cal Ford brother, Lieutenant Caleb doesn't want to hear you complain. 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:14.760 A girl is not wrong, Arah, You should mind your tough. 0:07:15.520 --> 0:07:18.680 Without the provision and protection from the Lord, we would 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:22.280 still be slaves back in Egypt. Don't forget that. 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:27.160 Yes, yes, I won't complain in front of our paragon, 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:32.840 Lieutenant Caleb. Instead, I'll just tell you some of the 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:37.480 complaints I've heard from other corners of the camp, namely 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:41.520 the foreigners among us, the Cushites. 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:41.440 And the like. 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:47.400 Their numbers are growing every day. I don't remember leaving 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:50.640 Egypt with so many of them. What here they are 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:54.080 eating our manner and benefiting our protection. 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:58.080 Remember all the rich foods we had in Egypt, the 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:08.560 bounty and variety. Remember cucumbers, Remember melons, leeks, onions, Remember garlic. 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:12.600 More sighs and murmurs of agreement rippled through the men 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.520 it was true there was little variety in their diet. 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:21.000 Manner sustained them, and though they occasionally had meet their 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:24.680 flocks and herds were too valuable to spare except for 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:25.960 offerings to the Lord. 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.680 Why we even had beer to wash it all down? 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:35.600 That stirred the biggest response yet. Side conversations flared among 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:39.120 the men, and bystanders gathered to join in the complaints 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:42.920 and memories of Egypt. They quieted as Noarah began to 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:43.600 speak again. 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:49.199 But no, now it's mana every day, and cold, hard 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:52.520 beds at night, and grueling travel all day. 0:08:53.280 --> 0:08:57.559 Ah, I remember all the fish we had in Egypt. 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:03.120 Ah aye, fish is like a distant memory. What I 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.360 wouldn't give for the meat they speak of? When was 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:09.080 the last time any of you had a proper meat? 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:13.240 A small crowd began to form around their fire. They 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:17.440 murmured in agreement as Nariah continued to wax poetry about 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:21.240 how good they had it in Egypt, complaints of contagious 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:25.480 from caleb advantage point, Nariah was a walking disease. 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:30.160 I'm just going to say, well, we're all thinking maybe 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:32.760 we didn't have it so bad in Egypt. 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:35.160 The crowd began to nod their heads. 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:38.679 Yeah, yeah, what was so bad about it? 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:43.280 Anyways? We had enough food, we had breaks to laugh. 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:46.080 We still have roofs over our heads. 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:49.959 What are you saying? Do you hear yourselves? 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:54.120 Can you blame us for complaining? Lieutenant Caleb, aren't you 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:55.320 sick of Mana? 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:58.560 Aren't you stiff every day and tired of all the 0:09:58.720 --> 0:09:59.880 moving about? 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.640 Don't you miss the solid walls of our homes. 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.800 In Egypt, the food and the drinking, why even the 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:08.520 music and the dancing. 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:11.000 We have nothing out here. 0:10:12.559 --> 0:10:15.280 I think we need to keep our troubles in perspective. 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:19.280 This desert is not our whole, will not be this 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:20.120 way forever. 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:24.840 Yes, but why can't the Lord spare us some of 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:27.959 that bountiful harvest he has waiting for us in Canaan? 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:33.040 Would that be so terrible? Isn't he capable of anything? 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:35.920 Why deny us what would please us? 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:37.319 Instead? 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:41.959 Our appetites are gone, our lives are wasted here. 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:47.080 Caleb frowned again. What he was hearing was so displeasing 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:50.000 and disheartening that he could tell from the mood of 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:52.760 the small crowd that they would not be swayed. 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:56.400 You are being fools. Listen to ourselves. 0:10:56.960 --> 0:11:01.040 Are you really pining after Egypt the whips too? 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:06.720 How about the sight of your children being beaten? 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:10.280 Kleb rose to his feet and turned on his heels 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:15.040 to leave. The other two lieutenants, Eagle and Gadiel, followed suit. 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:19.080 Thinking Kleb was out of earshot. Nariah loudly announced his 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:22.640 departure to relieve himself in the desert, but not before 0:11:22.640 --> 0:11:25.880 tossing a parting complaint to the group about the boiling manner. 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:29.560 Maybe I'll go and grab Moses's stab while I'm out here, 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:32.360 so I can use it to turn that manna into 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:33.480 something more appealing. 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:38.560 The grumblers laughed at Noriah's jab. Caleb hadn't gone far 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:42.000 when the morning sun illuminated the valley and he noticed 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:45.199 the pillar of flame shift to a cloud. He did 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:49.920 a double take. The normally calm, swirling column now crackled 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:52.480 with lightning, fierce and erratic. 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:57.120 Something's happening, some things wrong. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:02.760 Suddenly, the bolts of lightness shot from the clue toward them. Blinded, 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:07.199 Caleb fell back, shielding his eyes. Another crack of lightning 0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:10.360 lit up the sky, and Caleb watched in horror as 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:14.680 Noarah was engulfed in flames. His screams tore through the 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:19.040 dawn as fire consumed him. Caleb's shock deepened when he 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:22.480 saw the others of the fire also ablaze. The Lord 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:27.080 had answered their complaints. Their cries turned to silence. The 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:35.240 Lord's anger had burned against them. Even before opening his eyes, 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:40.400 Moses sensed something was wrong. The Lord's righteous anger was palpable, 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:45.760 and the screams and panicked shouts outside confirmed his fears. Groaning, 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:49.079 he rose from his bed roll and splashed cold water 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.800 on his face. As he stepped out of the tent, 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:56.480 Ho Sheer appeared pale and breathless, falling into step beside him. 0:12:56.720 --> 0:13:03.120 Tell me, Ho Sheer, what have they done? They'd been burned, Moses, 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:06.880 The Lord struck them down. They were already calling the 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:12.280 area Tipperah Blaze, because they were also to blaze. It 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:15.720 was only the edge of the camp, but there were 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:19.480 rumors that people were unhappy and grumbling about the manner 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:24.840 they cried for Egypt and her unsatisfied with living Traveling. 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:27.920 In the desert, Moses stopped in his tracks and tried 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:34.200 to leash his mounting anger. This again, the complaining, how 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:37.720 short were their memories? How could they forget the horrors 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:42.280 of their enslavement so quickly, the cruelty of their oppressors. 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:46.760 Before Hoshir could continue, Aaron and Miriam closed in and 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:48.079 added to the reports. 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:49.600 Have you heard what happened? 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:53.760 Moses nodded. Still, he did not trust himself to speak 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:57.840 without cursing or murmuring insults. His anger was simmering just 0:13:57.960 --> 0:13:58.760 below a boil. 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:03.960 Now infuriated as you, brother, all this commotion over food, 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:05.920 have we not suffered enough? 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:07.480 Have they not learned? 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:13.560 It's these foreigners that travel with us, the Kushites, med Jay's, Libyans, Asiatics, 0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:17.280 whoever they are, the heathens that are leading our people astray. 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:20.920 They complain about the lack of variety and the blendness 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:24.000 of our food, disregarding our meager resources. 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:26.560 And now we will have people clamoring to kill our 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:27.560 livestock for meat. 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:31.120 I blame the rabble of foreigners for bringing this upon us. 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:33.360 They've tempted our good people into. 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:37.120 Sin, like Eve was tempted by the serpent. We've been 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:41.160 betrayed by our senses and our appetites. Once again, Yes, 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:44.040 you're right, and it's only a matter of time until 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:52.600 enough enough, enough of this blame game, throwing insults around? 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:55.640 Is it going to correct the flimsy faith of our people. 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:58.960 They don't need an excuse for their lack of faith. 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:02.360 Ah. 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:06.320 And if other refugees from other nations desire to peacefully 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:10.760 join us, I will not turn them away. I made 0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:15.560 the same offer to my father in law, Jethro he'lsen. 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:16.760 Some of his lability join us. 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:22.239 Will you reject them too? The Lord promised our forefather 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:25.720 Abraham that he would bless the nations who blessed him. 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:28.800 Who are we to deny them that promise. 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:33.960 Aaron and Miriam stood silently before him. Moses could tell 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:37.520 they disagreed, but did not want to push the topic further. 0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:41.720 I'll deal with their bigotry later. For now, we have 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:44.000 to figure out how to quell these whiners. 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:48.320 After dismissing Aaron and Miriam, he and Hoshia moved through 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:52.880 the camp. What Moses saw only fueled his rage. The 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:56.280 people wept, some for the dead, but most for their 0:15:56.320 --> 0:16:01.280 perceived hardships and lack of comforts. The people faith was fickle, 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:07.360 their memories short, and their gratitude nonexistent. Moses clenched his 0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:11.560 jaw and fists until he was sore. A cacophony of 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:16.960 wines and complaints filled the camp, family after family, weeping 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:20.680 at the entrance of their tents, pining after Egypt again. 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:25.920 As the complaints rose, so did the Lord's anger. Moses 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:30.320 could sense it mounting. With the billowing cloud above, Moses 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:34.840 needed to escape this suffocating camp. The people's wails grated 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:39.160 on his nerves. He dismissed Hosher and wandered beyond the 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.760 camp's edge to cry out to the Lord. 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:45.280 Why have you brought such trouble on me? You must 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:48.120 be angry with me? Why else would you burden me 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:51.680 with all these people? Am I their mother? Did I 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:53.200 carry them in my womb? 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:53.680 No? 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:58.680 Then? Why could I endure their infantile christ day and night? 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:00.680 Ahhh? 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:05.080 What am I going to do? Where can I get 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:08.040 meet to give all these people? I can't carry all 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:09.320 these people by myself. 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:10.679 They're too much for me. 0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:14.439 If you are going to treat me like this, just 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:17.359 kill me right now. If I found favor with you, 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:19.920 and don't let me see my misery anymore. 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:25.120 Moses knew he was being hyperbolic, but felt helpless. The 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:28.480 burden of leading these people had pushed him to his limit. 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:34.119 The Lord didn't respond immediately. Moses pulse pounded in his ears, 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:37.840 his vision still red with anger. In the quiet of 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:41.640 the wilderness, with only his ragged breathing breaking the silence, 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:46.880 he sensed the Lord's present stirry, The divine anger simmering 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:49.679 at the edge of his awareness all morning, began to 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:55.000 fade with it. Moses's own rage subsided, leaving only bone 0:17:55.080 --> 0:18:00.240 deep weariness. He was exhausted, and the weight of leadership 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:01.760 felt insurmountable. 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:06.919 Bring me seventy elders from Israel, take them to the 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:09.840 tent of meeting, and have them stand there with you. 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:13.000 I would take some of the spirit who is on 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:16.680 you and put the spirit on them. They will help 0:18:16.720 --> 0:18:19.600 you bear the burden of the people, so you do 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:21.240 not have to bear it alone. 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:25.399 Even as the Lord spoke to Moses about sending him help, 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:29.399 Moses felt the tension in his shoulders loosen and his 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:30.920 breath became easier. 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:36.160 Then you will tell the people consecrate yourselves in readiness 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:40.159 for tomorrow, and you will eat meat. Because you wept 0:18:40.200 --> 0:18:43.800 in my hearing, saying, who will feed us meat? We 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:48.640 were better off in Egypt. I have heard your cries. 0:18:49.680 --> 0:18:55.080 I will give you meat, and you will eat. You 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:59.199 will eat not for one day or two days, or 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:03.280 five days days, or ten days or twenty, but for 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:07.920 a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils. 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:12.639 It becomes nauseating to you, because you have rejected me 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:18.320 and wept before me, saying why did we ever leave Egypt? 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:23.080 Moses trembled at the Lord's anger. Where would such an 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:26.479 abundance of meat come from in the desert? The memory 0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:28.880 of the quail that once covered the ground after their 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:32.800 escape from Egypt surfaced an extraordinary provision that had been 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:37.360 a fleeting moment of satisfaction. Since then, there had only 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:41.240 been manner. The undercurrent of anger in the Lord's voice 0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:45.600 made Moses uneasy. It sounded as though the people's cravings 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:48.840 would be sated, but not in the way they would expect. 0:19:49.680 --> 0:19:52.720 I am in the middle of a people with six 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:57.760 hundred thousand foot soldiers and millions more. When you consider 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:02.640 the women and children, Yet you say I will give 0:20:02.680 --> 0:20:03.920 them meat and they. 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:04.800 Will eat for a month. 0:20:06.200 --> 0:20:09.160 If flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:11.880 have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:13.480 were caught for them, would they have enough? 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:18.320 Is the Lord's arm weak. Now you will see whether 0:20:18.480 --> 0:20:21.040 or not I have promised will happen to you. 0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:25.640 The Lord's response only made Moses tremble more than before. 0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:30.040 He felt the presence lift and took it as his dismissal. 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:34.359 Moses hurried to obey the words of his God and 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:36.960 called the men who had become his elders to gather 0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:42.679 before him. The sun began sinking into the horizon, and 0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:47.040 the day's heat begrudgingly began to release its grip. Caleb 0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:50.560 loosed a sigh and welcomed the relief. It had been 0:20:50.600 --> 0:20:53.840 a very tense day on the eastern front of Israel's camp, 0:20:54.119 --> 0:20:57.720 and the searing sun and blistering heat had only sapped 0:20:57.800 --> 0:21:03.000 Caleb's emotional energy, now down to its reserves, a sensation 0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:07.919 Caleb really experienced. He mustered a week but encouraging smile. 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:12.480 As his friend, Eagle of tribe Isaka, approached him. Egal 0:21:12.600 --> 0:21:15.840 took the night's watch and relieved Caleb from his post. 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:23.520 Lieutenant Caleb, lieutenanty Gal, how was the day's watch? Did 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:26.199 you hear what happened to those who gorged themselves on 0:21:26.240 --> 0:21:26.760 the quail? 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:31.800 I heard? I cannot say I am surprised, though, after 0:21:31.880 --> 0:21:34.719 what happened to the men who were openly complaining against 0:21:34.760 --> 0:21:35.240 the Lord. 0:21:36.200 --> 0:21:38.000 You weren't there to see their faces. 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:42.240 Though the meat of the quail was still between their teeth, 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:45.639 and before it was even chewed, he was struck with 0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:48.880 a plague. I've never seen anything like it. 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:51.680 I don't think I will ever forget it. 0:21:53.200 --> 0:21:55.280 I would not say this in front of our men, 0:21:55.320 --> 0:21:59.800 but from one lieutenant to the other, I think I've 0:21:59.800 --> 0:22:03.560 had enough of the supernatural the last me a lifetime. 0:22:04.880 --> 0:22:09.679 Kleb met Eagle's haunted gaze, weighing how to steady a 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:13.840 man teetering on the brink of despair. Word had already 0:22:13.920 --> 0:22:16.840 swept through the camp about the grim aftermath of the 0:22:16.920 --> 0:22:22.120 quail's sudden arrival. Two days prior, an inexplicable wind from 0:22:22.160 --> 0:22:25.119 the sea had driven thousands of quail into the camp, 0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:28.120 flying so low that people only had to reach out 0:22:28.160 --> 0:22:32.399 to catch them. The sight of exhausted birds blanketing an 0:22:32.440 --> 0:22:36.480 area nearly four hundred square miles had sent the Israelites 0:22:36.520 --> 0:22:41.440 into a frenzy. Driven by insatiable hunger. They had abandoned 0:22:41.480 --> 0:22:45.720 sleep and their daily tasks, scrambling to gather and feast 0:22:45.840 --> 0:22:50.080 on the sudden bounty, but Kleb's unease had grown as 0:22:50.119 --> 0:22:52.919 he watched the scene. What should have been met with 0:22:53.040 --> 0:22:58.520 gratitude had quickly devolved into greed. The people's excitement bordered 0:22:58.560 --> 0:23:02.479 on frenzy, and he couldn't ignore the gnawing worry that 0:23:02.600 --> 0:23:08.000 something was amiss. The afternoon confirmed his fears. Cries of 0:23:08.080 --> 0:23:11.440 pain began to echo through the camp as the greediest 0:23:11.720 --> 0:23:16.400 those who took more than their share, suffered sudden fatal illness. 0:23:17.240 --> 0:23:20.840 Some choked on the very meat they had craved, collapsing 0:23:20.960 --> 0:23:24.840 lifeless to the ground among the scattered dead birds. The 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:29.840 stories had left. Caleb haunted himself, but he Eager and 0:23:29.920 --> 0:23:32.720 the others of their station had a duty to their 0:23:32.800 --> 0:23:36.080 unit of men to hold fast and keep their faith. 0:23:36.800 --> 0:23:41.359 Taking a steadying breath, Caleb reached deep for the last 0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:45.119 of his resolve and met his friend's eyes with a firm, 0:23:45.200 --> 0:23:46.280 reassuring look. 0:23:46.800 --> 0:23:51.159 I know, Egaw, this grave business doesn't sit right with 0:23:51.280 --> 0:23:54.840 me either, But I do know that we must steal 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:59.920 our nerves. Have our men take heart. We must hold 0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:04.439 the promises of our God and keep his commands. He 0:24:04.600 --> 0:24:09.320 is refining us here in the desert and through our hardships. 0:24:10.760 --> 0:24:13.879 We cannot keep looking behind us and claiming that our 0:24:13.920 --> 0:24:19.720 bondage was better. We press on to freedom, We press 0:24:19.760 --> 0:24:23.440 on to abundance, We press on to victory. 0:24:23.880 --> 0:24:30.600 Ah right, you are looting at Caleb, young leader of Judah. 0:24:28.800 --> 0:24:29.359 Ha ha. 0:24:30.840 --> 0:24:33.320 I will need to do better in my own leadership 0:24:33.520 --> 0:24:37.240 over my tribe. Judah may lead us all when we march, 0:24:37.760 --> 0:24:41.720 But Isikar is right on your heels. May we rise 0:24:41.760 --> 0:24:44.080 to stand at your right side in battle when it 0:24:44.119 --> 0:24:44.679 comes to it. 0:24:46.119 --> 0:24:50.240 Brother, I'm sure when the time comes you. 0:24:50.320 --> 0:24:56.040 Will What a story. 0:24:56.119 --> 0:24:59.040 It's raw, it's real. It's not the version we tell 0:24:59.040 --> 0:25:02.080 in children's book books, where faith is always strong and 0:25:02.200 --> 0:25:05.760 hearts are always pure. No, this one is different. It's 0:25:05.800 --> 0:25:09.719 a glimpse into the human condition. How quickly we forget, 0:25:09.760 --> 0:25:12.000 how quickly we turn away from the very God who 0:25:12.040 --> 0:25:16.120 has saved us and who still saves us. And Moses 0:25:16.240 --> 0:25:19.359 I can feel the weight he carried, the frustration, the 0:25:19.359 --> 0:25:22.040 sheer exhaustion of leading a people who would rather look 0:25:22.080 --> 0:25:25.720