“And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in Thy sight, that Thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?” (Numbers 11:11)
The children of Israel complained after they’d been delivered from Egypt which displeased God. He sent a fire at the outer part of the multitude to burn them, but Moses prayed, and the fire stopped. Then they cried because they only had manna to eat. They cried for the food they had in Egypt. It was then that Moses prayed the prayer of Numbers 11:11. (Numbers 11:1-10)
The Lord then appointed elders to share the burden with Moses. (Numbers 11:16,17) Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation that seems impossible to bear. But God is faithful. And just like He gave Moses help with the burden of the people, God in His wisdom will give us the help that we need to bear the burden. It may get worse before it gets better. It was so bad for Moses he prayed to die. “And if Thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in Thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.” (Numbers 11:15) Notice that Moses was not delivered from his responsibility of taking the people through the desert but sent help for him to bear the burden. Many times, we just want out. But God has placed us in a particular situation at a specific time for His divine purpose and will send us the help we need. But we will have to go through the affliction.
The LORD commands Moses to select 70 men to help him. The number 70 is used repetitively in the Bible. The world was repopulated after the flood by 70 of Noah’s descendants. There were 70 in Abraham’s family who went to Egypt. Israel was 70 years in captivity in Babylon. (Jeremiah 29:10) Jerusalem kept 70 years of Sabbaths when Judah was held captive by Babylon. (Jeremiah 25:11) Ezekiel had a vision of 70 elders of Israel offering incense to idols. (Ezekiel 8:10,11) It was 70 seven years which are 490 years for the end of sin and everlasting righteousness to enter Jerusalem in Daniel’s prophecy. (Daniel 9:24) Jesus sent out 70 disciples to preach the Gospel. (Luke 10:1) And Jesus gave 70 parables. Moses wrote about the 70 years man was to live, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” (Psalms 90:10) The significance of 70 is perfection. It’s the factor of two perfect numbers, seven and 10. Seven represents perfection and ten completeness and God’s law. So, 70 represents perfect spiritual order with all power and/or a period of judgement and is seen throughout the Bible.
It's beyond understanding that the 70 elders that Moses selected, more than a thousand years later (about 1,600 years) would be the Sanhedrin which hated and crucified Jesus. God knew this because He knows the end from the beginning. But even over a thousand years before, it was all in God’s plan for the redemption of man. Many blame the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus. But the blame is on all of us. He gave His life for us. Jesus said, “Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father.” (John 10:17-18)
God’s love for us is also beyond our understanding. He was thinking of us before the foundation of the world. Because He sees the end from the beginning, He saw sin enter His perfect world and the defilement of man. He had a plan in place even then for our redemption. The history of man is God’s story. His story is one of a love for man we cannot even imagine because it’s a God kind of love. It doesn’t exist on earth except in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Man cannot even conceive of it or manufacture it. When we see the history in the Bible, the sins and failures and the trials and tribulations of the Old Testament saints, we see how perfectly God’s plan for man’s redemption illustrates His love for man from before the foundation of the world.
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