The food in Egypt suited the flesh of God’s people. The more they ate of Egyptian food, the more fleshly they became, for the Egyptian diet corresponded to the people’s flesh and nourished it. Manna, however, was food of another category. It came from heaven and it caused those who ate it to become heavenly. When the children of Israel were murmuring in the wilderness, their murmuring was according to their flesh. This means that they were murmuring according to the old self, according to the old person. In their murmuring they were not living as God’s redeemed people, but as natural people.
The flesh here does not signify only the lustful part of our being; it signifies the totality of our fallen being, the whole of our old person. Although God’s people had been redeemed, they were still living like Egyptians, like those who had not been redeemed by God. For this reason, God sent quails to satisfy their fleshly lusts. The first time He sent quails was in Exodus 16. Although He disciplined the people, His discipline on this occasion was not severe. The second time “the wrath of Jehovah was kindled against the people, and Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague” (Num. 11:33, Heb.). Numbers 11:34 goes on to say, “And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.” Kibroth-hattaavah means the graves of lust.
Before God smote the people with a great plague, He sent quails in abundance. In a miraculous way, the Lord fed the people with quails for thirty days (Num. 11:19-20). In Numbers 11:31 we have a description of the vast number of quails: “And there went forth a wind from Jehovah, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth” (Heb.). What an abundance of quails! At first, the people were pleased. But eventually the quails became loathsome to them, for the people had to eat them until the flesh came out of their nostrils (Num. 11:20). In Numbers 11:33 we are told, “And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of Jehovah was kindled against the people” (Heb.).
We need to apply the record in Numbers 11 to our experience. If we continue to lust for worldly things after we are saved, God may give them to us. For example, suppose you lust after a new car. God may give it to you in order to fulfill your lust, but He will not be happy in doing so. Rather, He will give you what you lust after in order to show you His glory, His anger, and His sufficiency. Just as God sent an abundance of quails to the children of Israel, He may give you so many cars that they become loathsome to you. God will give you what you lust after, but you may experience His displeasure. Sooner or later, the very cars you lust after will become loathsome to you.
I have known some believers who had a great love for money when they were young Christians. But after they became rich, the money they loved became loathsome to them. Furthermore, they suffered spiritual death. All Christians today need to hear the teaching of the Word concerning this.
I would encourage all the saints not to love the world and not to lust according to the flesh after worldly things. But this is the very thing many Christians are doing today. In order to satisfy their lusts, they are pursuing the things of Egypt. God may allow them to have what they desire. This, however, is not a positive sign. Do not think that if God gives you what you lust after, He agrees with you, He is happy with you, or He intends to edify you. On the contrary, this is a sign of His anger and displeasure. Most of today’s Christians have been smitten by God in His anger. For this reason, with them there is no life, only spiritual death.
I hope that all the saints in the Lord’s recovery, especially the young people, will learn to forget the world and not to lust after Egyptian things. The God who has saved us is real, living, faithful, and purposeful, and He will take care of our needs. There is no need for us to lust after worldly things. We are no longer worldly people. We are God’s chosen people, and He wants us to live a heavenly life. I can testify that the Lord is faithful and worthy of our trust. Through my experience I have learned not to act on my own. Anything I do in myself will displease the Lord. I repeat, the Lord wants to be everything to us and to do everything for us. It is His desire to give us heavenly food, to rain manna upon us. By partaking of this heavenly food, we shall be a heavenly people living a heavenly life. This will make us altogether different from worldly people.