We come now to the third message on the vital sketch of the divine revelation in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers concerning God's economy with His chosen and redeemed people. In this message we will consider the frustrations suffered by God's people on the journey to the good land.
We have seen that God's people need to receive the divine revelation concerning God Himself and His economy and also that they need to be formed into a priestly army. Now we will see that God's chosen and redeemed people also need frustrations. Do you believe that you need frustrations? Whether you believe this or not, the fact remains that frustrations occur and, in a sense, actually are needed. Let us now consider the different kinds of frustrations suffered by God's chosen and redeemed people on their journey to the God-promised good land.
The first frustration was the exceeding lust of the mixed multitude among God's chosen and redeemed people (Num. 11:4a). Were those who were of this mixed multitude saved? This is a difficult question to answer.
Perhaps you are wondering how there could be such a mixture among God's pure people. But even among the twelve disciples chosen by the Lord Jesus there was one who was a mixture—Judas. Furthermore, the parable of the tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43) indicates that in the world there is a mixture of tares and wheat.
The mixed multitude lusted exceedingly, and this stirred up the lust of the God-chosen and God-redeemed people. Lust was already present with God's people, but it needed to be stirred up, and it was stirred up by the mixed multitude. It is easy for the lust among God's people to be stirred up by the mixed ones.
In 1 Corinthians 5:6 Paul says, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." In Numbers 11 the mixed multitude was like leaven, and this leaven leavened the "whole lump" of God's people.