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Tomb of quail and greed

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[Numbers 11: 33-34]

But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed,

the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.

Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah,

because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

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God chose Moses to free the Israelites from Egypt.

God gave ‘manna’ daily to the people of Israel.

‘Manna’ also fell as the dew fell in the wilderness every night.

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‘Manna’ looks like a small white seed.

The people picked it up and crushed it with millstones and mortar.

they cooked manna powder or made sweets. this dish tasted of oil-baked bread.

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There was a complaint about manna, God gave to the Israelites because of the desire for food.

The first people who started complaining were the Gentiles

who came with them when they left Egypt.

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They complained saying this.

“We want to eat meat, and when we were in Egypt, we ate plenty of fish.

and besides, we ate cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions and garlic

but now there is only this manna, and our body has been weakened.”

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Even some people cried with the whole family crying at the entrance to their tabernacle.

Their crying sounded to Moses. Moses was so hard.

because Moses himself could not give the people the amount of meat they wanted.

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Moses told God about his circumstances.

he told God that the people could not feed the meat they wanted to eat.

he also told God that he wanted to die because it was so hard to rule many peoples

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God heard Moses' request and answered Moses.

“Tell the people, Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow,

when you will eat meat. now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it.

you will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days,

but for a whole month.”

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Moses told God that this was impossible.

Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say,

‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’

Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them?

Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”

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God answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?

now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”

How did God give meat to these many people?

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God raised a strong wind from the sea.

Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea.

and let it fall on the camp of Israel. The quail was overflowing all over the camps in Israel.

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The people of Israel began gathered quail for two days.

they gathered as much quail as possible to eat meat for a long time.

and they put the gathered them around the camp.

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The people of Israel began eating the gathered quail meat.

Shortly after they began to eat meat, illnesses that they did not know existed.

Among those who greed on meat, there are those who die from the disease!

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They did not thank God even though God gave manna from heaven for them.

and they grumbled and complained that they got sick and died because of greed for meat.

So people called the name ‘Kibroth Hattaavah’ to mean the grave of greed.

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The Bible says that having a heart of greed is a horrible sin like idolatry.

Today the Israelites did not give thanks to God for giving manna and the quail

they had obtained by using force.

They have received the terrible judgment of God

because they have been greedy to fill their own stomachs.

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We must learn a great lesson today from the Word and not act like the people of Israel.

It is right to receive everything God gives us with gratitude. also,

do not be greedy for believing that there is a reason not to give.

God is always giving us the best.

Let us all become people of faith who believe firmly in this fact and live a life of gratitude.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)