16 The Lord therefore said to Moses , "Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel , whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting , and let them take their stand there with you. 17 " Then I will come down and speak with you there , and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone . 18 "Say to the people , ' Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow , and you shall eat meat ; for you have wept in the ears of the Lord , saying , "Oh that someone would give us meat to eat ! For we were well-off in Egypt ." Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat . 19 'You shall eat , not one day , nor two days , nor five days , nor ten days , nor twenty days , 20 but a whole month , until e it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because e you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying , "Why did we ever leave e Egypt ?""' 21 But Moses said , "The people , among whom I am, are 600,000 e e on foot ; yet You have said , 'I will give them meat , so that they may eat for a whole month .' 22 "Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?" 23 The Lord said to Moses , "Is the Lord'S power limited ? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 11:16-23
Commentary on Numbers 11:16-23
(Read Numbers 11:16-23)
Moses is to choose such as he knew to be elders, that is, wise and experienced men. God promises to qualify them. If they were not found fit for the employ, they should be made fit. Even the discontented people shall be gratified too, that every mouth may be stopped. See here, I. The vanity of all the delights of sense; they will cloy, but they will not satisfy. Spiritual pleasures alone will satisfy and last. As the world passes away, so do the lusts of it. 2. What brutish sins gluttony and drunkenness are! they make that to hurt the body which should be its health. Moses objects. Even true and great believers sometimes find it hard to trust God under the discouragements of second causes, and against hope to believe in hope. God here brings Moses to this point, The Lord God is Almighty; and puts the proof upon the issue, Thou shalt see whether my word shall come to pass or not. If he speaks, it is done.