1 And the people complained in the hearing of YHVH about their misfortunes; and when YHVH heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of YHVH burned among them, and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.
The outer parts of the camp signify the lust for the physical world.
2 Then the people cried to Moses; and Moses prayed to YHVH, and the fire abated.
The Enlightened Intellect (Moses) has the power to free all the thoughts of the mind from destruction if those thoughts turn toward Spirit. Moses praying to YHVH symbolizes turning the mind away from the physical and toward the spiritual.
3 So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of YHVH burned among them.
Taberah means “burning” and signifies the further lessening of materialistic thoughts by the spiritual fire of the Divine or God.
4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving; and the people of Israel also wept again, and said, "O that we had meat to eat!
5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
6 but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at."
Remembering the cravings of the physical world; desiring them over the spiritual, breeds disrespect for the spiritual forces that are the source of Life and Health, and creates sickness and death. This will be further explained later in this chapter.
7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.
Manna is the spiritual life force. This expands the mind and frees it from the limitations of Materialism.
8 The people went about and gathered it, and ground it in mills or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil.
The people making cakes out of the manna represent ideas again focusing on trying to rekindle material cravings and desires.
9 When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.
However, the spiritual energy still comes, despite this subtle corruption.
10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent; and the anger of YHVH blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased.
When this reawakening of ideas having to do with Materialism occurs, it causes the mind to have to work harder to remove those ideas in order to stay focused on the spiritual, and the Spiritual Consciousness completely rejects the materialistic ideas. This is symbolized by the displeasure of Moses and the anger of YHVH.
11 Moses said to YHVH, "Why hast thou dealt ill with thy servant? And why have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou dost lay the burden of all this people upon me?
12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I bring them forth, that thou shouldst say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries the sucking child, to the land which thou didst swear to give their fathers?'
13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, 'Give us meat, that we may eat.'
14 I am not able to carry all this people alone, the burden is too heavy for me.
15 If thou wilt deal thus with me, kill me at once, if I find favor in thy sight, that I may not see my wretchedness."
16 And YHVH said to Moses, "Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.
17 And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit which is upon you and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.
The intellect is not able to carry on all the spiritual development which is required. It alone is not enough. There must be support and parallel development of the heart as well. Seven is the number of spiritual perfection on this, the material plane. Multiplying a number by ten is often done in the Bible in order to emphasize the point. So, the seventy elders indicate the development of a spiritual perfection which helps the individual to accomplish his goals. He is not alone.
18 And say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of YHVH, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt." Therefore, YHVH will give you meat, and you shall eat.
The meat symbolizes material sustenance, and paying attention to the material world. It is not necessary or healthy to ignore it completely. It is only done in the very beginning to give the mind time to find a spiritual foundation.
19 You shall not eat one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days,
20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected YHVH who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, "Why did we come forth out of Egypt?”
The lamenting for the material commodities acquired by the consciousness of Materialism (Egypt) causes the starvation of the rest of the consciousness, through being filled with ideas focused toward all that it wants but does not have.
21 But Moses said, "The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot; and thou hast said, 'I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!'
Six denotes the beginning of communication between human and divine mind. The point is amplified here by the huge number of people, which represent thoughts and ideas.
22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to suffice them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?"
The human mind\intellect alone is not able to provide for all the demands of the consciousness\mind. It would use up all the resources at one’s disposal and still leave a wanting for more.
23 And YHVH said to Moses, "Is YHVH's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not."
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of YHVH; and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and placed them round about the tent.
25 Then YHVH came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did so no more.
The power of Prophesy comes from adhering to the spiritual laws through making an active connection with God, and attaining spiritual perfection within your self. The ability comes from being receptive to the active aspect of Spirit.
26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested upon them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp.
Eldad means, beloved of God and Meded means, Water of Love or he that measures. Both of these signify becoming one with God, through Love.
27 And a young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."
From the perspective of unity with God, we are able to foresee what will happen in the physical world before the events come to pass. The camp signifies the physical world itself.
28 And Joshua, the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, "My lord, Moses, forbid them."
Joshua means YHVH is Savior and represents the consciousness that brings Salvation. The active state of mind (his Father) that he comes from is Nun, meaning becoming extended or prolific. Nun represents the expansion of the mind to include recognition of Spirit.
29 But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all YHVH's people were prophets, that YHVH would put his spirit upon them!"
At this stage in development, the dawning Spiritual Consciousness is not able to fully comprehend the full manifestation of unity with God, and fears it. But, the enlightened intellect does understand enough to know that there is no harm that will come about from this expression of unity (prophesy).
30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
Moses and the elders returning to camp signifies the Spiritual Consciousness becoming more prominent within the psyche.
31 And there went forth a wind from YHVH, and it brought quails from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above the face of the earth.
The quail is a symbol for divine or spiritual power. The quails falling around the camp signifies that all ideas in the mind are given spiritual power. The two cubits signify the duality of the mind at this stage of development.
32 And the people rose all that day, and all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails; he who gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.
The people gathering the quail symbolize the various ideas in the mind gathering energy and becoming stronger.
33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of YHVH was kindled against the people, and YHVH smote the people with a very great plague.
The death of the people from the quail signifies the transmutation of materialistic ideas by the pure Spiritual Consciousness.
34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving.
The lusting after the things of the flesh is a common theme in the Bible because it is a common problem for all neophytes on the Path. We find again that the way of the flesh is the way of death. We know that Moses, a neophyte, was successful in overcoming his lusts, for the people or ideas that were related to lust were buried.
35 From Kibroth-hattavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth; and they remained at Hazeroth.
Kibroth-hattavah means graves of lust. Hazeroth means encampment or enclosure. Our thoughts assemble or come together as we leave our lust behind.