In Numbers, chapter eleven, verse four, there were the non-Israelites who joined the people of Israel during their departure from Egypt. Back In Exodus, chapter twelve, verse thirty-eight, a mixt multitude went up with them with their flocks, herds, and cattle. These non-Israelites influenced the Israelites to rebel against God’s desire for the presumed pleasures of Egypt.
These came out of Egypt with them, having either contracted affinity with them, or such intimacy of conversation that they could not part, or being converts to the Jewish religion. These were not only Egyptians but a mixture of diverse people, having heard or seen the great things done for Israel, who joined them in hopes of sharing the blessings of divine goodness. The new converts that gathered among them “lusted a lusting” not after women, but they lusted after eating flesh that they used to have in Egypt. The Egyptians lust after the flesh copying the example of the mixed multitude. First Corinthians fifteen thirty-three states, “evil communication corrupts good manners.” “A little leaven leavens the whole lump,” says First Corinthians five six and Galatians five nine, respectively.
The mixt multitude will eventually become a hindrance because they did not follow God but only the good things He did among the Israelites. When diverse people are in our environment, they can influence us to pursue their way of life instead of God. The interaction and spending time with that mixt multitude will eventually wear on us if we are not influencing them to serve God. Especially among our children, we as parents have to be alert of the kind of people they keep company with these days. If we encounter potential friends or associates of our kids, monitor their behavior because it will give an idea of what kind of mixt multitude will infest our environment. As believers, it will be up to us to bring attention to the danger that could lie ahead.