Sunday, March 8, 15

Grumble, Grumble

Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. (Numbers 11:1-2)

But the people continued to complain and wail to Moses about the limited menu the Lord was providing for them. "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost - also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" (Numbers 11:4b-6)

Personally, after the previous round of complaints had brought down fire from God, I might have been more inclined to keep my grumbling to myself. But not this group. Even their discussion of the 'good old days' in Egypt was flawed. They remembered all that good food at no cost but they had paid dearly for it with more than 400 years in bondage.

I can't help forming a picture in my mind of Moses, looking like an overworked parent with the children gathered around yelling, 'Meatloaf again????!' So he goes to God and proceeds to do some grumbling of his own. 'Why are you doing this?' 'What have I done to deserve this?' 'I can't do this all by myself.' 'Just take me home right now!' Hmmm. Do Moses' words sound familiar? I can hear them coming straight out of my mouth.

So God rains down quail for the people to eat but his admonition sure sounds like that frustrated parent. "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 - until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it - because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"" (Numbers 11:18b-20)

Sometimes we have to be careful what we ask God for. He may just give you what you want - or what you thought you wanted. May I keep my grumbling and complaining to a minimum and spend more time thanking and praising God for the gift of his son, Jesus. There really is nothing more to ask for. Amen.



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