Transcendence 3

Two: Grumbling and Complaining

Life for the Israelites in the desert was not easy. The work was endless, the weather brutal, food and water were scarce, and there were endless dangers. The people of Israel began to complain of their hardships. They missed eating meat, fish, spices, onions, garlic and other things. They were bored with manna (the food God miraculously rained down for them every morning. Manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin - it was ground in a hand mill or crushed and made into cakes. It tasted like something made with olive oil.) They were weary from moving - having no permanent home, from living day to day not knowing if there would be water for themselves and their animals, and from the constant work load to make food, clothing, and shelter for their families. Above that were the numerous laws and rules laid out by Moses and by God. (It wasn't easy, but God never intended it to be. God wanted them to learn discipline, thankfulness and the value of His care before he gave them the promised land which was sure to be full of the finer things including endless amounts of food and water, lush vegetation and rich soil. What also awaited them would be temptations of every kind. God knew His people would have to be disciplined enough to avoid sin - He was preparing them for what was to come.)

The Lord heard their grumbling. He was angered! He listened to it until he could not anymore and then He sent fire! It burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. The people cried out in fear and begged Moses to go to the Lord on their behalf. But Moses was frustrated with his role as their leader. He was nearing his breaking point. He asked God, "Why should I carry the burden of these people? What have I done to displease you so that you have put this burden on me? Have I given birth to these people? The burden of them has become too heavy for me. How can I provide meat for them to curb their cravings and make them happy? If you favor me at all, don't let me face my own ruin." (Moses was acting as the sole leader - with Aaron acting as Priest, but with every single problem and worry falling on him he was beginning to loose control. Maybe he had grown weary and tired too. The desert had a way of dragging down even the most faithful of them. Moses was at the point of begging God to take away the burden of being leader - he was indeed ready for a simpler life.)

God replied to Moses, "Bring me seventy of Israel's elders. Ones who have the ability to be leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting. I will meet you there and speak to you and tell them of the burden you carry. I will tell him of the Spirit that is on you and I will then put the Spirit on them as well. They will be able to help you carry the burden of the people." ( God understood the load Moses carried - He heard his cry for help and was willing and ready to remedy the problem. As always God will step in and help us in every situation if it is His will to do so. God had given Moses the spirit - His spirit - to lead and guide the people, now he was ready to give that same spirit to others in order to lighten the load on Moses. What a mighty God we serve! God gives His spirit out freely to anyone who asks Him to come into their hearts and guide them. If you turn your live over to follow God  you will also receive the holy spirit to help make decisions to live a holy life that will be pleasing to God who will bless you, protect you and give you an eternal life!)

God also told Moses to have the people consecrate themselves in preparation because the next day they would eat meat provided by God. ( Again he listened to the cries - and instead of complaining and grumbling, all it would have taken for them to get what they wanted was prayer and faith. God wants to provide what his people want and need, but He wants them to ask! When they turn to complaining, it brings anger from him. It is like a child that simply pitches a fit rather than asks for what he is wanting. The fit brings about anger in the parent and the end result is never good.)  God told Moses the meat would be available not one day, or two days , or even twenty days but for a whole month. Meat will be flowing out their nostrils and they will come to loathe it because they have rejected God. They have whined and cried out asking why they even bothered to leave Egypt and by doing this they have rejected the Lord who is among them.

Moses couldn't understand how God was going to provide the meat. He struggled with his own doubts and asked, "How would I give six hundred thousand men meat for a month, even if I slaughtered an entire herd and caught all the fish in the sea?"

The Lord asked, "Is the Lord's arm too short? You will see that I speak the truth!" 

God then gave the seventy elders the Spirit that he had given Moses. With it they prophesied, but only once. There were two men who were listed as two of the elders who did not go to the tent of meeting that day but who still received the Spirit from God, and they continued to prophesy in the camp. This worried Aaron and he told Moses to stop them but Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on all of them!" 

God held up his promise and sent droves of quail in from the sea. As far as a day's walk quail surrounded the camp in all directions. Then, while the meat was still between their teeth, the Lord's anger burned and he sent down a severe plague that struck down all the people who complained and grumbled for other food. Many were buried right there where the quail had arrived. (Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge! Knowing how fierce God's anger can burn we understand He is a loving, kind, giving, and jealous God. God wants to be reverenced as holy and treated as such. The people had forgotten His power! )

Miriam was Moses' sister. ( She was the one who had helped save his life when he was a baby in the basket on the river when all other male babies were being killed) But she and Aaron began to feel jealousy toward Moses because of his close walk with God. They talked to one another about him asking why he was the only one who the Lord spoke to. They talked behind Moses' back suggesting they too had the Lord's favor. They pointed out that Moses wasn't the ideal leader especially since he had married a foreign wife. She was a Cushite. They wanted to be given more control and power among the people. The Lord heard all they said and called for Moses to come to the tent of meeting with both Miriam and Aaron. When they gathered there the Lord appeared in a pillar of cloud at the entrance to the Tent. He said to Aaron and Miriam, "Listen to my words! When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions and dreams. But to my servant Moses, he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles. He sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" (Surely this brought about terror in Miriam and Aaron! God has no room for jealousy!)

The anger of the Lord burned against them and he left them. When the cloud lifted there stood Miriam leprous, like snow. When Aaron looked over to her and saw she had leprosy he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's' womb with its flesh half eaten away!"

Moses cried out to the Lord, "Oh God please heal her!"

The Lord replied to Moses , "Confine her outside the camp for seven days, after that she can be brought back. For she will be healed."

(Mariam's jealousy caused her to be punished by God's anger. He wouldn't not allow anyone to talk bad about his faithful servant Moses. Instances like this are used as examples, teaching the people that God hears all, and will take care of those who love Him. )

After that, the cloud lifted and it was time to move again. The Israelites left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.

(Life Question: Do you find yourself complaining and grumbling about certain life situations? Sometimes it is hard to look around and see that we are so very blessed. God has the power to show us that things can most certainly get worse! Be careful to always notice the good, which almost always outweighs the bad by a long shot. Having a complaining, grumbling mindset is the opposite of the true blessed, thankful, grateful mindset God wants us to have. )