Grumble, grumble

Read Numbers 7-12.

There is a ton that could be talked about in these chapters:

The "all are welcome" feel of the description of Passover in Chapter 9.
The faithfulness of the People of Israel in obeying God's direction through following the cloud (also in Chapter 9).
The Blaze of Camp Taberah when the people grumbled about their lives in Chapter 11.

But today, I intend to look over the way God responds to the grumbling at Camp Kibroth Hattaavah in Chapter 11.

Basically, the People of Israel are upset. All they’ve had to eat in a while is Manna and they want some meat. Soon, they start whining and both Moses and God heard it.

I love the way that Peterson translates the situation: “Moses saw that things were in a bad way.”

The bad part about complaining is that it is a transmittable disease. All of this grumbling gets Moses thinking about the negatives of his situation and so he starts to complain to God.

Ever been there?

The point of all this is how God responds. He more than fulfills their request. In doing so, God shows the people that what they believed to be a need was merely a selfish desire.

Here’s what God says: “God has heard your whining and he’s going to give you meat. You’re going to eat meat. And it’s not just for a day that you’ll eat meat, and not for two days, or five or ten or twenty, but for a whole month. You’re going to eat meat until it’s coming out of your nostrils. You’re going to be so sick of meat that you’ll throw up at the mere mention of it. And here’s why: Because you have rejected God who is right here among you, whining to his face, ‘Oh why did we ever have to leave Egypt?”

God is showing that he’s a little perturbed that the people doubt him so much.

Of course, what does Moses do…he doubts that God can fulfill such a promise as meat every day for a month. His point is valid if you are thinking through the limited vision of man. They don’t seem to have many animals that they can eat around them.

God’s response is mysterious, yet direct: “So, do you think I can’t take care of you? You’ll see soon enough whether what I say happens for you or not.

We know that they end up with a whole bunch of quail.

This story should be enough proof to us of God’s providence for our lives. And yet, every day we gripe about some situation in our lives. It seems that no matter how many times God takes us through hard times and into better ones, we still do not trust Him. We often think that we have to deal with situations alone or if we do see God, we see Him as the ambivalent savior. If we’d only trust in Him, we wouldn’t have to concern ourselves with the hindrances to our lives, instead of how we can help build His kingdom.

I think it’s appropriate how God fulfills the needs of the people. I’ve found this to be true in my own life when I am worried about something. When I least expect it, He overfills my needs.

God, help me to have patience in being part of your plan. I know that you are in control. Give me peace in times of worry. Thank you for your grace and your love.