Numbers

Complaining and God's Response

Well, this theme is easy enough to see in this book, for it is the cause of all of the Israelites troubles. They just can’t seem to be grateful for the deliverance they have received… nor can they exercise any patience to trust in God’s promise actually coming true. The first generation of Israelites here cash in their entry into the Promised Land for the sake of grumbling about what they have. They are tired of eating manna… so God lets them eat it for another forty years. They think that Egypt was better than being out in the middle of no where, so God lets them wander a little longer… like forty years longer. God’s answer to the Israelites complaining and doubt of his provision is essentially… ok, have it your way. The harsh reality of not having things God’s way is that he is angry at their distrust and thus brings upon them his wrath. The root issue of Israel’s problems was their own deception… the complaining was just an outward expression of distrust in God’s provision that was deep within them. God had delivered these people from harsh oppression and slavery and they acted like Egypt was better. God had destroyed Pharaoh and his army with the power of the Red Sea and they feared nations in Canaan as being too powerful. God had delivered them water from rocks and rained food down from heaven and they were discontent with taste. God shows that he does not take lightly to his people rejecting his good gifts and good promises in distrust and hatred. The Israelites were more afraid of the people in Canaan than they were of God Almighty, the Creator himself. They had lost sight of the reality of who God is and thus were complaining. They had lost sight of how God had come into their presence in the form of a cloud that would strike down anyone who touched Mount Sinai. God is life-giver and can take it away just as fast… but this they lost sight of and complained out of a loss of reverence for the maker of the universe who was in their very presence. They failed to see that their heart attitude behind their complaining was that they despised what God had given them. They rejected what God offered them and thus God’s anger burned hot against them. These wasn’t just light grumbling… these rebellions were full fledged mutinies against God’s ordained decisions of how Israel was going to be ran. The people thought they knew what was best for them and in doing so declared God’s plan for them to be less than what was best. God defended his honor and proclaimed a need for repentance time and time again as he executes his righteous wrath upon the people of Israel. God’s response is discipline… harsh discipline… tens of thousands of Israelites died in God’s discipline… entire families were literally wiped off the face of the earth because of their disobedience. God desires trust in his people, he desires obedience… and he shows here his hatred for anything less than what he asks. He is indeed merciful and steadfast in his love, yet he demands his honor and will not be disrespected by those who are merely his creation.

Wow, this is a heavy hitting reality for me… knowing how often I fail to see the true blessings of God in my life. I look so much more often to what I am lacking than to what I have been given. The truth is that I have nothing good that isn’t a gift of God. This summer I realized a bit of how much I have to be grateful for when I hurt my knee, but even that seems like something insignificant compared to what God really wants me to be grateful for. The deeper issue here is contentment and trust I think. This is what I see… and I am beginning to realize that what I really want is what God wants. This reality has been so true in my prayer life and even as I examine what I feel God is calling me into. I am seeing all the more clearly that I want what God wants. God wanted the Israelites to all enter into the promised land and then gave them simple instructions to do so… yet they chose to disregard that which was best. I see now how desperately I want what God wants and to not settle for less. God help me see what you want… help me be grateful for all that I have been given. I am grateful, destroy everything within me that would keep me from trusting and resting in what you have given.