Life Of Moses: Part 9 Series

Everyone has a breaking point. A moment where it gets so bad or so intense, that you can’t keep the outburst inside anymore. You have to let it out! You have to let others know how bad you have it. You may even react in a way to make sure they feel a portion of the bad things you’re feeling.

Think about some of the outbursts you’ve had in your life. Did they happen because you literally were pushed to the point of breaking? Probably not. Yeah, things were probably pretty bad and you were uncomfortable and frustrated, but you probably weren’t to the point of absolute despair or death. It could’ve been that there was just a string of aggravating events that transpired, that as you look back on them weren’t that big of a deal. Or I think about one of those breaking point moments for myself. I was three-years-old and I cursed the Easter Bunny because I couldn’t find my Easter basket. Not exactly a breaking point moment.

So, why do we “break” then? Why do we complain and hurt loved ones with cruel words? Why do we feel as if we have the right to be mean and nasty? The only thing we can chalk it up to is that we’re a bunch of sinners. There’s a nasty side of us that enjoys complaining and causing pain. You aren’t unique in this, though. It’s something that’s common with all sinful people.

The Israelites had reached their “breaking point.” The point in which they through their words and actions proved that they thought they had the right to do and say whatever was on their mind. Now, I’ll give this to them. They had had a tough go of things. They had been eating the same food for 40 plus years. Many of their fathers and mothers and elders had died during this time, as God had promised that the original generation who came up from Egypt would not see the Promised Land. They had lost two of their great leaders in Miriam & Aaron, the sister and brother of Moses. And now, as they’re getting set to finally enter into the Promised Land, after walking for 40 years in the wilderness, now their relatives, the Edomites from the line of Esau, would not allow them to pass through their country. And, Moses did not listen to God and speak to the rock to draw out water, thus showing God’s love, but instead rebuked the Israelites and struck the rock, reacting in a sinful and angry way.

So, they decided to take it out on Moses and God. “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Really? Is that what was actually happening? No water? God saw that they had water to drink on this whole journey. Miserable food? God miraculously provided manna and quail for them every day. And were they on the brink of death? I think not. God was still with them, still providing for them, still leading them, still holding on to his promise of bringing them into the land of Canaan. Life was rough, for sure, but God was not the one to blame. It was the fault of the Israelites alone why they were made to wander in the desert these 40 years! They were the ones who hadn’t trusted God when he brought them to the land earlier! They could’ve already taken possession of that land, but they had sinned.

In an act done not out of hateful punishment, but rather loving discipline, God heard the complaint of the Israelites and gave them what they needed. As a father must train his child, so God trained his children in the way he knew was best. He knew that if he allowed their sin to go unnoticed or unchecked, they would hurt themselves. So, God let his plan unfold. Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.

But wait?! I though we said that God acted in loving discipline and not in hateful punishment? Why then did he allow snakes to come in and kill them? The thing is, God knew that this was exactly what his people needed. And their response to his action proves that. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

I think back to the way that I’ve acted at times when things didn’t go my way, not just back to when I was three and cursing at the Easter Bunny, but recently here too, and I’m embarrassed about what I’ve said and done. As adults, we still at times throw these temper tantrums because we didn’t get our way. We didn’t get what we wanted. It doesn’t matter, either, if we were the ones who caused the uncomfortable situation in the first place. We want to blame anyone but ourselves.