Grumbling in the Camp
Introduction: There is always something to complain about, even when there isn't. We can find a grievance if we want to. No matter how unreasonable it is. We grumble when its too hot, we grumble when it's too cold. We grumble when it rains. We grumble when it snows. We grumble when the weather has been too sunny for just a day longer than we would like it to be... and that is just with the weather. Yikes!
My niece Brinley came back from her first day of school and told her mother that she was upset with her friend. Her mother said “why?” she said “She is just so bossy!” Her mother then asked her “what makes you say that she is bossy?” she said “because she never does anything I tell her to!!” True story.
Sadly, there are times when adults act as immature as children, We study Israel's experiences because they teach us timeless lessons. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9 - “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” And the apostle Paul wrote “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did . . . . We should not test the LORD as some of them did – and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel.” - I Cor. 10:6-10
In the camp of Israel during their journey to the Promised land, you would think that the camp would be overjoyed for their new found freedom. They were leaving bitter bondage behind and were traveling toward the promised land. But instead of rejoicing we read, that the Israelites were grumbling.
So let's begin this morning by investigating their complaint.
The grumblers' complaint
Exodus 16:2 “In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.”
First of all, this isn't the first time they grumbled. In Ex. 14:11 Before God split the Red Sea, they said to Moses “was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?” And before that in Exodus 5:21 when they had to make bricks without straw they said to Moses “.. 'May the LORD look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us'.” So let's understand that this is not a singular instance, this is habitual, this is a spiritual problem.
Notice where they grumbled. “In the desert” When things aren't to our liking we do tend to complain. We grumble when the atmosphere and circumstances we are in are:
1)Unpleasant – The desert was not a place flowing with milk and honey. It didn't bring forth fruit like the tree planted by the river. The land didn't accommodate their desires. It was dry and hot. Our patience seems to diminish as the heat rises, doesn't it? The journey to the promised land itself was not supposed to be pleasant. Just as our journey through life isn't filled with constant ease, comfort, and pleasure, we go through trials and hardships because we live in a fallen world. But the good news is that God makes sure that until we get to the promise land we will be provided for. And even though they were told this, it didn't stop them from doubting and grumbling, no more than it stops people today when they are told the same. Accusing God of having a hidden agenda is one of the worst things we can do. We should be grateful that he didn't throw the clay away. Does a clay pot argue with the potter and say “Stop it! Stop it! You are doing it wrong! I must have this and I must have that!? How clumsy you are with me!”
2)Unfamiliar – They were used to being in Egypt, not in the desert and they couldn't stop doubting, even though they had the promise of deliverance, even though they had seen God plague Egypt frogs, lice, locusts, they saw the river turn to blood, even though the angel of death passed over their own homes and spared their children, even though they saw the Red Sea open and their own feet walk across on dry ground. Even though they saw an army trying to kill them be blocked by a pillar of fire, and then flooded by the same water God held open for them, It still wasn't enough apparently to convince the Israelites to trust in God. We fear the unknown, or unfamiliar. We are comfortable in familiarity, but when shaken or driven out of it, we are tempted to complain.
Notice who they grumbled against. “Moses and Aaron” In Ex.16:8 Moses addresses this “Moses also said, 'You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.” All Moses did was do as the LORD commanded him to do. Lead God's people to the promised land. They act as if Moses was intentionally trying to starve them to death. It's not surprising when grumblers paint the best actions with the worst colors.
Curiously, they don't grumble against God – only God's servant and their own leader. As if to say “God didn't bring us into this desert. You did, Moses!” By questioning Moses and Aaron they questioned God. (Just as the Pharisees questioned Jesus, they questioned God)
Notice why they grumbled. v.3 - “The Israelites said to them, 'if only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
They were hungry. Food is a need. We do need it to live, but instead of trusting God in the midst of their need. They blamed God for the lack of it. Interesting, that some left slavery behind in Egypt but they never left being a slave. They were slaves to their desires. They desired food and got it, they desired meat and got it. They desired this and that and got it. And grumbled when they didn't get it.
Is there always one more thing you have to have before you will be happy? Discontentment erodes your peace, steals your joy, corrupts your spirit and hardens your heart. After God gave them what they grumbled for they grumbled again in Numbers 11:4 -
“The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, 'If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost (how much was the price of manna, I wonder?) – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” Amazing! How ungrateful it is to look at the gifts of God with contempt. Manna was free. They didn't have to work for it. It wasn't hard to gather. It was sweet. It was versatile and could be used in a multitude of ways. 'Nothing but Manna!' - Those who might be happy make themselves miserable by their discontent. At one time they loved Manna, but now they hate it. Grumblers will find fault, even when there is no fault to be found.
The Israelites reminisced about Egypt as if it were paradise. How fast they forgot the brick pits, how quickly they forgot the task masters whip, how conveniently they forgot the cramps from the hard toil, and the blood, sweat and tears slaving for Pharoah. like Lot's wife looking back toward Sodom, they looked back toward Egypt, as if it had something good to be missed. The more God's miraculous powers, protections, and provisions are made for them the more ridiculous their complaints are. Nursing discontentment and blaming God for what you don't have won't make him give you what you want any sooner.
How quickly some people give up on God. At the first sign of difficulty they expect the worse. Like person who sees a cup of water in the boat they fear they are going to drown. The first sign of trouble and the Israelites expect nothing less than to die in the desert. And they do this time and time again. You might think after the second time of see God's miracles they might have faith that God will carry them through, but if not then maybe the 5th, 6th, 7th, time? But no, they still doubt and they still grumble.
I remember working at the local pharmacy and a blind man would come in every so often, and he had his hand on a person's shoulder. I was amazed how quickly the two shuffled between obstacles and got around. Blind men must trust someone or something to lead them around this world. We are all blind men - in the sense that we can not see what the future holds we don't see life in one eternal act as God does, so we must trust someone to guide us through it. We walk by faith in God not by sight. We see pieces of the puzzle but God sees the whole picture.
As is the case with most grumblers they had less reason to grumble than they let on. If they were starving to death why weren't Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb complaining? Do they not have stomachs? Do they not suffer from hunger? The truth is they were like ungrateful children crying that they are hungry when their food is right in front of them. Ever see the three year old at the restaurant screaming “I'm hungry! I'm hungry” when an exasperated mother is pointing toward the plate in front of them. Children want ice cream instead of applesauce. The Israelites wanted quail instead of manna and got it and then they wanted fish instead of manna. They just wanted their desire and not their need to be met. It's an offense to God to let our desires go beyond our faith. It's very provoking to God to undervalue his great blessings.
The grumblers' grace
“The Lord said to Moses, 'I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them at twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” -Ex. 16:11,12
God's grace is truly amazing! When the Israelites were so disrespectful and ungrateful, God could have rained down fire and brimstone but instead he rains down sweet manna from heaven.
We see that time and again God continues to provide for them. God continues to show mercy upon them and when they deserved wrath He pours out grace! How could you deny the goodness of God?
Finally after all the hardship they endured they came to the end of their journey and Moses sends out 12 to scout the land and there were two out of 12 who believed that they could have what God had promised. We hear about one that had a different spirit. In Numbers 14:24 we read:
“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”
In the midst of complaint and doubt we read there is one named Caleb who had a different spirit. Unlike those around him who had a fatalist, critical, ungrateful, and doubting spirit. Caleb had a spirit of hope, a spirit of gratitude, a spirit of faith. You might think that Caleb went into a different country by his report. When the grumblers saw nothing but giants and fortified cities, Caleb saw the same land flowing with milk and honey. Giants? Fortified cities? A hinderance to him but nothing to God. Caleb saw what his God could do and by faith said “we should go up and take possession of the land.”
The rest of them could have trusted God with a different spirit. They could have asked God instead of accused God, they could have inquired softly of God instead of criticized harshly of God, they could have believed God instead of doubting him.
Just from an every day, human, common sense, non preacher behind a pulpit perspective: it benefits us not to complain:
A person who grumbles often, when they do have a legitimate complaint, you know as well as I that they will be dismissed because they complain all the time. No one can tell the difference between their grievance and their personality.
On the other hand a person who never complains or hardly complains at all – when they are met with the same legitimate reason to complain, they will be surrounded by serious consideration and sincere sympathy and earnest prayer.
So It benefits us to have a different spirit and not grumble. The Lord will surely pour out his grace and bless the man of a different spirit.
Just a few verses before we read God has enough in Numbers 14:22 “not one of the men who saw my glory and miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times. Not one of them will see the land I promised them...” How fitting that there were ten faithless spies that gave a bad report of the promised land and it was exactly ten times that the grumblers disobeyed and tested the Lord. Finally, He had enough.
The grumblers' judgment
“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, 'As surely as I live declares the Lord I will do to you the very things I heard you say:” -Numbers 14:26-28
We read earlier in Exodus 16:3 they said: “If only we would have died by the LORD's hand in Egypt!...” uh oh. Bet they regretted that one. Their constant complaining finally caught up with them. God showed grace to them over and over and over again. But his patience runs out. God essentially said 'I will give you what you asked for.' It can be a dangerous thing to let our feelings triumph over faith, to allow our emotions best our reason. Because it isn't only people who hear us, but God!
God forgave them as Moses asked him to but He says “not one would ever see the promised land.” God knows who will never yield their spirit to him. He knows who will never humble their heart to him. He knows who will never surrender their lives to him. He knows whose hearts are harden to him. By rejecting the gift of God over and over, they had used up all their chances. God was finished with them. And today there will be those who reject the gifts of God with contempt and complaint, even the greatest gift: Jesus. The Israelites were ungrateful and tested God with constant grumbling and not one saw the promised land. They were never content with what they had and as a result they would not be blessed with more.
Why should anyone who treats God the same way today expect a different outcome? Jesus said “My father's house are many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” The doubters and grumblers that could only see obstacles in the wonderful promised land of God were the same doubters and grumblers that saw nothing but wrong in the sweet manna from Heaven. But today I call for those of a different spirit who believe in a new type of manna, a new type of bread.
“Then Jesus declared I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” -John 6:35
God gave them manna. But manna was a dead thing; if kept one night, it putrified and bred worms; but Christ is ever living everlasting bread that never molds or gets old. Bread sustains our life physically but Jesus can do far more by his own self. He nourishes us physically mentally, emotionally and spiritually by his own power. Bread may cause us to live on earth But the bread of life causes us live forever!
