Numbers 11:1 "And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp."
Numbers 11 is a story of complaining. The Bible says of the Israelites' complaining, "It displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it." God did not take their complaining lightly; and just as sure as He heard their cries for help, He heard their complaining. It is interesting to note when they complained.
First, they complained when they wanted what they did not have. Israel had everything that they needed: direction, protection, and provision from God Himself. Yet they complained because they did not have meat to eat! Isn't it easy for us to complain for the same reason? Can you think of five things right now that you wish you had? Sure you can! Though it is not necessarily wrong to want something, allowing that God-given desire to turn into covetousness is wrong. Many people are troubled with this very same sin that displeased the Lord many years ago!
Secondly, they complained when they remembered what they had before. They said, "We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely. . . ." Really? Nothing was free in Egypt! They were slaves in bondage, but their memories were skewed about what they had. How in the world could fish and leeks compare with manna delivered fresh from the hand of God?
I have learned that the older I get, the better things seem to have been. Things from my childhood seem larger, better, and void of anything negative! How easily our perspective is warped! Often looking back causes discontentment because you are not looking to God; you are looking to yourself. If wanting something takes away your happiness, that is wrong! If wanting something makes you envious of what others have, that is wrong!
Thirdly, they complained when they minimized what they did have. Their ingratitude is amazing! "But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." Nothing at all? Oh, yes, that small detail of the fresh manna from heaven before you! I don't know exactly what it tasted like, but it was hot and fresh from God's own bakery! How could it possibly have been any better than straight from God?
The sin of complaining is a sin that God deals with swiftly and severely. The example recorded for us in Numbers 11 reminds us of the awful, wicked sin of complaining in our own lives. Don't minimize what God has provided for you, and do not allow discontentment to fester and agitate a complaining spirit.
"And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD."
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