- The people grumbled over their hard life. (11:1)
- The riffraff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining. (11:4)
- Miriam and Aaron talked against Moses behind his back because of his Cushite wife. (12:1)
- But the others said, "We can't attack those people; they're way stronger than we are." They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. (13:31)
In each of these instances, God's anger flared up, and there were significant consequences - fire blazing around the camp boundaries, death after the first bite of quail, leprosy, and 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and 603, 548 people who wouldn't live to enter the Promised Land.
But I also noticed that Moses complained to God. "Why are you treating me this way? What did I ever do to deserve this?" (11:11) I think it's remarkable that Scripture doesn't say that God got angry with Moses. No leprosy or death for him. In fact, God's Spirit remained on him. So why did the others get such a harsh response from God?
I think it's what God saw in each of their hearts.
"Lament is a cry of belief in a good God, a God who has His ear to our hearts, a God who transfigures the ugly into beauty. Complaint is the bitter howl of unbelief in any benevolent God in this moment, a distrust in the love-beat of the Father's heart. God's anger kindles hot when the essence of the complaint implies doubt in His love." Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, p. 175Although Moses vented his anger in the situation, God knew what was in his heart. He was lamenting, not complaining. This quietly humble man was God's servant, and his intimate relationship with God seems to have allowed him to honestly share his emotions. I can only surmise that all of the others complained with a spirit of unbelief, a distrust in God's love and as a result, were on the receiving end of His blazing anger.
It certainly makes me think about what's going on inside of me. I feel like I've been grumbling and whining a lot lately. What's the heart behind my thoughts and words? Am I lamenting, or am I complaining? Am I crying out in belief to a good God, or is it really just a bitter howl of unbelief that doubts the love of my Father?
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32
2 comments:
Your summary of the talk of these chapters really helps me, Cici. I'm feeling very Israelite-ish these days -- a complaining, sniveling, whining mess. I know God isn't pleased and that I'm difficult to live with. I ask forgiveness, but the triggers quickly come again and I'm back where I was.
Joshua & Caleb had perspective, the lens of belief that God will do what He says He'll do. That puts everything into focus, removes the distortion.
The lens of truth for me today is that God says I'm His, valued, known, worthy, righteous in Him. The giants in the land (my emotional triggers and Satan's lies) have nothing on my big God.
Numbers 11:1 "They grumbled over a hard life." That's a little too close to my home this new dawn. I read Joni this week who is battling cancer & she wrote about I Peter 2:21 "To these hardships you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His Steps." She went on to write: "I'm less interested in the physical and more interested in healing in my heart...my lazy attitude about God's Word and prayer, of brute pride---set me free from self-centeredness." Have mercy, O God, and heal our hearts.
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