FRIDAY 14 January 2022 “Complaint” Numbers 11:4-17

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Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends around the world,

Two weeks ago today was New Years Eve, three weeks ago Christmas Eve, yet do both of those seem like several months ago? I have a question for us today: of all the voices you hear or things you read each day, how much of it is COMPLAINT? How rarely do I hear words of celebration or gratitude or delight, what about you? WHY is complaining so widespread in our day, among people of all ages, all ethnicities, both genders? Complaining normally pours out of unmet expectations, do you agree? Complaining is contagious, and complaining sucks the joy out of everything, am I right?

In our journey with Moses and more than 1 million Hebrews, who one year before had been slaves in Egypt with no hope of ever seeing freedom… their God led journey from Mount Sinai toward the land of Promise was only a few days old. Less than a week I believe. Yes, listen to Moses’ description: “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 – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite, we never see anything but this manna!” (Numbers 11:4-6) Now WHO do you suppose are these people Moses calls “the rabble” who seem to be spreading the ‘complaint cancer’? I think it’s at least two groups of people. First are those Hebrews with very high expectations of what they think God should do for them, and they have very short patience. The second are the non-Hebrews who took advantage of the open escape hatch from Egypt and ran out with Moses and the Hebrews. We see them described in Exodus 12:38.

Now look around you my friends, no matter where you live in our world. Big city or small town. Big house or tiny apartment. Fancy clothes or hand-me-downs or the charity barrel clothes. Well educated or illiterate. Young or old. Do you see them everywhere… ‘the rabble’. These are the discontent, the dissatisfied, those with unmet expectations, the quick to complain and slow to express thanks! Do you see them all around your town? And what spews from their mouths, their computer keypads, their cells phones, their social media posts?

These rabble were also very likely the center of the Exodus 16 complaining when they grumbled against Moses, remember? “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 into the desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Ex. 16:2,3) Sounds very similar doesn’t it? God’s response was a shower of manna and a swarm of quail for those people, but also a warning about grumbling in the face of Almighty God’s love, provision and protection! So here we are about one year later, and the grumbling cancer is spreading again. Look at Moses, listen to his heart, does the look on his face, the tone of voice you hear, the words he chooses, all reflect a tearing heart that you are very familiar with? The tensions of life, the complaints of people all around us, tear at our hearts don’t they?

Moses gives us an unusual glimpse into his heart, the heart of a great leader surrounded by complainers: “…and Moses was troubled. He asked the LORD, ‘Why have YOU brought this trouble on Your servant? What have I done to displease You that You put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do You tell me to carry them in my arms as a nurse carries an infant… Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing ‘Give us meat to eat!’ (Numbers 11:10-13) Are you nodding in agreement as you consider your whining family, the students in your classroom, your never satisfied customers or patients, your government always demanding more from you? Where do you turn when the grumbling and complaining is driving you crazy?

Moses turned to the right place… Almighty God, WITH Whom Moses had a remarkably well developed relationship, and IN Whom Moses had great confidence and trust. But the pressure was more than our friend Moses could take. It was more than 10 or 50 or 100 or 1000 people complaining. Moses wrote: “Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent.” (Numbers 11:10) WOW, that’s not just a complaint or two, that’s a tsunami of grumbling…can you hear the noise? Then Moses hit the panic button: “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how You, O God, are going to treat me, put me to death right now!” (Numbers 11:14,15) Now don’t rush past this my friends. Yes, this is the great, the one and only Moses, saying to God that he’s ready to die, the pressure is simply too much!

By the way, did you know the great Hebrew prophet Elijah did the same thing? Yes, in 1 Kings 19 Elijah was running for his life. He had just seen God answer his prayer with fire that fell from heaven and 400 prophets of the demon Baal were killed. Now Queen Jezebel has sent word, Elijah would be dead before morning. So Elijah runs, and exhausted, falls on the sand under a tree and cries out: “I have had enough LORD, take my life…” (1 Kings 19:4) So how is it possible that two of the greatest men of God of all time, who had experienced powerful miracles with God, BOTH find the pressures of life, the fears and worries of life so heavy they are ready to quit and die?! That’s real life isn’t it my friends? And in both cases God responded to these two great men of faith, with His practical answers of hope, and a fresh encounter with His majesty! Watch that closely my friends, it’s a clue as to what we can anticipate the next time we come to the end of ourselves, the end of our strength.

God’s answer to Moses was very practical… shared spiritual leadership! This is different from Exodus 18 when Jethro urged Moses to pick some qualified, wise leaders who could help him act as judge to settle disputes. This for Moses now is Holy Spirit anointed men who will join Moses in carrying the overall leadership load of these 1 million people. Do you see what the LORD’s response to Moses was? God did not say ‘suck it up old man and stand strong’! Moses was over 80 years old by this time. God did not say ‘come on you whiner, after all the powerful encounters we’ve had on Sinai together, I expected more backbone from you.’ God did acknowledge the huge leadership load and the tsunami of grumbling and complaint, and God gave Moses both help and hope by saying: “Bring Me 70 of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, and stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you all there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Holy Spirit on them. They will then help you carry the burden of the people, so you will not have to carry it alone.” (Numbers 11:16,17)

My friend, if you are in ANY leadership role or if you are a parent and you feel the burden is beyond your capacity…take heart! God FULLY understands what you are dealing with, what you feel, what people are expecting of you, and God KNOWS you better than you know yourself! God fully understands your capacity and the condition of your heart. Reach out as Moses did, be honest with God, don’t hold anything back, invite God to do the powerful work in your life which HE knows you will need to face the challenges ahead. And then listen to God as He responds to you. He may speak to you through His word. He may speak with good counsel from someone else. I suggest you consider Numbers 11 or Joshua 1 or Psalm 119 as three of many places to find God’s hope and power. Here God didn’t just speak words, God urged Moses to take specific, practical action by selecting the right 70 trusted, proven, leaders who would join with Moses in this leadership responsibility, and then God anointed them by HIS Holy Spirit power!

Tomorrow we’ll look at one more big thing God did in Numbers 11. He responded directly, powerfully, miraculously, unforgettably to the grumblers, the complainers! So much so they gave this place a new name, so no generation in the future would ever forget the price of complaining against Almighty, Holy God! But that’s tomorrow, for today, I urge you to re-read Numbers 11:4-17 slowly, and invite the Holy Spirit of God to awaken new hope in YOU for facing the challenges God sees are coming your way in 2022. And here’s a great song of hope for looking beyond the storms to see what God sees on the other side.

Today’s Scripture is Numbers 11:4-17.

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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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