Word of Encouragement (11/03/2022)
Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. 5 And the people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” (Num. 21:4-5)
The last time they complained, it was about water. God miraculously provided water for them from a rock. This time, they were complaining about food and water. Why did they complain instead of humbly asking God? Did they think that God could handle the problem of water but not the problem of food? Was the power of God so limited that He could take care of one problem and not the other? Was their new problem (the lack of food and water) so much bigger and worse than their old problem (the lack of water) that all they could do was complain instead of humbly asking? Oh, how important it is for us to remember who God is and what He has already done for us—“Through many dangers, toils, and snares, / I have already come; / ’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, / And grace will lead me home.” And how wise it is to change our complaint to prayer!
For the Israelites, it was not even that they had no food. God faithfully rained down manna from heaven for their daily bread. But they referred to this miraculous provision as “this miserable food”. They even said, “...we loathe this miserable food.” We can understand that they were growing tired of eating the same thing over and over again. Maybe we won’t fare much better than they did. Even so, we are horrified by their audacity to blaspheme God’s honor by desecrating His supernatural provision as “this miserable food” and saying that they loathed it!
This makes us think about our treatment of the Lord’s Supper, doesn’t it? The Lord’s Supper is God’s supernatural provision for us. Yet, it is easy to treat it like a mere ritual and go through it mindlessly every week, isn’t it? We may not “loathe” it. But we may engage in it too casually and mindlessly when the Lord desires to communicate His grace to us. Do we not dishonor God and incur God’s judgment when we eat and drink in such an unworthy manner? “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Cor. 11:29).
If the lack of food was not the reason, what was the reason for their complaint? We are told, “...the people became impatient because of the journey.” Sometimes, what people complain about is not what the real problem is. Sometimes they themselves don’t know what the problem is; sometimes they are too ashamed or embarrassed to talk about their problem. I believe that the latter is the case for the Israelites here. We don’t know how long the journey had been since they came out of Egypt; it had been many years, possibly a couple of decades. They were growing weary. But why was their journey lasting so long? Was it not because they refused to enter the promised land because they didn’t trust the LORD? Instead of admitting their fault, they were blaming God for the lack of food and drink.
It’s a bad place to be when we don’t see our faults and blame God instead. God sent vipers to punish them, and many had to die. May the Lord grant us the grace that causes my heart to fear and relieves us from that fear in Jesus Christ! May the Lord give us the clarity in vision to see the value and abundance of His spiritual provision and grow in appreciation!