Numbers 11

Numbers 11

The opening of Numbers 11 introduces one of the first major problems in Israel. After 2 years of physically being fed by God (which seems pretty great), they were becoming restless and tired of that daily routine. They complained to God about only having manna to eat each day, and they decided that they wanted some meat to eat. Now while it would be easy to sympathize with them over the few choices of food, we have to remember that manna was said to be the greatest tasting food on earth (not in so many words), and it was prepared by and delivered from God each day. So by saying that they were tired of it and ready for something else, something new, something better, they were in essence rejecting that which God had given them. He had a right to be angry with His people.

But this made life harder for Moses. He found himself caught between trying to listen to God and follow His commands and trying to appease the people. He had been set up by God as their ruler, and when they complained against God, their complaints were also against him. So he cried out to God in his time of need, something that we need to be sure and do when we find ourselves in tough situations such as this. It is not always our first choice to turn to God when we are angry at a situation in our lives, but that is exactly what Moses did. Now although his anger appeared to be directed toward God (and part of it probably was), it appears as if he was more angry at the situation he was in. He found himself in a position that he had not asked for, dealing with a people that were being inconsiderate of the gifts that they had been given, and wanting to continue to follow God, the one who had blessed him and the nation of Israel so much.

But the key in this whole situation was turning to God, going to Him for direction. Moses used his anger for something good, not giving up or having a pity party about the situation, but instead turning to God for direction. God heard His cries and gave him 70 men to assist him, becoming the elders of the camp. But while God helped Moses, He also taught the Israelites a lesson in trust. He gave them what they wanted, the meat, but He did so in a manner that would cause them to never want it again. Instead of giving them plenty, He gave them more than plenty, so much that they would grow tired of eating the meat. Sometimes God ends up giving us what we want, but remember that that is not always a good thing. Just like this situation, He later gave the Israelites a king, which did not turn out great for their country either. Sometimes, God will allow our desires to be met to show us that our desires our not always His desires, and what we think is good is not always what He considers to be good. We should never seek for our desires to be met over His. His will is perfect, and we should always be seeking after Him, trying to live a life in accordance with His will. When we fail to do so, we have to endure the consequences, which is what God was doing with Israel at this time.

Matt