In the Wilderness: cravings?

And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord , and the fire died down. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them. Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at." Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it. Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. Moses said to the Lord , "Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,' to the land that you swore to give their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, 'Give us meat, that we may eat.' I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness." Then the Lord said to Moses, "Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. And say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord , saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt." Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, "Why did we come out of Egypt?"'" But Moses said, "The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, 'I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!' Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?" And the Lord said to Moses, "Is the Lord 's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not." So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord . And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, "My Lord Moses, stop them." But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord 's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!" And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. Then a wind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground. And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague. Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving. From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth. - Numbers 11:1‭-‬35 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

The wilderness experience is part and parcel of the Christian spiritual life. Times of trouble, spiritual dryness, and times of refreshment. The temptation to be a complainer is something we often encounter. This is what is addressed in our passage.

The pervasiveness of complaint

The Israelites spent months at the mountain, Mount Sinai. They spent months preparing. This is the second leg of the journey. The first leg was their escape of Egypt. The parting of the Red Sea. They set out on their second leg and complain about water, food, etc. Complaining isn't just part of the difficult parts of our lives. In this modern day and age, complaining is now normative part of our lives. How so? What's the first way we open our conversations? We complain about our sports teams, our commute, the weather... If we stopped and recorded ourselves, we would find that we are complaining all day. It comes so naturally to us. But this is serious, it is not just normal.

The seriousness of complaint

There is a faith filled way to complain. It is pouring out our troubles to God. But we are talking about the other kind. This is complaining about God.

The rabble were not Israelites. They left Egypt with the Israelites. When they grumbled, they spread that attitude to people around us. When we gripe and grumble, it spreads a poisonous attitude to people around us. Un-thankfulness is contagious.

Often, grumbling makes us idealize the past/future and despise the present. It makes us look at what we don't have. It is a rejection and diminishing of the gracious provision of God. It is heinous.

Complaint is an expression of unbelief. The Israelites were promised a land overflowing of milk and honey. But they doubted; so they wanted to go back to Egypt, to slavery. We doubt God and do not grasp that God is working out things for our good. We can't see any good through our pain or trouble.

A heart of complaint places us in the center. We want things in our timing. We deserve better. A better marriage, more obedient kids, etc. People who are full of complaint are ultimately full of themselves. They expect everything to go their way and people to meet their standards. God becomes secondary to our self-centeredness. This is why God's anger burns against the Israelites. But we should not be so harsh with them. We are just like them. Even if God showed us miracle after miracle today, we would be unthankful maybe tomorrow, very likely by this evening.

The cure

Jesus is the cure. He comes as a sacrifice for a people whose mouths are full of complaint. He comes willingly to give them life. He spills forth love and grace in the face of griping and complaining. In Christ, all our bad will become good, all the good can never be taken away, and the best is yet to come. We have the bread of life. All other kind of bread will leave us hungry again. Whether power, pleasure, friends, family, or anything else we find satisfaction in this life... will ultimately leave us empty again.