As I read through the passage this week, I was struck by the
grumbling of the Israelites and the patience of the Lord. The Israelites,
scarce days outside of their captivity, complain about thirst, and then hunger,
and then thirst again. I find myself judging them. How could they so quickly
forget about the provision of the Lord? Did he not say he would bring them to
the promised land? Moses’s reaction is right, he prays and cries out to the
Lord and he provides, first turning the water sweet, then bringing quail and
manna and finally bringing water out of a rock. The Lord does not chastise
them, Moses does not chastise them. Their need is simply provided for as Moses
cries out in faith for God to provide.
The Israelites do not even thank God. They seem to just move
on. Their needs have been met. No songs are sung, no celebrations or burnt
offerings are made. It doesn’t even say that they worshipped Him. In addition
to their lack of repentance for their small faith, they take each complaint to
the extreme: “and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by
the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate
bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill
this whole assembly with hunger.’” Exodus 16:3; “But the people thirsted there
for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring
us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?’”
Exodus 17:3.
I love Moses’s response as he cries out to the Lord, “What
shall I do with this people?” Exodus 17:4. I can relate with this as I read
this. How can this people complain, Moses is thinking, didn’t you show them
your power Lord? How can they still doubt?
But Moses, oh Moses, he isn’t that far from his own
complaints. He himself complained about his “faltering lips” quite a few times.
Now the man who complained in his own doubts, is dealing with the people’s lack
of faith.
This turns my attention to myself and my faith and trust in
God’s promises. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that I have had this type
of epiphany. Last year, studying Matthew, I was struck by how the disciples
were told over and over about Christ’s death, three days in the tomb and
resurrection, and yet they didn’t expect it. Here Moses and the Israelites have
been shown the power of God, and yet when God makes a promise, the Israelites
find it hard to trust in Him.
My life is a series of these pitfalls. I have never seen the
Lord turn water into blood, or make an entire land covered in darkness, but I
have seen his miracles in my own life and those of other believers. I have seen
his provision, his protection, I have felt his presence. So why do I doubt?
There are moments in which my stress levels are unreasonable for a follower of
Christ. He never promised an easy life, but he did promise the outcome. I
should have faith that he will bring me there in his will and his timing. My
grumbling, my complaints, my exasperated cries of “why did you bring me to this
place!” need to stop. My faith needs to be in my eternal savior, the creator of
the world who loved me enough to call me child.
How have you grumbled in your circumstances against God? How
will you lean on him and trust him today?
