Stop Grumbling
Do you all remember when the Israelites were about to go into the promised land? Moses sent some people to explore the land and see if the people who lived there were strong or weak, this is when we come to the feedback in Numbers 13:26 onwards.
“And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, we came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover, we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, we be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, the land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight”.
They saw danger and were ready to give up because it was impossible! I mean, they had every right to feel that way, if we see the dangers that lie ahead, I would probably feel the same way. BUT they forgot something important! Wasn’t it God that parted the red sea for them? THE RED SEA! Wasn’t it he who sent manna from heaven, meat?
Look at your circumstances, wasn’t it God who saved you from that situation that could have taken your life? Wasn’t it God that gave you that job that you thought was so impossible to get? Wasn’t it God who brought finances when things just seemed so impossible? Like the Israelites, we often forget the miracles that God did for us and instead, we sit there grumbling and complaining. The Israelites did the same thing, the grumbled and complained. Numbers chapter 14:1-4 reads:
“And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt”.
They were ready to give up, they completely disregarded everything God had done for them and as soon as they sensed danger or saw danger, they started to treat God like he was worthless or beneath consideration. They questioned him and doubted him. They wanted to go back to Egypt where they would be slaves or possibly killed, just so they could have that “comfortable” life. Are there times when you feel like that? You’re in this wilderness experience and God shows you the path to take and it seems so impossible and dangerous, so you decide to take the easy road, the road that would possibly harm you even more? Well, this is what the Israelites wanted. Let’s continue reading, verse 5-10 says:
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, the land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
These men had faith in God, they had seen how God had protected them and provided for them all this time and they knew he would continue to do so; God would make something out of nothing, he would come through when the situation looked too dangerous. What we often forget is that our God is a God who keeps his promises. The Lord told his people that he would deliver them from the Egyptians, and he did, but many people failed to see this. Even when Joshua and Caleb tried to encourage them, the people had already made up their mind and didn’t want to hear anything they had to say, in fact, they wanted to stone them. So, God confronted them.
Verse 11-19 “And the LORD said unto Moses, how long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by daytime in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
Moses had to speak on behalf of the Israelites because God had had enough! He delivered them, protected them, and provided for them and still they wouldn’t believe. They saw danger and instead of turning to God, they turned away, they just complained and grumbled. Let’s carry on because it gets better.
Verse 20 – 27 “And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word: But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it. (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea. And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, how long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
Guys do you see how our disbelief and distrust hurts God? God will do so much for us, clear a path for us, the promise land is right in sight, the miracle is there, ready for us to grab but as soon as we sense danger we want to run. We ask God why he is doing this, why is he taking us this way, why this why that. We complain instead positioning ourselves to receive the blessings God has for us. You want to know something heart breaking? As I was reading verse 24, I nearly cried, the NIV version says this “no one who has treated me with contempt will see it”. That verse hit me hard! I had to sit back and really take in what I was reading. I googled the word “contempt” to find its meaning and this is what it means “the feeling that a person or a thing is worthless or beneath consideration”. Brothers and sisters, does it ever occur to you that God can truly get you out of the wilderness, or do you feel it is worthless calling out to him or you just complain to him for getting you to that place? Have you ever considered how our grumbling, complaints, doubts, and disbelief make God feel?
I want to remind you of something, remember the Israelites started talking about going back to Egypt and saying if only they had died in Egypt, they said God was going to cause them to die etc. Well, God heard their cries and complaints.
Verse 28-38 “Say unto them, as truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land, even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.
Because of their disobedience, doubt and distrust in the Lord, God told them, they would not reach the promised land instead, they would wonder in the wilderness for 40 years until those 20 years and over died. Careful what you say guys, the tongue holds the power of life and death! The Israelites sealed their own fate, their doubt blocked their blessings. Do we often block our own blessing? Do we sabotage our own breakthroughs? I want you to think about this carefully brothers and sisters because this will determine whether or not you receive your breakthrough or not. Don’t underestimate God. Stop your grumbling.
With Love,
Faith / YAFC Team
