Numbers 11

In This chapter we find the mention of manna again but what it deals with mainly is the people’s desire for meat.  Within this story there are several things going on.  The chapter starts out with the people complaining and God sending fire raining down.  We then see Moses prayed and the fire died down.

What makes this fact so interesting it is that we see a few sentences latter Moses is saying he can’t handle the people and just wants for God to kill him.  For those who have heard of suicide by cop this seems that Moses was seeking suicide by God.  God does not kill him but tells him to bring 70 leaders and gives a part of the spirit that he poured out on Moses to these 70 leaders.  In doing this it divides the power so that Moses is not dealing with all the people himself. 

On the surface it seems like a simple complaint concerning food.  Why shouldn’t they complain that all they had to eat was manna.  Now I understand a bit about this for when I was in Iraq every 21 days we had the same meal.  So I knew what I was going to have to eat the next day by what I had to eat the day before.  I can only imagine what they felt like to have manna all the time.  So they were tired of manna so they asked for meat.  Now remember they had many animals they had brought with them.  It was not like they did not have meat.  They had plenty of meat.  So what was the complaint about?  Why did God say to Moses that he will give them meat to eat so much until they were sick of it and it was coming out of their ears?  Why did he then make some sick at the end of the chapter.

To understand this we need to look at what their real complaint was.  The complaint was not so much about what they were eating but about the fact that they were not where they had been.  It is interesting how quickly we forget how bad things were before.  They were questioning God they were saying things were better in Egypt. They were in love with the things of the world. Here God was right there with them yet they wanted more they wanted what they wanted.  God doesn’t just listen to what we say he looks upon our hearts.  They were complaining about where they were and seemed to forget the oppresiveness that they had been under in Egypt and their desire to leave there.

Application

So what can we learn from this chapter?  God understands that sometimes we need help and when we ask as Moses did he will provide that help.  The second thing is realize that God wants to hear your struggles and the things that you are going through, but what is the motivation of your heart.  Are you telling him that you know what is best for you.  Has your desire for other things become greater than your desire for God?  Do you have what you need but complaining because it is not filet mignon, or a Mercedes Benz? 

We need to at times check our attitudes and make sure we are seeking God first then he will add the rest.  Sometimes we need to be careful what we ask for because God may just give it to us.  It is like when kids keep asking and asking and you say no but they ask one more time and you finally give in knowing that it is not the best for them.  Then the kids are shocked when something bad happens and you tell them I tried to warn you.  God treats us the same so be cautious because that thing you are asking for and God has said no, well you may just get it.  Don’t expect him to be surprised when you come crawling back to him for forgiveness.

The good old days are not always as we remember them.  We must keep our eyes forward and no that God has our best in mind.