Complaints In The Dessert

Complaints in the desert

Numbers 11:

Good Morning church- Glad you have joined us and hope the Lord will minister to you in a powerful way.

Please turn with me to the OT book of Numbers Chapter 11.

Our text takes us to where we have all been at times and where we have had to listen to someone else..

It is complaining!

WE will see that the Nation of Israel is complaining to God about how bad they have it.

How about it … we want to be compassionate but sometimes we would just like to tell someone that we are tired of hearing the only thing out of their mouth is complaining.

You look at their lives and you can see that some of the things they are complaining about are things that they have brought on themselves by bad decisions and missed opportunities.

You have heard their story so many times and you have tried to help them but they just won’t listen.

If you cannot think of someone like that…Maybe you are that person,

You would have to admit at times that you should have listened to the advice that was given.

Gossipers…those that love to talk about others.

Complainers…nothing is ever right

Hard heads, stubborn people, distracted people who can’t focus for very long

Those who are spiritually deaf, those that have to learn everything the hard way

Pushy people in the world… but complainers are the ones that get on your last nerve. They are the ones that you try to get away from.

We at times don’t know what to do with people like that- Now imagine your God and you have a whole nation, a whole world of people like that- makes me glad that God has patience with us, that He is willing to explain and re-explain the plan He has for our lives .

Let’s Pray-

Numbers 11:1-15 Read from bible -New King James

Background-

The first generation of Israelites came out of the desert of Sinai as an organized group of people under the provision of God’s presence- cloud by day and fire by night.

In time they became a group of people following Moses and became a group of murmuring and complaining people.

Complaining about their hardships in the wilderness

Lack of meat to eat

Prompted Moses the leader to start complaining about the burden God had put on him for the people.

God gets tired of hearing them complain and he sends fire to the outskirts of the camp-

Moses intercedes for the people and God stops the fire.

Some scholars believe it was at the edge of camp that the gossiping and turmoil was most rampant and God put a stop to it for the moment.

This was the same group of millions of people who were imprisoned by the Egyptians and forced to hard labor and very poor living ways.

400 years slaves… set free by the power of God!

There is no other way to explain it other than God did a miracle and set them free under Moses and set them back on track as being God’s people.

We know the story unique plagues, the battle between Pharaoh and the stuttering Moses.

The great exit from Egypt where Pharaoh changed his mind after letting them go then went back after Israel and pursued them.

At the Red Sea God provided a miracle by parting the sea and the Israelites crossed on dry land and as Egyptians crossed were swallowed up by the sea collapsing on them.

The Egyptian army was no more…the end.

They are in the wilderness on the other side of that miracle complaining about food and water and how things are being done by Moses and everyone is having a moment.

You ever have a moment?

That time you feel like you are in the wilderness wondering if God has still got you?

If He cares what is going on in your life?

If He is still going to provide for you?

We all have been there but we cannot stay there…not if we want God to move.

(V4) says “The Ramble among them had a strong craving”

The word Babel- means to be confused, numerous ideas all thrown together that don’t make sense. And when we babble, people don’t understand.

Today we see the word rabble- “rabble was a greedy desire to gather.”

Non-Israelites had gathered with the people of God as they left Egypt and had gathered on the outskirt of the city and were causing trouble.

They were the people pushing to cause dissention and making people more at unrest.

Know anyone like that?

The Israelites complained and then Moses their leader complained. Why did God respond positive to Moses and negatively to the rest of the people? Because the people complained to each other and nothing was accomplished. Moses took his complaint to God, who can solve any problem.