Dont Bite The Hand That Feeds You, Instead Bite Your Tongue

2. In v. 11, I want you to notice the burden and stress that Moses is feeling.

a. Here this poor man Moses is crying out to God, ?Why oh Lord are you treating me so bad that you would put the burden of leading these ungrateful people on me.?

1) I know what Moses is going through here, in my ministry I have also felt this burden.

2) IN fact almost every minister has.

3. Look at v. 12, Moses is so depressed about the people that even he begins to complain to God.

a. Moses asks, ?Did I create these unthankful people?? No! he answers.

1) ?Am I some kind of wet nurse that I should treat these grown men and women who know better like little babies?? No!

2) ?Why oh Lord do they day and night demand every moment of my attention??

3) Folks you may not realize it but this is the cry of many pastors today.

b. Why do some people constantly want to be the center of all attention in the Church and not God.

1) We may never know!

c. But I do believe that some people just want to be able to point to themselves and say look how I have the pastor jumping at my every command.

I. DON?T BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU

II. DON?T BITE THE HAND THAT LEADS YOU

III. IF YOU HAVE TO BITE ANYTHING BITE YOUR OWN TONGUE

A. Look at vv. 18-20---Has anyone ever told you to watch out for what you pray for, you just might get it?

1. Again in v. 20 God refers to the outsiders who are the chief complainers and rabble rousers leading the people astray.

a. He charges them as having rejected the Lord and leading others to follow their sinful appetites instead of the Will of God.

b. As a result God says to them, ?Since you have cried and cried about your sinful appetites, prepare yourselves completely for tomorrow, because tomorrow, you are going to get what you want! You are going to get meat today, meat tomorrow, meat every single day until it comes out of your nose!

ILLUSTRATION---Now I don?t know about you but I have never had meat come out of my nose. One time at my 13th birthday party, my buddy Eric put a whole piece of cake in his glass of milk and we dared him to drink it. When he started drinking it, I made a funny face at him and he passed an entire piece of birthday cake through his nose. But trust me even that was painful. No I think meat would be a tough one!

2. Now Moses had no idea how God was going to supply enough meat for a month for over 600,000 people but he went back to camp and told the people what God said anyway.

a. God poured His Spirit of leadership out on 70 elders from among the people to help Moses deal with the people.

1) When the Spirit of the Lord hits them, they begin to proclaim the Word of the Lord just as Moses had done.

2) Joshua saw it and got jealous for Moses? sake.

b. Joshua tells Moses to stop the leaders of the people from preaching the Word of the Lord.

c. And Moses replies, ?Nonsense, I wish everyone had the Spirit of the Lord in them so that they would then follow the Lord instead of these dangerous trouble makers who seem to sprout up in every congregation.?

3. Finally the day had arrived when the troublemakers would get their reward.