BETWEEN THE NUMBERS
FINICKY EATERS - NUMBERS 11:1-15
INTRODUCTION
-On June 6, 1943 the Allied forces land on Omaha Beach with a tremendous show of force.
-If you’ve studied World War 2 at all you’ll know about D-Day.
-The official code name for D-Day was “Operation Overlord.”
- The invasion fleet included ships from eight different navies.
-There were 1,213 warships, 4,126 transport vessels, 736 supplemental crafts and 864 merchant vessels with supplies.
-The Germans were holding that beach head with 8 artillery bunkers, 35 pillboxes, 4 artillery pieces, 6 mortar pits, 18 anti-tank guns, 45 rocket launcher sites, 85 machine gun sites,
and 6 tank turrets.
-There were 43,250 infantry men for the Allies and 7,800 men for the Germans, and before the day was over there were 4200 men lost.
-In reading about D-Day I was somewhat surprised with how detailed the accounts were of that battle.
-I was impressed that the records were that precise but it really stands to reason.
-If your are going to pull off an operation of that size and scope you probably need a firm grasp on the enemy you’re up against and what it will take to defeat them.
-That is precisely what you need to know prior to reading the book of Numbers.
-Moses was the leader of God’s people and he was charged with the task of leading them in their own D-Day assault.
-They were about to cross into the Promised Land and they were going to have to fight to take it.
-Before they could go there, they had to get organized.
-And for ancient people, there is a surprising degree of organization and precision in their preparation.
-I want you to understand what a massive undertaking this was!
-There were 2 million people in this group of desert wanderers
-They were not experienced leaders, scholars, politicians, or military strategists…they were recently escaped slaves.
-In fact, at this point, they’d only been free about 1 year.
-The Book of Numbers is the account of Moses organizing the people of Israel so that they could make the transition from nomads to settlers.
-The book begins a little slow and it’s not in chronological order.
Chap 7-9: Passover Celebration is actually the first thing to happen if you’re following the correct sequence of events
-Israel celebrated their 1st Passover meal as slaves in Egypt, but this 2nd Passover they were free and heading to the Promise Land
Chap 1: Counting the soldiers how many were able to go to war
Chap 2: Organizing the tribes
Chap 3-4: Assigning priestly duties
Chap 5-6: Purity and Purification
-At first glance the book reads a bit like an operations manual.
-It’s got numbers of soldiers, lists of names, and a bit of repetition.
-So many people don’t bother to read it. But tucked between those lists and numbers are some stories of real people, dealing with real issues of faith and sin and obedience and worship.
-In this series we’re going to dig deep and mine out some of the greatest stories in the Old Testament.
-And we’ll do it differently than we normally do. Instead of going chapter by chapter (which would take us a year) we’re going to bounce around a bit and focus on the stories.
-Today we’re looking at chap 11 which marks the first occurrence in the book of Numbers of the insidious sin called, “Complaining.”
-I know…it’s hard to believe that God’s people would ever complain…we’re always so happy, thankful, and positive!
-Up until this point, there hasn’t been any whining at all.
Numbers 11:1 marks a turning point in the people’s attitudes
"Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said."
-That line hit me kind of hard this week.
-When the people of Israel were whining, complaining and grumbling the Lord heard everything they said.
-Man I wish that wasn’t true! God hears everything we say.
-The Israelites were rescued from slavery and oppression.
-God did amazing miracles on their behalf.
-They crossed the Red Sea, the Egyptian army was defeated.
-They were fed miraculously and led miraculously.
-But the gratitude and excitement only lasted a year.
-And then…they began to complain.
HOW DO OUR COMPLAINTS SOUNDS TO GOD?
-Have you ever had someone return something you bought them?
-Have you ever had someone hate the food you cooked them?
-Ever had someone criticize you when you’re trying to help?
-Ever given your child a gift & they hated it and cried about it?
-Has anyone ever asked you for advice and then argued with you about it?
-If any of those things have every happened to you, you may have just a glimpse of how our complaining might sound to God.
-Of all the times to complain why start now?
-They’ve been through so much already!
-They’re on the verge of crossing the finish line! The Promise Land
-They are almost home! Why start complaining now?
-I love what one commentator wrote: “Israel, having been ordered, organized, cleansed, separated, blessed, taught how to give, reminded of God's deliverance, given God's presence, and the tools to advance to the Promised Land, is now on the march to Canaan - and immediately, the people complained.” (Guzik)
-And the Lord heard it. 1b Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.
-There is no reason to suppose that God is insecure and can’t handle their complaints (or ours!)
-It’s not as though God had his feelings hurt here.
-So why did he act against them?
-He had set them apart for worship and they were whining!
-He set them apart for praise and they are protesting!
-He rescued them which should create gratitude but instead they’re were out there copping an attitude.
-People don’t like these parts of the Bible…it sounds harsh to them. But that’s what happened. The people were punished.
-When our kids disobey we punish them!
-When workers break company policy we expect punishment!
-When fellow citizens commit crimes we demand punishment!
-But when God punishes people are shocked and say, “How could a loving God do such a thing?”
-God punished Israel for the same reason that kids, coworkers, and criminals get punished.
-Without consequences there is only chaos.
-God knows that a critical, complaining spirit could spread like wild fire through a home, a business, a church, or even a nation.
-What’s interesting about God’s punishment is that it occurred in the outskirts of the camp.
-What many people don’t realize is that a bunch of non-Israelites joined Israel when they left Egypt.
-They saw their chance to split and they took it!
-They were not permitted inside of the camp with the tribes of Israel, and so they camped on the outskirts.
-So why were they punished? Because the complaining started with them.
-The people who didn’t know God were influencing the ones who did know God with their critical and complaining attitudes.
COMPLAINING IS THE ATTITUDE OF THE WORLD, NOT THE CHURCH!
-It’d be real easy to talk about how ungrateful the Israelites were and let ourselves off the hook.
-We’re not like that. It’s not the same. We would never do that!
-They were rescued from slavery…and we were slaves to sin!
-God’s presence guided them through the wilderness…God’s Spirit guides us from within.
-They were promised a piece of land…and we are promised a home in heaven!
-God raised up Moses to deliver them…but God raised up Jesus on a cross to deliver us from death.
-I think we have even more to be thankful for than they did.
-Yet, at times, we find ourselves every bit as whiny as they were
-We expect people in the world to find fault with everything.
-We expect those not saved to be thankless & ungrateful at times
-We are not surprised when the people outside the camp (or the church) have critical negative attitudes.
-But we should be shocked when we see that in the church.
Philippians 2:14-15 “Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”
-How can people who’ve been given so much grace find so much faults in so many things?
Verse 2-3 "Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped. After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means “the place of burning”), because fire from the Lord had burned among them there.
-We can be pretty thankless about what we have sometimes…and a bout with suffering can really offer perspective.
-I wonder at times if God allows us to go through hard times to teach us gratitude.
-Some amount of time passes between verses 3 and 4
-They begged God to stop the punishment in verse 3, but verse 4 ushers in another outburst of complaining.
4 Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. 5 “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. 6 But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”
COMPLAINING KEEPS US FOCUSED ON WHAT IS WRONG
-It’s pretty amazing for us to read about food falling from the sky.
-The first time it happened people were asking, “What is it?”
-And the name stuck. Manna means “what is it?”
-Verses 7-9 describe it as a seed that they ground into flour and made cakes out of. They’re tired of it.
-But to recap:
-You were slaves…now you’re free.
-The food was better in Egypt, but they beat you, abused you, and killed your sons.
-Now you’re free, heading into a land of prosperity.
-You don’t have to work, food falls from the sky right outside your tent, and you get to eat cake every day.
-What’s wrong with your situation again?
-The worldly people on the outskirts of the camp once again led Israel into unjustified complaining.
-Once again they were about to find themselves on the receiving end of God’s punishment.
-Complaining keeps us focused on what’s wrong!
-We may not be desert nomads but has anything really changed?
-When I hear women complaining about their husbands I’m amazed that those men can’t do anything right. Only wrong.
-When I hear men gripe about their wives I’m amazed how those ladies can mess up every single thing they do.
-I’m shocked by children who are so critical of the parents who love them, clothe them, feed them, and buy them their gadgets
-I’m troubled by reports of pastors who can’t make one decision that everyone likes…no such decision exists!
-Some people are chronic complainers. They are always complaining about something or someone.
-Always finding fault with people. Can never give positive feedback or encouragements because…
-Complainers can’t see what is good.
-Complaining wives should come talk to our church widows and get some perspective.
-Complaining husbands should talk Ed and Daryl who are taking care of their wives with dementia.
-Complaining kids should look at some of their friend’s broken homes and tough situations.
-Complaining church members should go visit some other church’s that really have problems…you might fit right in!
-When we’re complaining we can’t see anything good.
-And this kind of negative, critical, complaining attitude is contagious.
-It spread from the outskirts of the camp throughout the 12 tribes
-And eventually it spread to Moses himself.
10 Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. Welcome to ministry Moses! 11 And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? 12 Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? 13 Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! 15 If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”
A CRITICAL COMPLAINING SPIRIT IS CONTAGIOUS
-In Exodus Moses was asking God not to kill the people for their disobedience, and now he is asking God to kill him!
-Those people God spared are driving him crazy and so the complaining spread all the way to the top.
-Have you ever been friends with a complainer? You may find yourself complaining too.
-Have you ever been in a group at a church that was always complaining about the church, and you found yourself joining in?
-Ever had your spouse complain against you, and you began complaining right back?
-(Story about my wife at 21 years old)
-Complaining can ruin a church, ruin a family, and even ruin a nation.
-Chapter 11 records the beginning of Israel’s complaining but it’s only the beginning. It gets worse.
-You can read the rest of the chapter and see that God gave those finicky eaters what they wanted.
-He gave them quail to eat! They wanted meat and they got it!
-My dad used to say if I ever catch you kids smoking I’ll make you smoke until you’re sick of it.
-Well that’s what happened to the Israelites that day.
-There is a lot of great advice we could offer about complaining:
• Try to find what’s right with every situation.
• Try to find something good about everyone you meet.
• Take life how it is, not how you wish it would be.
• Don’t complain about things you’re not willing to work on
• Answer complaints with kindness.
• Remember, now matter how bad you have it, others have it worse.
-All that stuff sounds good and is probably true. It probably works.
-But you can get that kind of advice from Dr. Phil.
-As Christians we need to think a little deeper than that.
COMPLAINING ERODES THE FOUNDATIONS OF WORSHIP (Eph 1:6-8)
-We could close with a call to be thankful…we should be thankful.
-I could talk about the many reasons for our joy…they are many.
-We might appeal to our call as Christians to be loving…
-It’d be easy to end this with a call to be more positive...
-But I think this story, in Israel’s history is about something deeper
-When we complain about circumstances…we’re overlooking the many blessings God has given us.
-When we complain about people…we’re somehow ranking ourselves about them and forgetting our own sinfulness.
-When we’re complaining about life…we are showing a lack of gratitude for all that God has done for us.
-It scandalous to think of Israel wanting to go back to slavery.
-To go back to idols & oppression because they don’t like God’s menu. But that precisely what our attitude reflects when we complain.
-Would we rather go back to world?
-Would we trade the worship of God for the finer things in life?
-Would we go back into slavery of will we go forth with praise?
-This Kick-off Sunday marks the beginning of a season for us at Adventure Christian Church.
-We see the good things God is doing among us.
-We have seen growth this year and lives being changed.
-We have had success, by God’s grace, in many of the things we’ve been doing.
-This week our life2life groups begin and we’re confident that many will be blessed by this ministry of discipleship.
-But the one thing, which can hurt us, more than anything is that attitude of dissent and complaint.
-We are not the whiners. We are the people of praise!
Eph 1:6-8 “So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”
