That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Numbers 14:1-4 NIV
God had shown His faithfulness to the children of Israel in some pretty amazing ways! He heard their cries when they were enduring slavery in Egypt and He sent Moses to demonstrate His power to Pharaoh so he would release them. It started with the 10 plagues, then the parting of the Red Sea, followed by the cloud that led them by day and the fire by night. There was the manna that appeared daily so they would have food to eat, along with water from the rock, and let’s not forget that their clothes and sandals never wore out!
Yet with all this, when they stood at the foot of the promised land, they couldn’t muster up enough trust in God to move forward in obedience. Why? Simply because the people they would have to battle were of great size. Joshua and Caleb tried to reason with them saying, “But the Lord is with us, do not be afraid” (Exodus 14:9), yet to no avail. Whatever you are battling today, its size is irrelevant if the Lord is with you. Consider God’s faithfulness to you thus far, and have the courage to move forward in obedience. Focus not on the size of the problem, focus on the power of our God.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. Numbers 14:26-33 NIV
Where did all their grumbling get them? Nowhere, but wandering in the desert! They had a chance to enter the promised land, to settle down in a wonderful place and enjoy life in the blessing of God, but they missed it!
This account teaches me three things:
- A grumbling spirit never leads to a good place.
- What we choose to focus on heavily influences our level of faith and contentment.
- God, though full of mercy and grace, can reach a point where He says, “Enough is enough.”