Numbers 11:4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat!”
One of our vocabulary words this week was status quo. We talked about how it doesn’t inherently have a negative connotation, but it could be a bad thing. Numbers 11 provides the perfect example, and I find it interesting that the unrest with the status quo began with the rabble but quickly spread to the Israelites.
Numbers 11:5-6 “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”
The discontent spread rapidly and morphed to the point it romanticized the time of their captivity. The bounteous food they ate “at no cost” was bought at the cost of their freedom. This discontent in daily manna seems like boredom. They took their eyes off God and put faith in their bellies and their memories, and it did not end well.
Numbers 11:18-20 …”The LORD heard you when you wailed….You will eat it…until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you….”
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for this reminder not to take our eyes off of You and get lost in memories or worldly desires. Forgive me for the times when I, too, have been ungrateful because what I had wasn’t what I wanted right that moment. Help me to never lose sight of Your blessings and provision in my life, no matter my present circumstances. Draw me closer. Amen.
Numbers 11:33 But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people and He struck them with a severe plague.
Have a blessed day.
My faith, my life, my teaching–it's all a work in progress.