I find it astounding that despite God's leading and despite His provision again and again that the children of Israel still continue to murmur and complain over the slightest issues that come up! I mean, where is their faith? Don't they see what God has already done?
In today's reading, we are reminded of the time that they begged for meat. They didn't just beg for meat, they cried for meat. "Our whole being has dried up," they cried. "There is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes." (Numbers 11:6) As if God's bread from heaven was not enough to supply their need. But the problem was, they still had a taste for the food of Egypt... While they may have left Egypt, Egypt had not yet left them...
What astounds me even more in this story is how God tells Moses, I'm going to send meat, in fact for a whole month you will have meat until it comes out your nostrils. And yet Moses, weary with the constant complaining of the children of Israel also doubts God. "I hear you Lord, but where possibly could you find enough meat to feed this great group for a whole month. Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered? Shall all the fishes of the sea be gathered? Where will we find enough meat?" (paraphrase of Numbers 11:22-23)
Then God puts Moses in his place, "Has the Lord's arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not." (vs. 23).
And the Lord caused a great wind to come up, and it brought Quail from the sea... there were so many quail that they were piled up for a days journey on both sides of the camp, and they were about 2 cubits above the surface of the ground. (That is about 3 feet deep worth of Quail! Can you imagine?) So the children of Israel got their meet, but due to their selfish craving and due to their doubt of God's Word, many died, even while the meat was barely in their teeth!
You know, it's easy to look back at the children of Israel and to say, "How could they have such little faith?" But what about our faith today?
In Patriarchs and Prophets we are told: “Many look back to the Israelites, and marvel at their unbelief and murmuring, feeling that they themselves would not have been so ungrateful; but when their faith is tested, even by little trials, they manifest no more faith or patience than did ancient Israel. When brought into straight places, they murmur at the process by which God has chosen to purify them. Though their present needs are supplied, many are unwilling to trust God for the future, and they are in constant anxiety lest poverty should come upon them, and their children be left to suffer.” (p. 293)
God's arm is not shortened, no matter the trials or difficulties we may face. Let's trust His Word!
Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 12-14 and Psalm 28-29
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