The people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled. –Numbers 11:1
Have you ever taken children on a road trip? Thirty minutes into the trip, what do they do? “I’m hungry!” “I’m tired!” “I need to go to the bathroom!” They complain, complain, complain. That’s what the Israelites did as they traveled toward the promised land. Three days into their journey from Mount Sinai, they started to “complain of adversity” (Numbers 11:1). Moving two million people through the desert is not an easy thing to do. I’m sure there were inconveniences. But the Israelites needed to keep that adversity in perspective. Think about what they had experienced: They had seen God spare their firstborn because of the lamb’s blood on the doorposts. They had seen God soften Pharaoh’s heart to let them go. They had seen God part the Red Sea. They had received God’s revelation from Mount Sinai. Yet instead of expressing gratitude to God for all He had done, they focused on the adversity. How did God respond when the Israelites complained? “His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord and the fire died out” (vv. 1–2). The scorched earth was a visual reminder of how God deals with grumbling and ingratitude. Now, if you saw the fire of God consume everything around you, you might get the hint and stop complaining. Not the Israelites. In verses 4–6, the people went right back to complaining again. Sometimes we excuse people’s complaining by saying, “That’s just the way they are.” Or they excuse themselves by joking, “I’m a born complainer!” But God doesn’t laugh it off. God hates grumbling, and that is still true today. Maybe you have gotten into a habit of complaining. You complain about the weather. You complain about your family. You complain about your job. You complain about the government. You complain about your church. Don’t be surprised if you wake up one day and find that the mate you’ve been complaining about decides to leave, or the job you’ve said you hate is suddenly lost, or the family member you’ve been complaining about is taken from you. God doesn’t allow complaining to go unanswered. (Jeffress)
