There is a story told about a strange boy named Herbie. He seemed like a bright baby, but for some unfathomable reason he never seemed to learn how to talk. As he grew up his parents took him to numerous physicians, psychologists and psychiatrists, but no one could find anything wrong with him to explain his disability. His family eventually resigned themselves to his condition. One day, on his 35th birthday, his mother decided to make him a special dinner consisting of his favorite entrée, a prime beefsteak. Unfortunately she became distracted and burnt the steak. Unwilling to waste such an expensive meal she scraped off as much of the burnt flesh as possible and served it to Herbie anyway. After taking one bite he let out a loud shriek and shouted, “This steak is horrible!” Stunned and amazed that he could actually speak after all these years, his parents implored him, “Why have you never spoken before?” Thereupon he replied, “Up until now everything has been fine!”
The story is of course apocryphal, but the point is genuine. We seldom think of praise when we are treated well, but are quick to complain when we feel any sort of slight or discomfort. As Christadelphians we are of course prone to the same human failings. Murmuring about issues in the ecclesia is sometimes our favorite hobby. It is more fun to complain about the quality of a Bible class than to actually think about how we can contribute and make it better. Grumbling can carry over into our marriages, our relations with our children, with our colleagues at work, and so on. Being constructive takes time, effort and patience. On the other hand, being a complainer is destructive and easy. The Lord God is not pleased with brothers and sisters who complain without just cause and who do nothing to correct wrongs with patience and love.
“Neither murmur (complain, NKJV) ye, as some of them also murmured (complained, NKJV), and were destroyed of the destroyer” (1Co 10:10).
Murmuring in the wilderness
We are familiar with the incidents that the apostle Paul refers to in his letter to the Corinthians. They took place shortly before and after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and were miraculously saved from the pursuing Egyptian host. At the oasis of Marah (bitterness) the children of Israel chided Moses about the undrinkable water (Exod 15:24).1It is possible that the waters there were fouled with, of all things, crude oil percolating upward and mixing into the aquifer. Whatever the cause, the children of Israel were angry and blamed Moses for their plight. Virtually forgotten was the miracle that had happened only three days before, as they escaped dryshod across the Red Sea with the trailing Egyptian army swallowed in the ensuing deluge. Where was their faith? Again, about a month after departing Egypt, they once again faced a crisis in the wilderness of Sin. This time apparently their food supplies, which they had packed with them on departing Egypt, were now exhausted. They had seen the miraculous plagues that had freed them of Egyptian bondage; they had witnessed the destruction of Pharaoh’s chariots in the waters of the Red Sea; and finally they had experienced the wondrous sweetening of the waters at Marah that had alleviated their thirst. Yet all was forgotten as soon as new discomfort confronted them. They murmured, grumbled, and complained (all synonyms for the same human failing) about missing the bread and meat they were fed in Egypt. Later they complained even more vehemently:
“We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic” (Num 11:5, NIV).
I find it extremely difficult to appreciate how they could be so forgetful of the conditions under which they had lived in Egypt. How could they claim that their Egyptian masters had given them food “freely” (as in the AV and NKJV), or at “no cost” (NIV)?:
“And they [the Egyptians] made their lives bitter with hard bondage — in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor” (Exod 1:14, NKJV).
“But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us” (Deut 26:6, NKJV).
This is another trick that memory can play. Things in the past, no matter how painful, often get dressed up in retrospect when we are faced with new difficulties that are more immediate. How often do we complain about one thing only to be relieved of that burden, and then soon after begin to murmur about the new conditions? Suddenly the past seems more glamorous. Some possible examples:
- complaining about a job, then taking a new job and finding it is even worse;
- disliking where we live only to move someplace else, and liking it even less. The real problem may be in us rather than in some external agent2(as I have sometimes found out in circumstances that have arisen in my own life)! I have known brothers and sisters who complained about their ecclesia, only to join another one and to experience soon thereafter shortcomings (real or perceived) in their new ecclesial family.
Returning to our consideration of the wilderness wanderings, the children of Israel then moved on and pitched camp at the Rephidim oasis.3It is common when traveling in a desert to look for trees and other greenery; such a site would necessarily indicate that water was present. However, the Israelites were sorely disappointed: something was nourishing the vegetation, but nothing seemed available to quench their thirst. Why? It may well be that God was testing them to see if they had learned their lesson from the incident at Marah. Surely there could not have been vegetation in the desert without an aquifer being present.
Their reaction was sadly lacking in faith:
“Therefore the people contended with Moses… and the people complained against Moses… So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!’ ” (Exod 17:1-7, NKJV).
They wanted to kill Moses. Instead of blaming themselves for lack of faith, they decided it was all Moses’ fault. How often do we seek to find a scapegoat for our own complaints? Sometimes this can cause terrible strife in the home, family or ecclesia. Instead of focusing on how best to deal with a situation, we look instead for someone else to blame.
The grumbling of the Israelites increased when they arrived at Taberah.4The children of Israel had been living on manna supplied by the Lord God from heaven. Imagine the task of feeding such a large multitude every day in the desert. The diet of manna was apparently tasty5and must have contained all the nutrients for a healthful existence, but it was monotonous.
I could not quite appreciate their ingratitude until I was faced with a somewhat similar situation, though on a much smaller scale. Some 25 years ago I was working in a third-world country. Our business hosts were very gracious towards us, but for almost a month we were fed, with only two exceptions, exactly the same diet — for all three meals every single day. After our work was done, we flew to a more westernized city and immediately went to a McDonald’s and ordered a Big Mac, coke and fries! We simply had to have a taste of some American-style food. Before you become too critical of the children of Israel, try serving your family exactly the same food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for even a week.
The LORD God knows our failings and limitations, and we are assured He will not test us beyond the bounds of our endurance. So I suggest that it was not that the Israelites found their diet monotonous, but rather the manner in which they criticized the boring sameness of eating manna! They threatened to kill Moses, which can hardly be excused as a spiritual way to approach their concerns. We can learn a valuable lesson from this incident: even if our concerns are justified, we cannot solve our problem with anger and strife.
The Promised Land
The rebellious complaining reached a crescendo when the children of Israel were put to the ultimate test upon entering the Promised Land. This was what they had hoped for when they left Egypt — a national home for the people of Israel, one in which they could be their own masters and no longer slaves to anyone. But they wanted it handed to them without difficulty or pain, and that was not to be.
So often, when we are faced with a difficult task in the Lord’s service, how do we approach it? Do we only do it if there is no inconvenience, no price to pay personally? Do we only undertake it if, in a sense, it costs us nothing — if it is a freebie?
The spies sent out by Moses to observe the land and examine the prospects came back with a mixed report. Indeed the majority were dead set against proceeding, all they could see were the difficulties and pain that the children of Israel would face in trying to conquer a mighty people. It was no small task in ancient times to take strongly walled cities. The defense had a tremendous advantage if they could store enough food and water to outlast a siege. If ancient records are correct, that is exactly why walled cities were common. It wasn’t until the advent of the cannon that they became irrelevant.
Forgotten, however, by the spies who gave a negative account, was that the LORD God of Israel was on their side. If they only had the attitude of mind recorded by Paul:
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31, NKJV).
The same LORD who had miraculously freed them from Egyptian bondage and had freely given them food and water in the desert would be with them in battle against their enemies. The Israelites would have none of it — they were gripped with fear:
“And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’ ” (Num 14:2-4, NKJV).
Again, it is all too easy for us to criticize the children of Israel, and forget how often our courage fails in difficult situations. The Israelites were fearful because they knew that attacking an entrenched people would cost many lives. Even more naturally, they also were terrified of the potential consequences to their loved ones. Many of us would have courage if we were the only ones affected, but our courage fails when our spouses and children are endangered. Every dictator knows this and enforces his regime by threatening individuals and their loved ones.
Nevertheless, two of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb (an Israelite and a Gentile) were not afraid. They had factored into their observations the memory that the LORD had been with them and would not forsake them. This attitude of mind is epitomized in what Joshua said later:
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Josh 24:15, NKJV).
We mustn’t let fear of pain or even inconvenience deter us from doing the right thing. If we do we may also be denied access to the Land of Promise — like the unfaithful generation that murmured against Moses and sought to return to the land of Egypt. Why would anyone wish to return to bondage?
Complaining is a universal human attribute. Praise is something we give in very small doses and on thin rations! I have often heard it said that if you praise someone you will only build up their ego and that is bad for their spiritual development, but why is it we don’t mind criticizing someone and destroying their ego and self-esteem!
Trials are inevitable
Life is full of trials, as the apostle Paul was well aware. Not one of us can live a perfectly carefree life. We may suffer difficulties at school, at work, in our family relationships; we may know economic losses, illness in ourselves and loved ones, and — most painfully — the loss of loved ones. Paul was aware of all this when he told the Corinthians:
“No temptation 6 (literally adversity) has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1Co 10:13, NKJV).
When the apostle wrote these words to the Corinthians, the trials they faced were indeed horrendous when compared to anything we might possibly have in North America at the present time. First-century Christians were exiled, persecuted, grievously tortured, crucified, and fed to wild animals in the arena. But Paul did not expect them to complain or murmur about their fate. God indeed does provide a means of ending any adversity; that way is often death. In fact, we must learn to appreciate and accept death as the ultimate release from the sorrows of this life!
The answer to trials
The apostle Paul did not leave the Corinthians in despair, but rather provided them with an exhortation of hope. He showed them, and naturally by extension us, how to endure all life’s difficulties without complaint:
“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed — always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body… knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you” (2Co 4:8-10,14, NKJV).
Here is the answer to all life’s adversities, difficulties, disappointments, pains and sorrows. It is not whining, murmuring, complaining, or grumbling. Rather, it is to be filled with faith that the Lord God will ultimately provide whatever we need. To a faithful believer nothing — absolutely nothing — in this life can compare with the glory that God has in store for those who love him and keep His commandments.
- Marah was the second murmuring. The first occurred on the other side of the Red Sea when they were in fear of Pharaoh’s approaching army (Exod 14:10-12).
- “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves” (William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, I, ii, 140-141).
- The site of Rephidim is uncertain; some place it at Feiran Oasis in southwest Sinai.
- “Taberah” literally means “burning”.
- “And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey” (Exod 16:31).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One