The Sin of Complaining Num. 11:1-9

Introduction God placed Israel in the wilderness to protect them from their enemies He had organized them He provided them laws to live by He gave them food to eat

Their clothes and shoes were not wearing out He gave them direction – Pillar of cloud and fire He was leading them toward a Promised Land

They complained! What did Israel do? Grumbling , murmuring, and complaining are the work of Satan

Mk. 3:24-26 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

1. Their complaining was not affected by punishment Nu. 11:1-4 “And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.

And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.

And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?”

Mixt multitude = came with Israel out of Egypt but did not have a heritage in Israel Those who are the least involved and have the least at stake complain the loudest!

2. God’s blessings did not stop their complaining Nu. 11:5-9 “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.”

In their complaining and lusting they forgot all that God had done for them God gave them Manna to eat If they had been faithful – in a few weeks they would have been in Canaan!

They remembered what they had been eating in Egypt Lk. 9:62 “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

4. They complained in spite of being freed from slavery Nu. 11:5-6 “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:But our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.”

They may have eaten will in Egypt, but it was under the strain of slavery and the abuse they suffered

Exodus 2:23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage

“The past is always remembered as better than it was.” Their lusting and complaining made them forget the blessings of the present

2 Pet. 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

The wilderness was difficult, but it was only temporary! They forgot about the great plan of God who had raised them up as a nation through whom Christ would come into the world

1 Jn. 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

1 Pet. 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

Lessons

1 Cor. 10:10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer

Phil. 2:14 “Do all things without murmurings and disputings:” “Do all things without grumbling or disputing: (ESV)

Js. 5:9 “Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door” “Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned.[a] Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!” (NKJV)

Jude 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.

“These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.” (NKJV)