Word of Salvation – November 2010

 

Numbers 11 – GOD DEALS WITH GRUMBLES AND GROANS – by John Westendorp

(Sermon 11 in a series on Numbers)

Scripture Reading: Numbers 11:1-25 & 31-35

Music: Book of Worship: 34 / 484 / 149 / 181

 

Introduction: I’m convinced that there’s a long and inseparable link between food and grumbling.

Just listen – for example – to someone who thinks he’s had a bad deal at a restaurant.

Or listen a while to the grumblings of your children or grandchildren.
Mum… why do we have to eat broccoli… again? We had it yesterday and last week.
Eat up sweetie… it’s good for you! But Mum… I hate broccoli… it’s disgusting.
Does that sound even remotely familiar to you?

 

When I was a kid I gagged on Brussels-sprouts and suggested to Mum that it made good cow feed.

Or there was that yucky green stuff called Spinach.
I once said to my wife, just after we were married, that I’d rather eat grass than Spinach.
So one day she obliged. She cooked me some grass while she had Spinach.

I must also tell you that I had a mean Mum who actually forced me to eat Brussels-sprouts.
So, while it’s still not my favourite food, I no longer grumble about eating sprouts.
I also had a mean wife who blackmailed me into eating Spinach.
She used the irrefutable argument that I had to set a good example for my children.
So today I will eat Spinach without a single grumble… well, almost…!

 

Here in Numbers 11 people are unhappy about the manna God provided for them.
And their dissatisfaction turns into one huge grumbling session.
They complain like people who have had a really bad experience at a restaurant.

 

A] THE PRESENTING PROBLEM.

 

1. Actually, Numbers 11 has a double scenario of grumbling.

In verse 1 it’s just a general grumble about the hardships of life in the wilderness.
But the anger of God is aroused and fire falls from heaven.
And some of the people on the outskirts of the camp perish as a result of their complaining.
Only as Moses prays… as he intercedes for the people… does God’s judgment-fire stop.

 

At verse 4 the complaint begins anew… and this time the grumbling is about the food.

Notice that the grumbling again begins on the outskirts of the camp among the ‘riff raff’.
These people were not Israelites… they were hangers-on who followed them out of Egypt.
Maybe slave people from other nations who figured this was a good time to leave.
Or maybe disenchanted Egyptians who figured they wanted to be on the winning team.

That’s where grumbling and dissatisfaction in the church so often comes from.
From people on the fringes… not from those who are actively involved.
From the hangers-on who warm a pew but who don’t really know Jesus personally.

 

We must also heed the warning of Numbers 11 that grumbling is a contagious disease.
What began among these non-Israelite fringe-dwellers soon spread to the people of Israel.
Grumbling is infectious… we must avoid it like the plague. Don’t even go there!

 

Here the content of the grumbling is obvious: they saw the God-given manna as boring and tasteless.
We’ve lost our appetite… all we ever have is manna.
Manna for breakfast, manna for lunch, manna for tea. “If only we had meat to eat” they wailed.
In contrast our text gives us a lovely picture of the true nature of this heaven-sent food.
It was versatile and tasty: it could be ground or crushed, cooked or baked.
The thrust of the Hebrew text is that it was like pastry cooked with the finest oil.
And best of all… it was there freely for the taking, every morning again.

 

2. It’s in that context that we get some really incredible grumbles.

They talk about how good they had it in Egypt. Wonderful Egyptian gourmet meals.

Read these verses and you get a picture of these grumblers drooling at the mouth.
The fish they got out of the Nile for free! The cucumbers and melons, onions, leek and garlic!
It’s an incredible picture that they paint… in fact it’s appalling.
This is not stuff that makes my mouth water… it just makes my eyes water.
Onions and leek and garlic… that’s the stuff that gives you bad breath.

And they are comparing that to the original ‘angel cake’ – the food sent from heaven.
The God-provided food that was so versatile someone could have written a Hebrew cookbook:
“365 ways to cook manna – without getting bad breath”.

 

Or think of their grumblings another way. What we have here is faulty memory syndrome.
How on earth can they possibly speak so positively of Egypt as if it is one huge gourmet café?
Their discontent colours the past in vivid and attractive colours.
And it very effectively cancels out the positive things of the present.

Grumbling always leads to selective memory.
What happened to all those past hardships? The years of slavery making bricks?
What about the horrors of ethnic cleansing as Pharaoh ordered the deaths of babies?
It seems they had totally forgotten all their reasons for leaving Egypt.

 

On top of that these are the people who have seen the ten plagues that devastated Egypt.
These are the people who miraculously crossed the Red Sea.
They have seen God’s glory at Mt Sinai… and the cloud and the pillar of fire.
And now they are yearning for the things of Egypt…?

 

3. Today we have a tendency to see grumbling as a rather trifling problem.

Iain Duguid, in his commentary reminds us that grumbling is not one of the seven deadly sins.
“No one ever goes to a counsellor and says: I have this terrible problem with grumbling.
There are no meetings of Grumbler’s Anonymous.
Instead we grumble about our politicians and car mechanics, jobs and homes, spouse and kids.
Grumbling is virtually our national pastime.”

 

And now we see here the true nature of grumbling… it is sin. God’s fire of judgment fell on it.
Grumbling is a lack of faith… a failure to trust our heavenly Father.
More than that: grumbling is outright rebellion against God’s gracious provision for us.

We ought to see grumbling as a far more serious problem than we usually do.
We ought to avoid grumbling and avoid being infected by that contagious disease.
Because here in Numbers 11 we see it for what it really is: rebellion against God.

 

As I prepared for this morning I did some research on what others do with Numbers 11.
Most of those I checked highlight that Israel’s constant grumblings begin here.
Writers and speakers highlight Israel’s hunger for Egypt.
And they then apply that to Christians who hunger for worldly things.

 

But I don’t believe that that is what is really at the heart of this chapter.
Numbers 11 especially wants to show us the impact that the sin of grumbling has on leadership.
A grumbling congregation presents church leaders with an immense burden.
And here in Numbers 11 the grumbling triggers a crisis for Moses.

So the issue is not only that grumbling is contagious… and that grumbling is a sin.
The issue is also that grumbling amongst God’s people is heavy load for its leaders.
And I’ve seen that first hand in some churches that were wrecked by grumblers.

 

B] THE LEADERSHIP CRISIS.

 

1. Moses is overwhelmed. It all gets too much for him.

We see that especially as we contrast those two episodes of grumbling.
In the first instance people grumble and God’s judgment falls on them.
But Moses prays… and as he intercedes for the people the fire of God stops.
But with the second instance of grumbling there is no one who prays for the people.
It’s as if the people just continue to be exposed to the anger of God.

The task of the OT prophet was to intercede on behalf of the people.
To be the mediator between God and man.
Moses does that in the first instance but not in the second one.

 

Instead we then have a record of the complaints of Moses as he cracks under the load of leadership.
The reality is that leadership in the church is often a burden.
Listen to how the apostle Paul spoke of that burden in 2Corinthians 11
Towards the end of that chapter he gives a catalogue of his hardships.
Flogged and beaten, shipwrecked and imprisoned.
He goes on and on listing all the dangers he has faced on his journeys.
“I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food. I have been cold and naked.
And then, significantly, he adds:
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”

 

The reality is that in situations where grumbling is common leaders often burnout and fail.
And that is about where Moses is at here in Numbers 11.
Notice how he feels the pressure.
He uses imagery of himself as the mother of these people.
There’s another picture of him as the nursemaid to the people.
He laments, “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.”

 

In desperation he even asks that otherwise he might be taken away in death.

And it is that grumbling about the manna that triggers this big crisis in Moses’ life.

 

2. There are two mistakes we ought to avoid making at this point.

Some people highlight the contagiousness of Israel’s grumblings and say that it also affected Moses.
So the suggestion is that Moses shares in Israel’s sin.
Numbers 11 is then one long chapter about grumbling.
Some people grumble about how tough life is in the wilderness.
Many more people grumble about their weariness with the daily supply of manna.
And even Moses gets in on the act and has a good long whinge.

 

No! This morning I want to distinguish between grumbling and groaning.
Okay… there are similarities but there are also differences.
In fact it’s only a very fine line that separates grumbling from groaning… but they are different.

 

What Israel does is grumble… and grumbling involves rebellion against God’s gracious provision.
They are saying “down with manna; up with meat.”
But by saying that they are thumbing their nose at the manna God so faithfully sends them.

 

But… that’s not the case with Moses here.
We must not say that what Moses is doing is really just the same thing as Israel is doing.
Moses is not grumbling… Moses is groaning… groaning under the burden of leadership.
But he is not thumbing his nose at what God has provided.
He is simply lamenting that he cannot do this anymore.
As Israel’s leader he has reached the end of his tether.

 

3. This morning we can also make an opposite mistake – and that is to play down Moses’ lament.

So that we say: Well those grumbling Israelites they are lousy sinners rebelling against God.
But Moses? He’s just being human.
Under the circumstances wouldn’t we all act the same way as Moses?
Of course! It’s perfectly understandable.

 

No! What Moses does here is a serious issue.
Both Israel’s grumbles and Moses’ groaning show a lack of faith in God’s enabling.
Both Israel’s grumbling and Moses’ groans are blatantly self-centred.

 

We see that when we look carefully at the way Moses speaks.
That whole lament of Moses is framed in extremely self-centred language.
In more than 20 different ways Moses is saying: This is all about me.
“Why have you brought this trouble on me? What have I done to displease you?
Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth?”
Moses has taken his eyes off God and all he can see is his own weakness.

 

I have an additional problem with Moses.
Back in Exodus 18 Moses’ father-in-law had given him some wise advice.
Moses had been carrying all the leadership on his shoulders.
So his father-in-law had suggested that Moses appoint other leaders for the people.
And that’s what Moses did.

But now it seems Moses had been unable to delegate leadership responsibilities to others.
Or at least: unable to consult with them about the present state of affairs.
We don’t read about anything like that here in Numbers 11.
Moses just takes it all on his own shoulders… and it absolutely crushes him.

 

C] GOD’S DEALING WITH BOTH.

 

1. This chapter of Numbers is a lovely picture of God’s ability to provide in this crisis.

God provides for both the grumblers and the groaner… He deals with both.

And the way God does that in both instances is instructive for us.

 

For the grumblers meat is provided.
But not just a little bit of meat… instead a superabundance of meat is given.
As God had said to them:
You will not just eat it for one day, or two days, or five or ten or twenty days but for a whole month.
So God sent a wind and it drove quail in from the sea… millions of quail.
Try to imagine it: We’re told that they lay a metre thick on the ground.
No Israelite gathered less than two one-hundred litre containers of quail.

Moses had questioned God’s ability to provide for this multitude of people.
And now there was far more meat than Moses could ever have imagined.
When God provides God does not do things by halves.

 

So we have this wonderful blessing of a gracious and generous God.

God gives them meat that will last them for many, many weeks.

 

But at the same time we realise that when God gives us what we want it’s a mixed blessing.
He also said that they would eat meat until it came out of their nostrils.
They would come to the point where – as they loathed the manna so they would loath quail.
Because the issue really is an issue of contentment… and grumblers are never content.
In fact – in direct judgment God struck down with a plague those responsible.
God is a generous God… but He’s also a God who is not to be messed with.

 

2. In His dealing with the groanings of Moses we find the same pattern.

Again, God is not stingy in His provisions. On the contrary He is incredibly generous.
He doesn’t just provide Israel with an extra leader or three.
Not even just an extra twelve leaders – one for each tribe.
A superabundance of leaders is provided.
Seventy elders are now appointed to share the leadership load with Moses.

 

What a blessing. We read that God’s Spirit comes upon these leaders. And they prophesy.
That’s visible evidence that the Spirit of God that was on Moses, was on them too.
It marked them and equipped them for their work as leaders of the nation.

 

But again it is not an unmixed blessing.
There is a sense in which it also detracted somewhat from Moses’ leadership.
When Moses is the only God-appointed leader then there is no argument about who leads.
But as soon as seventy others are appointed then it opens the door to questions.
What about me? Maybe I should be in a position of leadership too.

It’s not accidental that from here on in Numbers Moses’ leadership becomes an issue.
It begins already in the very next chapter with Aaron and Miriam opposing Moses.
Again we realise that when God gives us what we want it’s a mixed blessing.

 

3. So what do we do with Numbers 11? What lessons are there in for us today?

Paul says in 1Corinthians 10 that these things were written down for our instruction.

So what is God’s instruction to us today?
I could apply all this to discontented Christians today – as many writers and commentators do.
I could draw lots of moral lessons:
That we must not crave the things of the world as Israel craved the food of Egypt.
I could warn you (as I’ve done) of the dangers of this contagious disease of grumbling.

I would warn you this morning to live by faith:
Trusting in God is the only way we can live contently in this life without grumbling.
And trusting in God is the only way we can cope with the burdens of leadership.

 

But I believe there is a more important lesson for us for today.
All Biblical leaders failed their people in one way or another.
There are no perfect leaders in the Bible just as there are no perfect leaders in the church today.
We have need for a leader greater than Moses… and we have that greater leader in Jesus.

Moses’ leadership was fulfilled in Christ – the one who never suffered from self-pity or despair.
Not even on the night of his betrayal when everyone deserted Him did He complain and groan.
Nor is He a leader who needs the help of seventy others… He is totally adequate.

 

And the most wonderful thing of all is that Jesus carries out the ministry of intercession perfectly.
When Israel grumbled the first time Moses was the Mediator who prayed for the people.
The second time Moses was too full of self-pity to pray for the nation.
And many people perished under the anger of God.

Scripture reminds us that Jesus continually prays for us.
That means that in those moments when you grumble in your rebellion against God…
Jesus is the Mediator who stands between you and the anger of God.
And unlike Moses Jesus will never grow tired of praying for you.

 

And one more thing:

At Pentecost Jesus sent His Spirit to fill us – not temporarily – like those 70 – but permanently.
And the Spirit is also the One who guides our prayers.
So rather than grumble to one another we are able to pray for each other. What a delight.
Instead of being grumblers, let’s be Christ-like and intercede for each other daily. Amen.