The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!
Number 11:4-6
We have become a people that complain and grumble about everything. Times are hard, and things are falling apart everywhere. Yes, institutions are crumbling under the weight of hidden agendas, issues people will deny in public. Call it what you may, tribal or racial superiority; they are all the same in different garbs, depending on your observation point.
The Israelites behaved this way throughout their wilderness sojourn for forty years. They complained about everything at the Red Sea (Exod. 14:11-12), the waters of Marah and Elim (15:22-24), food and meat (16:2), Moses’s time on Mt. Sinai with the Lord (32:1), his leadership (Nu. 16:1-3), and their perceived lack of direction (14:1-5). What they never did was remember their cry for deliverance from Egyptian slavery, God’s grand plan for the Exodus, and what He was doing with them along the way to Canaan. Had they tuned in to Him and discerned, they would have understood and enjoyed God’s Presence and Kingship as His royal people and nation, despite the hazards.
We face chaos and dangers every day now. Fires, earthquakes, floods, COVID-19! They increase by the day and cause uncertainty and anxiety. The restrictions of the pandemic are too much to bear. Everybody complains about masking and social distancing, curfews, and bans on mass gatherings. We yearn for what we are used to in the past, and we want to rebel. We are behaving the same way the Israelites did and incurred the wrath of God. Heaven is drawing near. Waiting becomes cumbersome, and the desire to bail out heightens when the end is drawing near.
So, hang on, my brother and sister. Stop complaining and keep on waiting for the “gentle whisper” on the mountain of God. He will recommission and direct your life to the end, as He did for Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-18}.