Daily Reading
Numbers 19, 20
Psalm 28
Mark 5
Scripture
2 There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people blamed Moses and said, “If only we had died in the Lord’s presence with our brothers! 4 Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord’s people into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock? 5 Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place? This land has no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates, and no water to drink!” (Num 20:2-5)
Observation
The people of Israel sure to complain a lot. As I read through this, I get angry at all the things God does for them and how they continue to whine and complain. I can’t even begin to summarize the amount of times they complained from the begining of Exodus to this verse. I feel like I’m watching a movie and I yell at the screen saying, “You idiots, God just opened up the sea and allowed you to walk on dry land, now you’re complaining about thirst! He saved you then, He will save you now!” But, I have hindsight. I am not living in the dusty desert watching my cattle become listless as they become dehydrated. I do not have to get up everyday and see if the Cloud is still out there so I know whether or not I am staying or leaving.
Application
God continued to love His children through all their faults. Yes, He wanted to wipe them out a few times, but I can think of a few times when I’d lilke to do the same to my own children! God’s response to Israel is a great example of how we should respond to ours. This happened yesterday:
Me: Seth, how many hotdogs do you want, one or two?
Seth: Can I have four?
Me: No, you can have one or two.
Seth: That sucks, you’re not fair, I want four.
Me (in my mind): You ungrateful little brat, I went and bought you hotdogs because I know you like them and this is how you treat me? I should just feed you dog food!
But of course, I still love Seth and I don’t feed him dog food. Did he learn to be grateful? Probably not, but he still got his hotdogs. Did the people of Israel learn to be thankful for all that God gave them? Not really. There were a few select people who did, but as a whole, they were still the ungrateful little brats they started out to be.
Prayer
Lord God, I hope that I am not ungrateful. I know I complain about my situation, but when I step back and see all that You have done for me, I am grateful. Please forgive my own complaining and thank-you for being an example of how to love my own children when they are whining and complaining.
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