Numbers 11:1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
There was a man once that wanted to become a monk. He sought out a remote monastery in the mountains and went to the monsignor and told him of his life's desire to become a monk. The monsignor said that he would have to take a vow of silence and could only speak two words a year. He settled into the quiet Monastery life for the first year. On the anniversary of his joining, the monsignor called him in and said, "OK, speak your two words, to which he replied, "Foods Bad." The second year came and went and again told to speak his two words for the year; he said, "Bed's hard." At the end of the third year, speaking his two words for the year, he said: "I quit." The monsignor said, "I'm not surprised; all you've done since you got here is complain."
There is a form of complaining that displeases the Lord immensely, as we see in today's verse of the Day. In the first ten (10) chapters of Numbers, the people were becoming structured in the giving of God's perfect Law. They had finished the tabernacle's construction that had been anointed and consecrated by God. Arron's family had been set up as the priestly family, handed down from generation to generation until God tore down the covering of the Holy of Holies at the Crucifixion of Christ.
God had set His people free from slavery in Egypt and promised to lead them to the land promised their ancestor Abraham hundreds of years before. However, due to their complaining, an eleven (11) day journey turned into a forty-year wilderness wandering, with only two of them, Joshua, and Caleb, allowed to enter the Promised Land.
We might see it as strange that a people God had blessed so much could complain. But, of course, God performed many miracles during the forty years and supplied all their need but complaining became a way of life.
Our God is still there and still on the throne and still promising us that He will never leave or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5), and still, there is complaining from so many. It is challenging to live with adversity and walk through the valleys of life we encounter, but the promise from God is we will never walk them alone. The strength and grace we need to claim victory in the valleys are always available to all that humbly ask for it in faith.
Remember that the valleys are a necessary part of our walk with our savior. The mountain tops are great, but nothing grows on the tops of the mountains. Everything flourishes and increases in the fertile valleys; in our case, walking in the valleys, even the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23), is where our faith grows. Our faith is not vital when we are on top of the mountain, but our faith is necessary for the valleys. God's promise to see to our every need is still as applicable today as it was many years ago in the wilderness wandering.
The next time we find ourselves complaining about something, remember God is right there with us. Also, keep in mind the precipitous price the Israelites paid for their complaints.
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