Numbers 21:4-5
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
Pattern of Grumbling in Israel’s story
Every hardship made them look backward to Egypt, as if slavery > freedom.
The Heart of Grumbling: The Original Lie
Lie of the serpent: “What God has given isn’t enough. He’s holding out on you.”
“An infinite capacity for dissatisfaction.” -Tim Keller:
“You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” -Augustine
Spiritual Amnesia
Losing sight of God’s past faithfulness and future promises, so all you can see is the discomfort of the present moment.
Grumbling vs. Lament
• Grumbling is about God
• Lament is to God:
Numbers 21:6-7
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
This is the essence of repentance: Confession, Humility, Dependence
Numbers 21:8-9
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
John 3:14-15
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
The Cure is Not Preventive
2 Cor 1:9
Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
The Curse becomes the Cure
2 Cor. 5:21
“He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God”
The Cure Requires Nothing but Looking
Isaiah 45:22
Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth.
Look and Keep Looking
Hebrews 12:2
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”