The Book of Numbers documents a recurring pattern of grumbling, defiance, discipline, and death. Rebellion didn't start with an uprising, but with criticizing Moses and murmuring against God. For us, like them, dissatisfaction and discontent, if allowed to remain in our lives, can easily lead to disaster.

1. In what ways did desert living subject the Israelites to hardships?
   
   
2. As they recalled "the good old days" (vv. 4-5), what negative aspects of life in Egypt did the Israelites ignore? What things that God was doing for them did they overlook?
   
   
3. Were the people complaining about a lack of nutritious food or a lack of menu choices?
   
   
4. Why do you think God was angered by the people's complaining, but tolerated Moses' complaints?
   
   
5. To whom did Moses complain? Do you get the sense that the people complained more to the Lord or to each other?
   
   
6. Have you ever thought of an answer to prayer as potentially hazardous?
   
   
7. Can you recall a time when getting what you asked for in prayer was, or would have been, costly?
   
   
8. What does this passage tell you about prayers based on a sense of entitlement rather than submissive trust?
   
   

Ask God to deliver you from a complaining spirit that undercuts trust and faith in God's wise and good actions.

Numbers 11:1-6
¹ Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord's anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp. ² Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped. ³ After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means "the place of burning"), because fire from the Lord had burned among them there.

⁴ Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. "Oh, for some meat!" they exclaimed. ⁵ "We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. ⁶ But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!"

Numbers 11:10-20
¹⁰ Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. ¹¹ And Moses said to the Lord, "Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? ¹² Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? ¹³ Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, 'Give us meat to eat!' ¹⁴ I can't carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! ¹⁵ If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!"

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, "Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you. ¹⁷ I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.

¹⁸ "And say to the people, 'Purify yourselves, for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were whining, and the Lord heard you when you cried, "Oh, for some meat! We were better off in Egypt!" Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will have to eat it. ¹⁹ And it won't be for just a day or two, or for five or ten or even twenty. ²⁰ You will eat it for a whole month until you gag and are sick of it. For you have rejected the Lord, who is here among you, and you have whined to him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'"

Numbers 11:31-34
³¹ Now the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground. ³² So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. ³³ But while they were gorging themselves on the meat—while it was still in their mouths—the anger of the Lord blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. ³⁴ So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means "graves of gluttony") because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt.

Prayer for the Week

Teach me, Lord, to avoid complaining, since You are offended by the lack of trust it reveals.

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