I Wouldn’t Have Complained—Would I?

The Bible highlights the Israelites’ complaining during the exodus from Egypt. What kind of Israelite would I have been?

Prior to the Feast of Unleavened Bread our pastor asked us to reread the story of the exodus of Israel from Egypt. It had been a while since I had read this historic event from beginning to end. Several things struck me as I read through this ancient account.

Reflections

One of the biggest things I noticed was that the Israelites were not grateful for what God had done. They and we tend to quickly forget all the times God has intervened in our lives.

When Israel was happy, they were ecstatic as if on an adrenaline high; and when they were low, they reacted with all the carnal human nature humanity can muster.

Israel heard the promises of God through Aaron and Moses, and they were excited! Then Pharaoh reacted in his selfish, prideful way and, in essence, said to the Israelites something I, as a teacher, have said to my own students: “You must have too much time on your hands!” He told them to gather their own straw and not to let their quota go down.

With mixed emotions, the Israelites survived the first three plagues with the Egyptians, and then God separated them from the last seven plagues. He dramatically delivered them out of Egypt by opening up the Red Sea to them, then using it to swallow up their foes.

They spontaneously broke into celebration and performed a song of praise (Exodus 15:1-21). End of story? No!

Israel went three days into the desert (without water) after singing the song of praise to God for all He had done. Then they murmured.

They blamed Moses, the one they could see. They were shortsighted.

They were driven by emotion and their own immediate physical needs.

They were so immature and self-centered that they could not see that the first lesson they were to learn was to rely on God to deliver them from any and every trial.

And there is another lesson—in order to rely on God in trials, He must be our focus even in the good times! More about this later.

Israel’s list of complaints

Israel continually complained about:

• Lack of water and bitter water, Exodus 15:22-25.
• Lack of food, Exodus 16:2-3.
• Lack of water again, Exodus 17:1-7.
• Moses taking too long on the mountain, Exodus 32:1.
• Moses’ Ethiopian wife, Numbers 12:1-2.
• The number, strength and size of the men of Canaan, Numbers 13 and 14.
• That Moses and Aaron were taking too much on themselves and exalting themselves, Numbers 16:1-3.
• That people had been punished (they accused Moses of killing God’s people), Numbers 16:41.
• Lack of water again, Numbers 20:2-5.
• The long path around Edom, during which they experienced scarcity of water and complained that they were tired of eating manna, Numbers 21:4-5.

God continually referred to them as stiff-necked. They insisted upon looking back at the supposed “good times” in Egypt instead of remembering His blessings and looking forward to the Promised Land.

Forgetting God then blaming Him

When things are going well, we tend to put God on the back burner, becoming absorbed in the physical things in life. To overcome that tendency, “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

When things go wrong, do we sometimes look back and ask, “What happened, God? Are you asleep?” Perhaps He’s asking the same thing about us. Do we fall asleep spiritually in the good times and then complain in the bad times? Then do we fall asleep again when things get a little better?

I remember the surge of emotion after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. It was a wake-up call. Americans talked about God, went back to church and for a while seemed to realize that ultimately He was the answer to the present tragedy.

However, that did not last very long. America is right back to pre-9/11 times and even worse. As one small example, “under God” was recently edited out of the telecasted Pledge of Allegiance shown before the U.S. Open Golf Tournament.

What about me?

Okay, so I can see that, as a descendant of stiff-necked, complaining Israel, the apple indeed does not fall far from the tree. What do I do about it?

One of my goals for this year is to examine myself during the lull between storms—where is my focus? Do I become oblivious to my life commitment to God? Does He become second fiddle? Matthew 6:33 tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Am I continually reflecting on the many times God has intervened for me and my family? Do I remember the many mercies He has shown to us?

Let’s take time to smell the roses! Yes, there are thorns, but complaining about them doesn’t change them or make life pleasant for those around us. We, like Caleb and Joshua, have the resources to deal with them. If we are careful about our priorities, we can avoid or minimize the pain the thorns give and enjoy the beauty of God’s plan every day—24/7.

Please read Dawn Pratt’s blog post “Waiting on God,” which can help us reflect on God’s purpose for some of these thorns.

Susan Scott Smith is a third-grade teacher and a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in Texas.