Imagine what it must have been like for humble Moses to be confronted by 250 leading men of the people. These weren’t rabble, but “men of renown.” Apparently they may have had in mind to lead the nation into the Promised Land on their own initiative, or worse yet, lead them back to Egypt rather than languish in the wilderness until they all died. God did not bow to the will of the majority then, and He doesn’t now. It may sound harsh to us, but recalling that He is all-knowing and good, it is actually a blessing. Do we see it as such in our churches, or do we think we know better than our God-given leaders?
Can you believe how ridiculous the attitudes of the people were? They blamed Moses for their going nowhere and for the denial of their inheritance that they suffered. They forgot that Egypt was the place of their enslavement and called it a “land of milk and honey,” obviously wanting to go back. Even after the dramatic assertion of God’s choice of leader, the people grumbled against Moses for the death of the problem people – the very next day! They still refused to submit to God in His choice of leader and their having to serve time in the wilderness. This story is an occasion for us to remember our own fallen tendencies, ask God to search us for these kinds of behaviors and attitudes, and correct them.
The people died for their grumbling, and what were they doing at the end of chapter 17 – grumbling about being killed by God for their grumbling? That isn’t quite clear to me. What is clear is that God does not like grumbling. That seems to be an understatement given the harsh consequences He imposed on these people for their grumbling. Do we get that lesson? God does not like grumbling in me anymore than He liked grumbling in them, since Scripture teaches that He never changes.
Does that mean that He is not open to our requests when we are suffering in our circumstances? That’s part of the power of the psalm we read yesterday. The man of God would certainly be able to show us what a properly God-honoring response is, and Moses did so in Psalm 90. It might bear another review to solidify the lessons it can teach us, given that God does not like grumbling.
The numbers are being picked off….
Aaron’s rod didn’t just bud as a sign of God’s selection; it blossomed and bore fruit. God wanted His selection to be clear. This account teaches us that He does want to communicate to His people what is important for them to know, and He can communicate with them with absolute effectiveness. Do you suppose that He wants and is able to communicate as effectively to us today? He doesn’t often do so with miracles, but if we expect Him to give us the information we need, and seek for it, we will find it. It is often embarrassingly obvious once we realize how He communicates. I believe that He doesn’t often give us miraculous revelations today, because He has given us what we need to know in Scripture. The key is to know what Scripture says and make its application to our own lives properly. The only way to know what it says is to be in it daily, as we are doing. Then when a situation arises in which we need God’s insight or guidance, we can rightly ask the Holy Spirit to remind us of what we need to understand.