| “And the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way” (Numbers 21:4). |
| “And the people spake against God, and against Moses … and the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people … and much people of Israel died” (Numbers 21:5-6). |
| Covid, covid, covid! We are all getting tired of it, and yet the problem seems to go on and on. It is a big nuisance to have to stand at a distance from other people, and wear masks much of the time. As I write this at the end of 2021, the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly, and although its infection is not as serious as some of the previous ones, yet it is causing a lot of difficulty. Travel plans are being disrupted, supply chains of various things are being interrupted, and more restrictions are being placed on social gatherings. We all wish it would be over and done with! |
| In our first verse today, we find that the children of Israel became discouraged too. They had been wandering in the desert for about 38 years at this time, and were just about ready to enter the land of Canaan. But they found the going rather hard, and started to blame God, and Moses too. They had eaten manna for all those years, and God had never failed to supply it for them, but now they complained about it. They called it “light bread” and said that they loathed it. That means that they despised it, and hated it. |
| It was all right for them to be tired of going through the wilderness, but it was wrong for them to complain about the good food the Lord gave them, and it was wrong to speak against the Lord and against Moses, the leader whom God had given them. The Lord then sent fiery serpents to bite them, and many people died. |
| For the same reason it is all right for us to get tired of things like the Covid pandemic, but it is wrong to complain about it, and to blame the Lord for allowing it. The Lord has a purpose in it all, and He tests us, to see if we will trust Him to bring us through it. He is using things like the Covid pandemic to make this world realize that judgment is coming, and to draw people to Christ to be saved. If we complain about it, the Lord may have to allow difficulties in our lives too, just as He did for the Israelites. Let us remember that the Lord allows our circumstances in this world, and we can trust Him to look after us. We will speak a little more about this tomorrow. |
