The first verse shows us a complaining people, not satisfied with what a loving and faithful, unforgetting God, gave them, and we find that they were discontented and even crying, grumbling where they should have been glad, to the end of the record.
Turn to Exodus 3:4-8,4And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 7And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (Exodus 3:4‑8) and notice what God had said before a finger was lifted to free Israel from the hardhearted and cruel Egyptians. Had He gone back on His word, do you think? Not at all; His purpose was unchanged. But what an ungrateful people! What patience in God, too!
There was a “mixed multitude” with the people. We read about them when the children of Israel left Egypt, and here in verse 4 we find that they were still with them. They were bad company for the Israelites to keep. Look out for “mixed” company, dear young believer. There is only One kind of company for a Christian, and that is, the company of those who are saved, and live and talk as those who are Christ’s. Of course, the mixed multitude were unhappy; having to live like the people of God never could suit them. But the point for us to see is, that they influenced the children of Israel to want, what the mixed multitude wanted.
God’s children ought to be pleased with whatever a loving and gracious Father gives them; but if they keep company with the world, the world’s ways and thoughts and wants, will surely become theirs too.
“We remember,” the people say in verse 5, “we remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely.”
Is that all you remember, redeemed one? Don’t you remember the slavery, the lash of the taskmaster, the demand that the babies be thrown into the river, and all the other cruelties of Egypt? Sad to say, the freedom God had won for them, and the many blessings daily which were theirs and the promised land, were all forgotten. The food He gave them, was despised, and in their hearts they longed for Egypt. Such is man, such are you and I, by nature; we must be born again. We need God’s salvation.
Moses complains, in verses 11 to 15, and surely the people were most ungrateful, but his case reminds us of One who never complained, never gave up, and never will until His people are safe in glory with Him. Jesus is that Friend; there is no change in Him. Is He your Friend, your Saviour?
When the people of Israel had complained so much to Moses, he went to the Lord, and said, “Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy servant? that Thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.”
But we know Moses was not alone, because God did everything Himself for His people. The Lord did not rebuke Moses. He only said, “Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of Israel; and bring them to the tabernacle of the congregation, and I will come down and talk with thee there; and I will take of the Spirit that is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.”
This was a dishonor to the Lord, as well as to Moses. If the Lord gives us any work to do for Him, He will give us the strength and ability to carry out His purposes, and we are only an instrument in His hands, to be used of Him. He does not leave us to do anything alone for Him. We would be sure to make great mistakes, and not do the work at all pleasing to Him. It is only as we are in dependence upon Him, and seeking His guidance, that we can do the smallest thing pleasing to Him.