February 7

Today's passages presents, in part, a wonderful account of God's dwelling with Israel; he guided them by day in the cloud and by night in the pillar of fire. Moses' relationship with God is revealed as a real and intimate one; he is deeply in-tune with God's movement whether the Israelite camp comes to a rest or sets out to a new destination. Everything that God commanded them to construct or fashion seems to be put to use, from the tabernacle to the trumpets. We also see Moses sharing his deep agonies and complaints with God. In this instance, the rabble, who were presumably not Israelite, began to sway the sentiments of God's people against Him. They even reasoned that in Egypt, they had it easy, since they were provided for. It was as if they completely forgot the ruthless labor that they were subjected to. As a parallel to Christian life, when following Christ becomes difficult we often reason that life under slavery to sin was somehow easier and even beneficial. We can become influenced by the rabble, such as Satan's voice, our sinful past, or bad influences such as media, people and so on. Thank God that just as the Israelites had Moses as an intercessor so that God would not destroy them, so too we have Jesus who is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, entreating the Father's help in our weak moments (Rom 8:34).

quail; is it really worth it?

It's also interesting to note the juxtaposition in this passage: God's mercy through His endowment of the Spirit and God's wrath in His judgment upon the grumblers. Through allowing His Spirit to rest upon sinful man, God shows Himself as merciful. Because of this, the elders and even two others who were not invited to the tent began to prophesy. (What they prophesied was not recorded, but I presume it is the previous prophecy about the quail given to Moses; the people were angry with Moses, but perhaps they would listen to the elders.) The grumblers got their quail but they were also struck dead through a plague from the LORD. At this point in Israel's history, it was important to condemn the grumbling people, making an example of them, so that they would not lead the whole nation astray; God had to preserve a remnant of His people so that the Messiah could come through their bloodline.

On a broader note, we must know that God is perfectly justified in meting out his wrath upon sinful man. His creation was initially very good (Gen 1:31). As the holy judge and creator of the universe, He would be extremely remiss if he did not eradicate all evil from his creation; God's divine nature, particularly His holiness and sole ownership of creation would be continually challenged; man would also live in endless agony under the power of Satan and of evil men, being given over to ever-increasing corruption (Gen 6:5-6). Though God had every right to put us to death because of our rebellion and grumbling towards Him, praise Him for in His mercy, He instead punished Christ in our places, rescuing us from the wrath that we deserve. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him (Is 53:5). The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to avoid the folly of the rabble and grumblers saying,

¹² See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. ¹⁴ We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. - (Heb 3:12-14)