My disclaimer today – this post is rather long.
Stories in Exodus are wonderful to read. We can recognize ourselves in the Hebrews as they are stuck in a place they don’t want to be, are delivered, and then find out that the green grass that they thought wasn’t quite the green grass that is. Then, they grumbled. Oh and there comes some real recognition of those ancient Hebrews in ourselves as well.
Do you know the grumbles?
I just want out of Egypt and then I’ll be happy… I just want out of this job, city, state, marriage, life, friendship, debt, burden, and or task and then I’ll be happy.
Well, thanks for getting us out of Egypt God, but this isn’t quite how I imagined it looking… Thanks for saving me, but come on – have you even seen what this place looks like? Why am I here? Did you get lost? I told you after that last turn we should have stopped for directions.
Thanks for the manna God, but I’m kind of sick of the taste. Can I get something new? A Quarter Pounder with Cheese and French Fries would be nice… Thanks for providing for my needs, in THAT way – but I really wanted you to do this in THIS way. Uhm, can you do this a little differently?
Well, you get the point. The Ancient Hebrews really weren’t so different than we are today, at least me.
Is there really any danger in that grumbling though? Isn’t it okay to just “vent” to each other, at each other from time to time?
Think of a wall of stone in front of you. I think grumbling is like a moss that grows over and with achingly slow patience grows into the stone. Then, when it is removed, small pieces of the stone are torn away. This leaves the rock itself more vulnerable to the weather outside, making it wear down and wear away faster. The moss can seem harmless sitting there. I mean, it’s just sitting there right? Wrong! Slowly, instead the roots sink in and slowly displace the broken stone.
Those Hebrews, they also had to learn this. Psalms 106 basically paraphrases the story. Starting with praise, the author of the psalm starts with a reminder that the Lord is good and his love endures forever. It’s one of those moments when it is nice to know the end of the story before it is over. Things are going to get a little dicey here, but we can claim that promise.
Then, there is an encouragement, a reminder that the Lord’s praise cannot be “fully declared.” If I do nothing but stand someplace and praise God, it would not come close to completely describing him. That is a good reminder to do right, even when it is tiring – especially when it is tiring. “Blessed are those who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.” Well, if grumbling is wrong, that pretty rules that out doesn’t it? But, the psalm doesn’t stop there – it continues.
Next, there is a request – “remember me Lord.” Remember me Lord, I’m stuck or unhappy or stressed or depressed or fearful or angry or numb. Remember me Lord, I’m not sure where to go or I don’t want to go where I am supposed to or I’m going to have to leave where I want to be. Remember me, what a beautiful impassioned plea. Remember me so that you can save me. In other words, I can’t save myself and need your help – please don’t forget me. Again, an encouraging reminder comes, “sharing in prosperity, sharing in joy, joining the inheritance of giving praise.” What a beautiful encouragement.
Then, the story really begins in earnest, as truth comes out, acknowledging the wrongness of the sin that has been committed. There is not an attempt to disguise it, to white wash it, but instead it is strongly and clearly acknowledged, and understood that it is nothing new. “When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.”
What do leaders normally do with those who rebel? They are punished right? Perhaps community service, jail time, for treason it may even be death. Instead the response by God was, “Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert. He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them. The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived.” Wait a minute, the people rebel and God’s response was to save them? I’m thinking that he doesn’t really think at all like people. God understood that there was more than just rebellion. There was fear, hope, and God’s purpose.
The response of the people was at first to “believe his promises and sing his praise.” Then, slowly that moss crept in and the grumbling started. “They soon forgot what he had done, and did not wait for his counsel. In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test.” Gee, thanks God for helping us out and you are great and everything, but our feet hurt and we want some other food and a hotel would be nice. This tent is starting to get kind of old.
What should God have done then? Does he spring up a four star hotel in the desert. He could, but should he? Is it what his people need? God “gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.” Perhaps God knew that unless the people’s hearts were knocked down again that they wouldn’t turn to Him for help. Let’s see what the next thing is that happens. “In the camp they grew envious of Moses and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord. The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it buried the company of Abiram. Fire blazed among their followers; a flame consumed the wicked. At Horeb they made a calf and worshipped a idol cast from metal. They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass.” First there was jealousy and then anger. It sounds like a few of the impromptu leaders and their followers were also made examples of. Compounding the mossy growth of grumbling on top of envy, rebellion, and then idolatry. Wow – what a difference the removing of the outer strength of the rock made in these people’s lives. The roots that had so quietly made their way in, then led to something deeper, stronger, and darker.
“They forgot” the Bible goes on to say. “They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.” They forgot. I don’t personally think that means that they forgot as in can’t remember. But, they forgot, as in forgot their focus.
God responded. He said in his justice that “he would destroy them.” This was justice by the way, not revenge or a temper tantrum. God is still good. But, Moses went before God and pled for the people. Finally, the promised land is near. The journey is almost over! Yet, the people “despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord.” That grumbling was the beginning of a long laundry list of resulting consequences ranging from plagues, scattered people, sacrifice of sons and daughters to demons, the shedding of innocent blood, defiling of themselves, and oppression.
Now, comes the final part. “Many times he delivered them.” The Lord did not just let his people go through all of this following their disobedience. Instead, he “took note of their distress when he heard their cry.” The response was to “Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting.” The people would return to God in their distress and he would hear them and care for them, again and again.
A vaccination is a fairly modern medical marvel. Using bits of a strain of an illness, we let our body produce anti-bodies that will protect us later if faced with the live virus. I think that the story of the Ancient Hebrews is a bit like that. We are vaccinated through the stories and lessons of these people, teaching us that we must guard our hearts and tongues. We must not “grumble in our tents.” It is a dangerous thing, which leads to other dangerous things.
I’m not saying that this is an easy thing for me. Sometimes, I’m so frustrated with someone or something that I feel the need to pour it out to someone else. Yet, who should I pour this out to? A friend or my God? I must be careful not to lose sight of the answers and blessings I have been provided. When work becomes stressful, I must not forget that it was an answer to prayer. When a relationship becomes hard, I must not forget that this as well was an answer to prayer.
Instead, my prayer is that I will be able to keep the mindset that this psalm ends on. “Let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ Praise the Lord.
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