"Kindling the Anger of the Lord"

BIBLE READING: Numbers 11-13   

            Why do we generally think that the grass is always greener on the other side?  In the reading for the day, the Israelites should have things pretty much going their way; they are getting close to the Promise Land, they are enjoying manna every morning and they know that God is on their side.  However, contentment has never been one of their strong points. They have begun to grow tired of the manna and now they are having cravings for the things that they cannot have.  Why is it always the case that when you cannot have something that it becomes the one thing that you want the most.  In their current situations, they are now dreaming about the fish, the melons, the onions and the cucumbers; all of which are not available in the desert. So, they do what any other red blooded human being would do; they complain.  The manna that used to satisfy them has now become something that they don’t even want to look at (Numbers 11.6).  The Bible tells us that when they begin to complain, the anger of the Lord begins to kindle (Numbers 11.1). That word “kindle” means “to glow, to grow warm” or “begin to blaze”.  Now I don’t know about you, but having the Creator of the Universe’s anger set ablaze is not something that I would want to do.   Could it be that our Lord feels the same way when He hears us complain?  The words of Paul seem to answer that in the affirmative, “We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.” (1 Corinthians 10:9-10) The New Testament encourages us to “do all things without grumbling or complaining” (Philippians 2.14).  Maybe the next time we complain, these are the verses that we should contemplate.