“So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”” Exodus 15:24
After witnessing Miraculous Judgments against Egypt, allowing their departure; Favor curried among the Egyptians giving them Silver, Gold, and many other Valuable Goods; the Supernatural Parting of the Red Sea, allowing their escape; it’s Closing, destroying the Egyptian Army; God’s people resort to Grumbling and Complaining because they have no water??? Any casual reader would be scratching their head and asking “WHY”? Why would a People with this magnitude of miraculous interventions of God resort to Unbelief so soon?
This would be the first of many Faithless Episodes that would characterize Israel for the next 40 years. In Today’s Reading, we see God’s Miracles continuing: the Pillar of Cloud by day and Fire by night, the daily provision of Manna in the morning and the Quail at night, Moses striking a Rock and water coming out of it. And Yet,…this Group of People will continue to Grouse and Complain until they die off. This doesn’t make any sense!
But then again, maybe it does. What is the opposite of Unbelief? Faith! Belief! Trust in God! And where does that come from? Do each of us have it inside ourselves and conjure it up when needed? NO! We are told, “it is the Gift of God, and that not of ourselves”. Most of these Wandering Jews – Did Not Have Faith. They didn’t. If they did, most would not have acted like they did. It would have been a different Story!
And what of us? If God has Saved us, and we have become His Children and He has become our Heavenly Father, how do we act? How do we treat this One, who has Infinite Wisdom, Power, and Knowledge, when things are not going quite how we would like? Do WE Grumble? Do WE Complain? ALL of us fail at times to Trust our Heavenly Father; we are still Sinners!!! But to do so Often, Regularly, Repeatedly? This Can Not Be!!! May God Help us take these things to heart!