Murmuring Against God
Reading: Numbers 16, 17
My Verse: "But on the morrow all the congregation of the Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron . . . " (16:41).
Murmuring or complaining can have dreadful consequences. What happened to the Israelites that murmured here is a great example of what happens when we let ourselves dwell in that state of mind. I know that it is an easy place to go, most of us go there way too often. It can become a state of mind.
What is so amazing is how slow we are to learn that murmuring is unpleasing to You, LORD God. You struck down the leaders that lead the murmuring against Moses. "As soon as he stopped speaking, the ground under the offenders split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households and [Korah and] all [his] men and all their possessions. They and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol and the earth closed upon them and they perished from among the assembly" (16:31-33). Yet, the people rose up the very next day and murmured against Moses and Aaron. You, LORD God then struck them with a plague. Here You were merciful and responded to the intercession of Moses and Aaron and kept back Your wrath from destroying all the assembly. "And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stayed" (16:48).
The dictionary definition: a half-suppressed or muttered complaint: grumbling. The second definition is very telling: a low indistinct but often continuous sound. Many of us let ourselves fall into this state of mind where we are constantly murmuring about something that didn't go quite the way we wanted or planned. It is so easy because things rarely go exactly as we plan. Even the synonyms of this word have an awful sound to them: beef, bleat, carp, fuss, gripe, grouch, grumble, lament, wail, yammer - they just sound unpleasant when spoken. How unpleasant this steady drone of our low and continuous muttering must sound to Your ears, LORD God.
Murmuring is spoken of often throughout the Bible. It is always either directly or indirectly against You, LORD God. It is considered as foolishness. "The foolishness of man perverteth his way; and his heart fretteth against the LORD" (Proverbs 19:3).
If we truly believe that You are sovereign, the creator of all that is then why do we continually fret against You? "Nay but, O man, who are thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why has thou made me thus?" (Romans 9:20).
Dear, LORD God, help me to heed Your teaching and guiding concerning this sin.
"Do all things without grumbling or questioning" (Philippians 2:14).
"Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold the Judge is standing at the door" (James 5:9).
"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice" (Ephesians 4:31).
Thank You, LORD God for reminding me of this sin and my need to remember to keep my mind on You!
"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere" (James 3:17).
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
Reading: Numbers 16, 17
My Verse: "But on the morrow all the congregation of the Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron . . . " (16:41).
Murmuring or complaining can have dreadful consequences. What happened to the Israelites that murmured here is a great example of what happens when we let ourselves dwell in that state of mind. I know that it is an easy place to go, most of us go there way too often. It can become a state of mind.
What is so amazing is how slow we are to learn that murmuring is unpleasing to You, LORD God. You struck down the leaders that lead the murmuring against Moses. "As soon as he stopped speaking, the ground under the offenders split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households and [Korah and] all [his] men and all their possessions. They and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol and the earth closed upon them and they perished from among the assembly" (16:31-33). Yet, the people rose up the very next day and murmured against Moses and Aaron. You, LORD God then struck them with a plague. Here You were merciful and responded to the intercession of Moses and Aaron and kept back Your wrath from destroying all the assembly. "And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stayed" (16:48).
The dictionary definition: a half-suppressed or muttered complaint: grumbling. The second definition is very telling: a low indistinct but often continuous sound. Many of us let ourselves fall into this state of mind where we are constantly murmuring about something that didn't go quite the way we wanted or planned. It is so easy because things rarely go exactly as we plan. Even the synonyms of this word have an awful sound to them: beef, bleat, carp, fuss, gripe, grouch, grumble, lament, wail, yammer - they just sound unpleasant when spoken. How unpleasant this steady drone of our low and continuous muttering must sound to Your ears, LORD God.
Murmuring is spoken of often throughout the Bible. It is always either directly or indirectly against You, LORD God. It is considered as foolishness. "The foolishness of man perverteth his way; and his heart fretteth against the LORD" (Proverbs 19:3).
If we truly believe that You are sovereign, the creator of all that is then why do we continually fret against You? "Nay but, O man, who are thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why has thou made me thus?" (Romans 9:20).
Dear, LORD God, help me to heed Your teaching and guiding concerning this sin.
"Do all things without grumbling or questioning" (Philippians 2:14).
"Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold the Judge is standing at the door" (James 5:9).
"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice" (Ephesians 4:31).
Thank You, LORD God for reminding me of this sin and my need to remember to keep my mind on You!
"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere" (James 3:17).
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
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