Discontent and Dissatisfied

In Hebrews chapter 10, believers are warned that it is a fearful thing,

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

or they're warned about deliberately continuing to sin

and going back to their old life after experiencing God's truth.

And the only thing which is really left for us if we do that is to expect God's judgment.

And in very strong language he says,

How much more severely do you think a person deserves to be punished

who has trampled the Son of God underfoot,

who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that made him holy,

and who has insulted the spirit of grace?

And he concludes chapter 10 of Hebrews by saying,

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

To deliberately reject the grace of God is to put yourself in a place

where there is nothing else but to expect judgment.

God is no fool.

He knows our hearts.

He knows the deep attitudes that we have towards him and towards his purposes.

We have been shown immense grace in Christ.

He has powerfully overcome our sin.

He has graciously brought us to faith.

He has saved us.

And God has done all that is required to make us safe from his judgment.

So one of the messages of the Bible is very clear.

If you reject salvation in Christ, you must expect his judgment.

And in the words of Hebrews,

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

When you come to Numbers chapter 11, you read about trouble for the first time.

Numbers 11 · chapter mention

And God is very angry.

The first 10 chapters flow really smoothly.

Israel's life is built around God.

His presence is in their midst physically, in the center of their camp.

God is with them.

Life revolves around the Lord.

It revolves around his purposes.

The nation moved when the pillar of cloud moved.

The nation camped when the pillar of cloud stopped.

Their desert journey was a journey which was led by God.

And last week, if you were here, you would have seen that his presence was with them.

He led them.

He protected them.

The Israelites were actually set free from having to run their own lives and figure out their careers.

Their lives, present and future, were caught up in the life of God and of his people.

Life was very straightforward.

But in Numbers 11, the problems begin.

And the people of God begin to learn that it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

And there's three complaints.

And two of these complaints come from the people and one of the complaints comes from Moses himself.

So verses 1 and 2, if you're following with me, Numbers 11, where Leslie's just read to us from.

The people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord.

And when he heard them, his anger was aroused.

And then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.

And when the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down.

So they're having a whinge.

They've just gone the first three days of their 40-year journey.

And they're already complaining about it.

We're not told the details.

We know that they haven't got homes.

They're living in tents.

They have to walk a lot.

They eat the same food all the time.

It's almost like, you know, you take the kids on holidays to Queensland.

And they're already asking, how much longer?

Is there anything else to eat?

Haven't you got something else except tiny teddies?

I don't like tiny teddies.

And it's all happened before you've crossed the Hawkesbury River.

Very human.

It happens with adults as well.

I've been in small groups.

Not in this church, of course.

People top one another with stories of difficulty.

So the first dad in his small group, being Father's Day, because we couldn't pick on mums,

you wouldn't believe what last night was like.

Up for two hours with a crying baby.

Second dad, he tops that.

Three hours and a couple of changes of wet bedding and then off to work with the insufferable boss.

So we're really good at whinging and complaining and it gets us going and we relate to one another through it.

But the problem is in verse 1, it says,

The Lord heard and his anger was aroused.

And do you know why?

Because in the end, they are complaining about the circumstances that he is leading them through.

And their perspectives skewed and as they enjoy their little grumble, God gets very angry.

And in three days, they've had 400 years of suffering erased from their memory as though it never happened.

And discontent and dissatisfaction reign supreme.

And God's judgment flares.

Fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.

And again, not a lot of detail,

But fire on the outskirts of a tense city with a million people is a threat to the whole camp.

They thought their problems were bad.

They now know that God's judgment is even worse.

And there's a really interesting response to God's judgment.

Verse 2,

People speak to Moses.

Moses speaks to the Lord.

The judgment passes.

And you see this pattern.

The pattern is the people complain.

They sinned.

God judged.

Moses intercedes.

God saves.

God saves.

And so the people are saved from God's judgment by the intercessor that God appoints.

And you see something similar throughout the Bible,

But especially perhaps in the book of Judges.

The people forget God.

They sin.

God sends an enemy who oppresses them for a time.

And when the people have suffered enough,

God sends a judge to rescue them and to make them safe.

When believers sin,

When people like us sin,

Sometimes we have to experience a level of pain before we humble ourselves

And ask for our Heavenly Father's mercy.

We try to tough it out.

We persevere in disobedience before yielding to the Lord

And doing what he invites us to do,

Like if we confess our sins.

God is faithful.

And God is just.

And he will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Or Hebrews chapter 8,

Hebrews 8 · chapter mention

Which reminds us that we do have such a high priest

Who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven.

The one that we pray to.

The one who intercedes for our sins in heaven.

Is Jesus himself.

And so I think when you look at this first grumble and how God deals with it,

It's more like parental discipline.

He's a father.

He brings punishment which doesn't harm their persons.

But it does frighten them back to repentance and faith.

The second complaint is much more serious and it's about food.

If you can believe it.

If only we had meat to eat.

Verse 5.

We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt.

No cost.

And also the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, the garlic.

Now we've lost our appetite and we never see anything but this manna.

They've been watching MasterChef on the Arabian Peninsula.

We're sick of this manna.

We want meat.

We want meat.

And it's a grumble against God's miraculous provision of manna.

And worse, this is the worst part.

They remember Egypt.

Their hearts are turned to Egypt and not to God.

They're focused on what they haven't got rather than grateful for what they do have.

And it's a really skewed remembrance.

We had great food and it didn't cost us anything, they say.

It's almost like, you know, you're in the middle of an election campaign

where a whole lot of facts are suddenly erased from collective memory.

They were slaves for 400 years.

They were terribly oppressed.

They were crying out for deliverance.

And verse 10.

Just awful.

This grumble has spread.

Every family is wailing.

And God this time, not just is his anger aroused, he is hot with anger.

And Moses is troubled.

He's discouraged.

He's leading a nation where everybody's attention's on their stomach

and what they're not getting for dinner.

They are totally discontent.

And Moses is standing there and he's feeling the pressure as though this problem is his to fix and it's not.

And God fixes it with this ironic judgment.

You want meat?

I'll give you meat.

Verse 19.

You will eat it not just for one day or two days or five or ten or twenty,

but for a whole month until it comes out your nostrils and you loathe it

because you have rejected the Lord who is among you

and have wailed before him saying,

Why did we ever leave Egypt?

They're hankering back into their old life with all its agonies and distortions.

We do that.

God brings us to new life in Christ and we look back and we see the fun that everybody else seems to be having

and we make a grab for it.

I remember the drug addict on the northern beaches wonderfully converted to Christ

and came into our church and into our small group.

And he had a background in using women

and it was quite thrilling to see the changes God was working in his life

until he began using women again in our church.

He loved Egypt too much and he turned his back on the grace and mercy

that he had come to know in Christ.

And as far as I know, he has never come back.

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

You jump to verse 32.

All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail.

No one gathered less than ten homers.

That's donkey loads.

And they spread them out all around the camp.

But while the meat was still between their teeth

and before it could be consumed,

the anger of the Lord burned against the people

and he struck them with a severe plague.

And therefore the place was named Kibroth Hatava.

Leslie did that much better than me.

Because they buried the people who had craved other food.

This time people die for their sin.

They reject the Lord

and they experience his judgment.

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Third complaint from Moses.

And most of the passage is about God's response to it.

Verse 11, he asks the Lord,

Why have you brought this trouble on your servant?

What have I done to displease you

that you put the burden of all these people on me?

Did I conceive all these people?

Did I give them birth?

Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms

as a nurse carries an infant

to the land that you promised on oath to our forefathers?

Where can I get meat for all these people?

They keep wailing to me,

Give us meat to eat.

I can't carry all these people by myself.

The burden is too heavy for me.

If this is how you're going to treat me,

put me to death right now.

If I have found favour in your eyes,

do not let me face my own ruin.

Let me die.

It's pathetic.

I'm not saying I would have done any better,

but it's pathetic.

He has a sort of a meltdown or even burnout.

Verse 11,

he is right to say that God has brought the trouble on him.

God has called him,

he's appointed him to lead,

and leadership does mean bearing the sinful responses

of people who think they know better.

And you get a huge insight

into what it's like to be in Moses' shoes

when he says,

in verse 11,

what have I done to displease you

that you put the burden of these people on me?

He's very quick to presume

that his difficulties are some sort of divine chastisement

or punishment,

like his heavenly father is dishing out on him

in some way.

It's like in John 9,

when the Pharisees asked Jesus

about the man who had been born blind

and their presumption,

you know,

who sinned?

This man or his parents

that he was born blind?

And in John 9,

Jesus shows

that it's a completely wrong assumption.

It's got nothing to do

with their weakness or sin.

His blindness

is part of the purpose of God

that he will be glorified.

It is always a very cruel thing

and a wrong thing

to be quick

to link poverty

or sickness

or difficulties

in families

to sin.

You see,

it's in how we respond

to difficulty

that we can glorify Christ.

Glad we've got the Fitzroys with us this morning

because the Fitzroys family

has been

on an exceedingly difficult journey

the last few months.

And watching them respond

in faith

in very testing circumstances

is an enormous encouragement

to see their God-given joy

even as they grapple

with difficulty

that is immense

as they journey in faith.

We saw last week

that God is in the midst

of his people.

God is with his people.

It's why we can be confident

with Romans 8

that in every circumstance

God is working

his purposes out

for good

in the lives

of his people.

Moses feels like

it is all too hard.

The whole nation

is bleeding.

He's feeling the pressure.

The pressure

is almost unbearable

unbearable

and the future

seems

very dim.

I ran ahead of God

on Thursday.

I was in a low hole

wondering

why I had ever said yes

to the trip

to South Africa

in five weeks time

with all the problems

that have arisen.

And last week

God encouraged me

with perfect timing

and I was on top

of the world

feeling like

he's in control.

and this week

it was quiet

and I didn't hear

anything

and I went low

and I began

to pray

for God's timing

and God's working

things out

and I rang

Darian in South

Africa

and I said

I'm feeling low

what's happening

and he was

a great comfort

and he told me

lots of good things

that are happening

in the background.

But I was

disappointed in myself.

I wished

I had waited

patiently

a little longer.

I put it

in God's hands

in the morning

and I was taking it

back into my own hands

in the afternoon.

There is joy

in faith.

There is great joy

and peace

to be found

in trusting God

and being patient

in difficulty.

It is hugely

reassuring

to later see

that God

is in control.

Moses is wrong

to think

that God

is punishing him

and you see

that by the way

that God

treats him

over the other

part

of this complaint.

It's a two-fold

complaint.

What have I done?

Verse 11.

What have I done

to displease you

that you have

put the burden

of all these

people on me?

Second part.

You have put

the burden

of all these

people on me.

Did I conceive

them?

Where can I

get meat?

I can't carry

this burden

by myself.

Again,

it's echoes

of the New Testament.

Jesus feeding

the 5,000.

He turned

to his disciples.

5,000 people

out there

and not a

McDonald's

in sight

and he turns

to his disciples

and said,

you guys

give them

something to eat.

And their

response is

incredulous.

Where can we

get food

for all these

people?

They express

their own

limitation.

They can't

do it

and Moses

can't do it

either

and God

knows that

he can't

do it.

But Moses

can't imagine

how God

could do

such a

thing.

Here I

am,

I'm among

600,000

men on

foot and

you say

I will

give them

meat to

eat for

a whole

month.

Verse 22,

would they

have enough

if flocks

and herds

were slaughtered

for them?

Would they

have enough

if all

the fish

in the

sea were

caught

for them?

And

verse 23,

the Lord

answered

Moses,

is the

Lord's

arm

too

short?

You

will see

now

whether or

not

what I

say

will

come

true

for

you.

This

is a

great

statement

question.

Is the

Lord's

arm

too

short?

Ever

felt like

you're

standing

in an

impossible

situation

with no

way

out?

Huge

problems

surrounding

you

every way

you look?

thinking

God is

asking you

to do

something

which is

beyond

your

means

or your

capacity

and God

speaks

very gently

to Moses

and says

is the

Lord's

arm

too

short?

See

Moses is

learning about

himself,

what God

expects of

him.

He's not

the saviour,

God is.

There are

limits to

his ability

to lead

God's

people.

Moses

has an

incredibly

important

role.

He speaks

to the

people on

behalf of

God and

he also

speaks to

God on

behalf of

the people

but he

isn't

God.

Only

God can

do what

God will

do and

God makes

provision for

Moses in a

very practical

way.

Verse 16,

the Lord

said to

Moses,

bring me

70 of

Israel's

leaders who

are known

to you as

leaders and

officials among

the people.

Have them

come to the

tent of

meeting that

they may

stand there

with you

and I

will come

down and

speak with

you there

and I

will take

the spirit

that is on

you and

put the

spirit on

them and

they will

help you to

carry the

burden of

the people so

that you

will not have

to carry it

alone.

And then

in verse 25,

he took of

the spirit

that was on

him and

put the

spirit on

the 70

elders and

when the

spirit rested

on them they

prophesied but

they did not

do it again.

See God

raises up

people to

help him,

men with

God's spirit

chosen by

God.

Huge

parallels to

the early

chapters of

Acts of the

Apostles in

the New

Testament when

Christ was

building his

church.

In Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2,

the spirit

of God

poured out

on all

believers at

Pentecost and

they prophesied.

They preached

the gospel of

the Lord Jesus

Christ in the

languages of

the nations

who were

present.

In Acts

Acts 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6,

the believers

appointed seven

men from

among you who

are known to

be full of

the spirit

and of

wisdom.

The load

of ministry

leadership was

authenticated by

God.

And it was

expanded and

it was

shared.

God was

very kind to

Moses.

He provided

others to

help him.

So the

work of

ministry is

shared by a

body of

believers united

in submission to

God and

empowered by

God.

It's a

brilliant picture

of what a

well-functioning

growing church

might look

like.

For Moses

and for us

it is quite a

wonderful thing

to fall into

the hands of

the living God.

So Numbers 11

is an amazing

chapter.

There's a lot

more that could

be said and

especially about

the operation of

the spirit in

this chapter and

you can tackle me

at morning tea if

you want to go

there.

But there are

three complaints

and God deals

with them in

three ways.

He's angry with

their grumbling.

He disciplines

them as

children.

He leads them

back in repentance

and faith when

they cry out to

Moses who intercedes

on their behalf.

God is

exceedingly angry

when they turn

their backs on

God's salvation.

They turn their

backs on the one

way of salvation

that God gives

them and they

experience judgment

and death.

And when Moses

complains he is

wrong to think

that God is

punishing him.

And he was also

wrong to think

that the burden

of ministry was

his to bear

alone.

God provided

tenderly for

him.

So friends

there are safe

ways and there

are unsafe ways

to fall into

the hands of

the living God.

Safe ways

see us

disciplined,

corrected,

cared for

as children

by a loving

heavenly father.

Unsafe ways

lead to judgment

and death

at the hands

of the sovereign

king over all

creation.

Life

versus

death.

death.

Jesus

says in

John 3

36

whoever

believes in

the son

has eternal

life.

But whoever

rejects the

son will not

see life

for God's

wrath remains

on him.

Amen.