A Thought For The Week Of July 31, 2017

"So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”" (Exodus 15:24) People love to grumble! If there's something to complain about, we'll find it, no matter what. Sometimes it's over something simple, like the weather. We complain in the winter because it's too cold; then we complain in the summer that it's too hot. Or we complain that there's too much rain, but when the rain stops we start to complain that there's not enough. As I've often heard said, complaining about the weather is Canada's national pastime. But sometimes our complaints are about serious matters. I'll confess that on the surface the issue facing the Israelites in this passage was a serious one. They were in the middle of a desert wilderness and they had no fresh water. That's pretty serious. So they turned on Moses for leading them there. But you have to consider the context of the story. This is taking place right after Israel's exodus from Egypt. The people had seen God perform miracle after miracle after miracle. God had never let them down. Even when things seemed to be at their most hopeless, God had somehow saved them. Was it really so hard for them to believe that God could do it again? So the first thing we see here is the fickle nature of faith. Our basic message to God often seems to be "what have you done for me lately?" And, of course, there may also be jealousy. Moses rather than God was the direct target, and perhaps it was because Moses had been chosen over the rest of them to be God's messenger, and the people were resentful of him because of that. But we should also try to look at this more positively. This passage also allows us to see the patience and faithfulness of God. Faced with a people who were doubting God's ability or willingness to provide for God's people - what did God do? God saved them again! God provided for them - twice! First, by a miracle God enabled Moses to turn bitter water into fresh water. Then, God brought them to a place of twelve springs and seventy palm trees. And this would become a pattern in the journey of God's people through the wilderness. God's people would face tough times, and they would turn on Moses. But still, God would get them to the "Promised Land." The overwhelming message from this passage (and others like it) is that our faith in God often fails, but God's faithfulness to us never fails!