Throughout history, there has often been a struggle between those who murmur and complain with those who seek to quell such grumblings. In Exodus, we see how Moses was left to deal with a Jewish people who, despite recent deliverance from bondage, were left dissatisfied with their present situation and murmured against their leadership and against God. Over the next few weeks in our bulletin, we’ll delve into what Christ would have us do to expose our shortcomings, which lead to murmuring and analyze what can be done as leaders to rectify this problem using the Spirit of God. First, let us look at the situation in which Moses found himself and how we can follow God’s plan to gain victory over this common problem.
Our lives are filled with
expectations. These range from basic
necessities like food and water, to family stability, social continuity, and
personal contentment. As we observe a
classic case study of deliverance, we see similarities between current
Christian murmuring and that of the Old Testament Jews. An early scriptural
instance of murmuring involved the Jews’ discontentment in the wilderness,
under the leadership of Moses. In
Exodus, we see a people miraculously freed from slavery and bondage, murmuring,
“…for ye have brought us forth into the
wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”(Exodus 16:3) They had pervasive discontentment toward
Moses and ultimately God. In Numbers,
God spoke, “How long shall I bear witness
with this evil congregation that murmur against me? Your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness;
and all… died by the plague of the Lord.”
We often ignore the repercussions. We grumble about a situation, attach
it to a face or person, and then to God.
Even as God freed and fed the Jews, they were still dissatisfied. Look around, times have changed little. Even today, we see a situation, attach blame,
and dishonor God.
Even as we grumble about a situation or
person, like the Jews against Moses, the real addressee is clearly the Lord. We need to truthfully address God. Our grumblings are contagious and we must
deal with them properly and biblically.
To do this, the Lord enlightens those
who seek Him. Moses was used by God to
lead those who were seemingly unleadable.
This now becomes a case study on leadership. Even as we murmur, we still must be led by
those who are under the influence of God.
The Jews had selective memories, which is often the situation in which
we find ourselves. Even when delivered
and removed from the bondage and beatings of the Egyptians, the Israelites
still murmured. How soon we forget! The Israelites’ attitude about the situation
in which they found themselves, became illogical. They said to Moses, “You brought us here to
kill the whole assembly.” Moses was
forced to deal with this ridiculous viewpoint.
Similar to Moses, we are called by God to lead those who complain. As we do so, we must avoid the anger felt
towards them in the midst of, or prior to the ensuing debate.
An attempt to destroy the complainer or
defend yourself against murmuring is evidence of spiritual immaturity and
inferior leadership. A tell tale sign
that we lack confidence, is when we attempt to argue and destroy those who
complain. God has a plan for all, the
leader as well as those who murmur.
Therefore we all need, as the Jews did, a positive consultation from
God. He uses leaders like Moses and even
us who trust God, to avoid using anger to quell a murmuring situation. Christ is the solution to the problem as well
as the comfort to those engulfed in it.
In short, as we encounter murmuring,
either as participants or leaders, God’s intent for us is to have faith that we
may avoid it, or lead us out from under its influence. In the next few weeks,
we will cover several more “shalts” and “shalt nots” in leading those who tend
to complain.
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