Meet Fred. Fred is a smart young investor fresh out of college. Fred lands a job working for an investment firm, owned and operated by Max. Fred starts out his rookie year blazing a trail and is making Max a lot of money using his wise and shrewd investment strategies. At the end of his first year, Max surprises Fred with the keys to a brand new convertible Mercedes, his to use any way he wants for one year. Wow, Fred is floored. A car has never driven better, smelled sweeter and had more shine. He loves driving that car around town, top down, wind in his hair, noticing the many eyes darting in his direction. He was happy.
Fast forward, another stellar year for Fred as he sets a new company record for returns in a calendar year. The reward? Another brand new Mercedes. But this one is not a convertible. Bummer, he liked the convertible. Also, this one is a different color, not the bright red like the last one. Oh well, it’s still a free Benz. Road trip! The third year, Max delivers yet another Mercedes and Fred likes this one least of all. It doesn’t have the right color of leather; the stereo doesn’t sound as good and the wheels are not chrome. But hey, he’ll make it work. On the fourth year, Max is waiting for the day and the hour to come. His annual review and his new car are right around the corner. Here comes his new Benz. As Max enters, he heaps on the accolades for Fred’s annual performance and tosses the keys to a brand new BMW on his desk. Fred, stunned, just looks at the keys and without it even registering he says, “what, no Mercedes?”
Face it, as people we’re insatiable. Left to our own worldly ways, we cannot and will not ever find true satisfaction. Oh, but we try. Look around today. Houses are bigger than ever, cars are ridiculously expensive and even shine their over-priced logos on the ground. Colleges and private schools are astronomical and still enrollment (and debt to attend them) are hitting record numbers. Yet none of it deters people from working themselves silly to accumulate what they think they need to compete in the rat race of life. We deserve it right? Lately I’ve started counted the mentions of that word in advertising and it’s quite prevalent to say the least. The world will tell you that you ‘deserve’ whatever you want, regardless of whether or not you can afford it.
God has a different take.
Today in Numbers 11 we see a pattern emerge that could easily be considered the theme of the Pentateuch. (first five books of the Bible written by Moses). I call it the People Pattern. This pattern happens over and over and over as the people wander with God, not looking for their way to Him, but their way to personal comfort and satisfaction. You see when we are searching for our own way, it will not lead us to God.
The People Pattern is four fold in God’s Word. One, the people complain about whatever is in front of them. Two, God gets angry at their ungrateful behavior. Three, the people cry out to Moses, fearful of God’s wrath. Four, Moses prays to God to have mercy on the people. You see this pattern over and over and over. Oh, and the last “over” from that last sentence means 2020. Folks, the pattern has never been broken, it still wears on today.
Let’s see the “people pattern” in Numbers 11 (numbers inserted by me)
“Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, (1) and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. (2) Then the people cried out to Moses, (3) and he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down (4).” Num 11:1-2 NIV
You can easily see the four points emerge in these two short verses. You see, at this point the people had been gifted manna by God. As they fled slavery in Egypt and entered the desert, they had no food, so they cried out to God and He gifted them daily food. Manna would fall in the dew of the morning and they would simply go out and gather their “daily bread.” Manna was like unleavened bread dough and it could be ground, beat, mixed or boiled and it tasted like cakes made with oil (Num 11:7-9) I strongly believe that manna was very tasty. And apparently the people got pretty good at cooking with it. They probably had a 101 Great Manna Recipes cookbook they ordered off Amazon. I wonder if they got Prime shipping in the desert?
Well, guess what? If I give you nothing but lobster to eat for a month, it’ll start tasting like soap. The people got bored with manna and they wanted meat. Getting bored with something is not the problem, it’s what resulted from the boredom that greatly angered God. They complained. They criticized. They grumbled. They murmured. They whined. And folks, these are the most contagious words in the world. When you have complaining in your heart, you just can’t keep it to yourself. It spreads like wildfire among hearts that are similar. You see, complaining lips means a complaining heart and a complaining heart is unhappy with God.
Where did it start? Chapter 11 tells us exactly who started this grumbling.
“Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good foods of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed.” Num 11:4 NLT
Depending on your translation it will say either “rabble”, “mixed-multitude”, “riffraff”, or “foreigners.” You see, when the Israelites fled Egypt in a mad rush, not only Jews fled. Some people just jumped on the bandwagon trying to save their own skin from the massive plagues and destruction God was releasing upon Egypt. As a result, there was an entire group of people within the Israelite camp that had either an Egyptian mother or father or a Jewish mother or father. They were truly a “mixed-multitude.”
Now this is an invaluable picture for us today. You see the complaining started with the “foreigners”, the “mixed-multitude”, the “rabble”, and then spread quickly to the Israelites. Now I’m not placing blame here, but folks, let shoot straight, cancer has to start somewhere before it can spread.
Let’s bring this home to today. In Christianity today there is an entire nation of “rabble.” A massive group of “mixed-multitude” among believers. A sea of “foreigners” within the faith. You see, they are like double agents, living two different lives. They are at once in church, listening and acting like a follower of Christ, but then as soon as the preacher drops the last Amen, they are out the door, into the world acting like the devil. Drinking, cursing, living with their girlfriend or boyfriend, treating others as they would never want to be treated. Living in the world and with the world, denying God by their prideful self-serving actions. You see, you can’t have it both ways. God says:
“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.” James 4:4 NLT
The real question is where is your heart and who is it following? The People Pattern emerges from ungrateful hearts that cannot be satisfied by the things of the world. Insatiable hearts on a search. Searching for satisfaction. There is a hole in our heart shaped like God and only God can fill that void. Not sex, not money, not power, not drugs, not fame, not alcohol, not material objects. As the heart searches the world for satisfaction, it is really searching for God. Until you truly find Jesus Christ, you will not find the satisfaction you are searching for. And until you find that satisfaction, you will complain about the things of the world.
Where is your heart today and where is it getting its satisfaction? I pray that Jesus is on the throne of your heart and it is He that satisfies your soul.
“For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.” Psalm 107:9
If you are reading this, your walk today is being prayed for.
Comments