And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Exodus 16:2
Most of the time people complain because their memories of past blessings are too short. But today’s text is about a huge multitude who complained because their memories were too long. As they marched through the Sinai wilderness, the Israelites ignored their recent miraculous blessings from the hand of their God. The great deliverance from the Egyptians at the Red Sea, the sweetening of bitter waters at Marah, and the precious respite of Elim’s wells and palms they overlooked. And they remembered the fleshpots and bread of Egypt. Like too many of us, they murmured because they misplaced their memories.
Seemingly forgotten by the Israelites was that the fleshpots and bread of Egypt were accompanied by slavery, mistreatment, and hard labour. Do we remember the hard way of the transgressor that we grovelled in before we were saved? Or do the pleasures of sin glint through those sad memories to entice us once again?
To murmur against Moses and Aaron, the Israelites were forgetting that these godly men were doing what God required them to do, so the complaints were actually against God. God has His faithful agents today, faithfully preaching the clear Gospel message, faithfully teaching the Lord’s people about our responsibilities to obey God’s Word, and faithfully condemning disobedience to the Word. Do we forget that we are the ones who are in the wrong, not those who are striving to lead us aright?
Before we grumble and complain about our spiritual leaders, we need to remember where we would be if they were not faithful to our Lord. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/iEm7VAiqJbc