February 17, 2017 Bible Study –Focusing On What Has Gone Wrong

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 11-13.

    This passage is about how we as people tend to complain about our hardships rather than give praise for our blessings. The people of Israel complained because they did not have meat to eat, only the manna which God provided them. Moses complained to God about having to listen to, and being responsible for, all of the Israelites complaints. Miriam and Aaron complained because Moses had married a woman who was not an Israelite and was held in higher esteem than they themselves. The scouts, except for Joshua and Caleb, complained that the people living in the land God had promised to the Israelites were too powerful for them. In each case, those involved complained about what they did not like rather than seeking a solution to the lack. The Israelites did not ask God (or Moses) for meat to eat, they complained because they did not have meat to eat. Moses did not ask God for help bearing the burden of managing the people of Israel’s many problems, he complained that the job was too hard. The scouts did not ask God how they could overcome the obstacles they saw, they complained that the obstacles were too great. In each case, they complained because they did not have sufficient faith to believe that God could give them what they needed/wanted.