Pastor Sexton got up on several occasions when I was at Crown College in Powell Tennessee and said, "We have three rules here, Number 1, Don't Complain. Numbers 2, Don't Complain, and the third rule? You guessed it, Don't Complain!" I didn't understand his emphasis then, being on this side of the ministry I totally understand. Those are good rules to live by for those in the ministry and those under them!
Recently my Bible reading has been taking me through Numbers. You know God spends a lot of time talking about the Israelites complaining problem. He puts an emphasis on what they complained about. Not just the lack of food, or the lack of what they desired but more importantly against God's Man and ultimately against God Himself!
Each time you see the Israelites complaining there are consequences. If I had been the Preacher's Wife to those people I might have been tempted to hit my head against a rock, seeing as their walls were made of tent material! You think the people would have learned . . . but no, time after time they complain, complain, and then complain! Usually it is directed at Moses, the man of God, the preacher, the God-given authority in their life! I found myself actually getting mad at them. These people long and dead still seem to live on in the church members I meet and know and even in ME! I think God majors on their complaining and I think Pastor Sexton knew a thing or two about being in the ministry. Complaining is so prevalent yet so destructive! Complaining does several things . . . it robs you of your power and boldness, it makes you unhappy, and it only brings God's judgement! Complaining also seems to bring more complaining and the more you complain the more you feel you need to complain.
Here we find the Israelites journeying through the land in Numbers 21. They are faced with an enemy and experience victory as they defeat the Canaanites! Then it's back to the way and it is long and it's duty, and they become weary in the way and become much discouraged because of the way. They turn to complaining and speak out against God and His man! Then they start despising the very thing that is keeping them alive, the manna! God obviously doesn't approve because in Numbers 21:7 He sends fiery serpents! Presented with these fiery serpents, something beyond their control they recognize their sin and their need of a Savior! God doesn't leave them destitute in his lovingkindness; He sends deliverance.
This so parallels my life and those of others I have seen! We go from a spiritual high . . . aka, camp, or revival meeting, or some incident that brings us to God in a closer and more real way. We get a spiritual victory over something! Then the mundane, the every day life of going to work, washing dishes, cleaning the house, taking care of the kids sets in! That emotional feeling is gone and the way before us seems long and weary. If we are not careful like the Israelites we can become discouraged because of the way!
The Bible in Joshua commands us to not be discouraged, so . . . . knowing this, being discouraged must be a sin and sin not dealt with always leads to more sin and in the Israelites case they started despising the very thing that was giving them life: the manna! We go from this spiritual high to discouragement and that leads us despising the very thing that brought this spiritual victory in the first place, our personal Bible devotions and the preaching of God's word from God's man!
At this point we become practical atheists, knowing God is real but acting like He can't hear or see us! We start to complain about God and most of the time this leads to complaining about the preacher and instead of having him over for dinner we have him FOR dinner! Don't be fooled dear Christian, God still sees and He hears and He deals with us! In Numbers 21:17 God sends fiery serpents . . . God may not send fiery serpents but He does deal with our sin of complaining!
The people did a wonderful thing in Numbers 21:7 they confess! They confess their wrong towards God and towards His man! They get their heart right with God and with others that they have wronged! Isaiah sets the standard for getting God's presence in your life! Isaiah 40:3-5 lays out some very practical principles for us! He talks about making a highway for God to have His presence! You must make the valleys high, the mountains low, the crooked places straight and the rough places smooth. Then Isaiah 40:5 says, "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Those valleys are low spots in our life, sinful areas, they have to be filled in with good things, not just removed. The high places are places of pride that must be lowered. The crooked places are relationships that must be made right and the rough places are character flaws that need to be smoothed out. They aren't necessarily sins! Get these things right, confess them and ask God to help you and you will experience God's presence in your life! This is more than salvation. It does not save you. It is living the abundant Christian life!
So the Israelites confessed and God forgave them. Something really neat happens in Numbers 21:17. They start desiring water. We know that water is a picture of the Holy Spirit! For the sake of application: As they got it right with God and experience His presence in their life He became what they desired. They had joy as evident by their singing! Then water is granted to them! The order here is beautiful! Getting right with God leads to the bestowment of the Holy Spirit in your life! Dear Christian, if you have been complaining against God or His man get it right! Confess and ask for God's forgiveness. One day spent in the sweet presence of God and nothing else will do it for you! Truly His presence is sweet! All that complaining and how dirty you feel inside can't compare with how great you feel living in the presence of God!
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