In this paper, I will be answering the question “Why did the Israelites complain so much?” I have selected the occurrence found in Exodus 16:1-3 where the Israelites have found fault with Moses in the wilderness. This paper will contain my research from the Bible Scriptures and Bible commentaries. I will also include my observations and supporting evicence from the text. And finally, I will answer the question “why did the Israelites complained so much? “
Their priority was food
The Lord God told Moses to rescue the Israelites from Egypt because they were in bondage to slavery under Pharaoh. But instead of being grateful that Moses rescued them from a life of slavery, they started complaining. These Israelites were really focused on food. Food was more important to them than obeying God. They just rather die with their bellies full. The fault that the Israelites found was in the leadership of Moses and Aaron. The Israelites are blaming Moses for leading them to the wilderness to die of hunger. They felt that they would be better off in Egypt to die in the hands of God because at least they have pots full of meat and bread to eat.
“Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”“(Biblegateway, Exo 16:2-3, NKJV).
The Israelites were complainers
The word “murmur” according to KJV Dictionary is defined as (1) To grumble; to complain; to utter complaints in a low,half articulated voice; to utter sullen discontent; with at, before the thing which is the cause of discontent; as, murmur not at sickness; or with at or against, before the active agent which produces the evil. and (2) complains, as one who constantly complains especially against God (Vine’s Dictionary)
The difference between them and us is that they were under law back then, but we are under grace today. They did not have Jesus Christ back then. We have Jesus Christ today. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Biblegateway, Romans 6:14, NKJV)
Consequences of Sin
God has already delivered us from our sin when He sent Jesus to conquer sin on our behalf. But if we choose to continue in sin, we shall reap the devastating consequences of sin, which is death, beginning with spiritual death. We should not lust after evil things. If we operate in the flesh, we will get tempted to sin. The flesh has nothing to do with God. It will crave the things that are contrary to what God wants in our lives.
“Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” (Biblegateway, 1 Cor 10:6-7, NKJV)
You have to choose one: serve the Lord or the devil (sin)
“For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.” Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons, You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” (Biblegateway, Phil 3:17-21, NKJV)
You cannot have one foot in the Lord and one foot in the world. You are going to have to choose. God or yourself (sin, devil, world). The Lord is either Lord of your whole life or He is not LORD at all in your life. He is not a part time God. It is all or nothing.
There are many people (even so called Christians) who live to satisfy the desires of their flesh. They live for food, for pleasure, and for power. When a person lives for these things, they are walking in the flesh, not in the Spirit. And the more they chase these fleshly desires, the more they will want to fulfill it. It is a vicious, endless cycle. Thus, they are called enemies of the cross because they are submitted to the flesh, to their sin. They are not submitted to God. So therefore, for the Israelites, their stomachs became their god.
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (Biblegateway, John 8:44, NKJV) Therefore, those who choose to live in sin and the flesh belong to the devil, not the Lord.
Those who live in sin live for the devil
Those who choose to practice lust and gratify the desires of the flesh are of the devil, not of God. This is so because the devil, from the beginning, stands for falsehood, not for truth. So a person dead in sin, following the sinful desires of the flesh is really following the footsteps of the devil. He is partnered with the devil and is the devil’s advocate. That person will always see negative, judge and condemn, criticize and grumble because of the insatiable appetite.
And so when a person hears the comment in general conversation “let me play the devil’s advocate” or “let me give you the benefit of the doubt”, these so call harmless comments are from the pits of hell. These people are speaking the will of the devil and are giving glory to the flesh. The flesh and the devil are partners. They become one. When a person operates in the flesh, he cannot please God because flesh equates to death and has nothing to do with God. Are you able to figure out yet why the Israelites complain so much?
Either you are rule by the Lord or by sin (the devil)
“For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.“ (Biblegateway, 1 John 2:16, NKJV) This is why God tells us to separate from the world. The world only cares about satisfying the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. This is because the flesh is their god. And God is saying have absolutely nothing to do with the world and the things of the flesh. Choose to walk in the Spirit instead.
“Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions.” (Biblegateway, Romans 6:12, NKJV). Either Jesus is Lord of your life or you are lord of your life. When you choose to play with sin, you have separated yourself from the Lord. An unwillingness to yield to the Lord Jesus means you are your own god. The danger in that is you have separated yourself from the Lord. You are now in the devil’s hands.
Evidence that you are living in the flesh or in the Spirit
How does a person know if he is walking in the flesh? According to Galatians 5:20-21, it shows the works of the flesh which is “ adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…” HIs fruit will bear witness. His attitude, his words, and his actions will bear witness if he is in the Spirit or the flesh. Liken unto the Israelites, their words and attitudes were not of the Spirit. They were of the flesh because they lusted after evil.
If you are walking in the Spirit, you would be exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control as per Gal 5:22-23. You would be able to control your desires and take authority over the flesh. You won’t fall victim to the world, sin nor the devil because “greater is He who is in you than he that is in the word.” (1 John 4:4)
To answer the question… finally
In conclusion, let us answer the question “why did the Israelites complain so much?” The reason was BECAUSE THEY CHOSE TO WALK IN THE FLESH AND NOT IN THE SPIRIT. They yielded to their own fleshly desires instead of yielding to God. The israelites wanted their food more than they wanted the Lord. They were NOT the sharpest knives in the drawer.
The solution
The way to have dominion over the sin is this: ” I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Gal 5:16 nkjv) What does this mean? Pray, read God’s word, stay tune into the voice of the Lord, avoid evil like the plague, do what the Word tells you to do. Deny yourself and follow the Lord now and forevermore.
Work Cited
Bible Gateway. Biblegateway.com. Web 19 Jan 2014
Duvall, J. Scott and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word, third edition. 2005. Print
Staggs, Brandon, ed. King James Bible Page. 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2014
Vine, W.E, Vines Expository Dictionary of New Old Testament Words and New Testament.Words. United kingdom by Marshall, Morgan and Scot, Publication, ltd. Grand rapids,1981. Print
