The Life of Moses11-Complainers Never Win

Complainers Never Win

Summary: The problem with grumbling is that it’s contagious. Like a virus it was spreading through their camp… it spreads through families, it spreads through churches … it is highly contagious. Look at v. 2.“then the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:” This sermon shows us five things about complainers.

Date:2 August, 2015

Scripture Reference: Exodus 16:1-36

Series: The Life of Moses

Scripture Reading

Let us Rise to our feet and together read Exodus 16:1-36

16 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

4 Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:

7 And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

8 And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.

9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord: for he hath heard your murmurings.

10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.

13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.

16 This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.

18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.

19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

23 And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.

25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field.

26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.

27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.

28 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

29 See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

32 And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.

33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.

34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

35 And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.

36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

This is the word of God. Thanks be to the LORD. May the sweet Holy Spirit add His manifold blessings to our text this morning... in our hearing. Amen! You may be seated in God's Presence.

Introduction

Take a look at this picture. Have you seen it before? (Picture is of a man eating a bowl of soup and a piece of bread and bowing in thanks) You will find this picture hanging in many homes as a reminder that we should always be thankful for our daily bread. The story that behind this painting goes like this. In a town in northern Minnesota in USA, an older man who was homeless, knocked on the door of the home of an artist. The artist was talented but he was struggling to sell his painting and make a living. The homeless man had come to beg for a bite to eat.

All the artist had was a simple meal to offer of soup and bread but he invited the man into his home to share what he had. As the artist was getting something from his refrigerator he turned back and saw the old man bow his head in prayer. And this created an image in his mind, an image of thankfulness and gratitude and contentment. And that is when he painted this picture. Can you imagine for a moment being homeless, having no money in your pocket, no way to provide your most basic need—food?

That describes the situation of the Israelites as they were traveling through the desert to get to their new home in Canaan. They were rapidly running out of water and they had no food. Now it is believed that the size of this group of Israelites numbered about 2 million people. 

A month has passed between the time Israel departed from Egypt to the time the nation reached the Wilderness of Sin. Water had already been a problem (15:22-26) and now they had run out of food. They were frightened to the extent that they began to think about the “good old days” back in Egypt, when they use to sing and eat. But if we are honest the good old days were not as good as we make them out to be. The Israelites said in the good old days when we were in Egypt we sat by our pots of food and we ate all we wanted---anything we wanted. The truth is they were living as slaves doing back breaking labor every day and likely they had very little to eat. But you see there was a problem with how they perceived their past. They were no longer being realistic. 

They became discouraged before they had hardly gotten started. They had been on the road only a few days and because they had missed a meal or two they were ready to go back to the slave camps of Egypt. The growling stomachs soon produced grumbling lips. 

No store to go to…no Easyday, no Metro to go to…no time to stop and plant a garden and besides that they were in the middle of the desert. The Israelites believed that God was leading them to a new land but they didn't believe 100% of the time. When things were good they would stop and praise the Lord and worship Him. And at that time they were happy with the leadership Moses was providing. But as soon as things turned bad they did exactly what you and I do… they began to complain. The Bible says they began to grumble. It is a truth that I realized years ago and you know it to be true as well.

Today I want you to see five things that this passage shows us about complainers. 

Sermon

1. Complainers Always Find Something To Complain About!

Here they were in this journey—they had come into the wilderness—they had been traveling for about 5 days—just freed from slavery under Pharaoh… v. 2 then puts it this way. Then the whole congregation of Israel complained again Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Look at v. 3. "And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

At this point we realize that the Israelites had learned a sum total of nothing from their past experience. And unfortunately we are the same way. Trials come along and we fall apart, we lose trust in our leadership and we lose trust in God. And all we know to do at that particular time is to complain. So why do we do that? 

16:1-4 reveals, “And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. (2) 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.” 

Amazingly enough the children of Israel have seemed to learn nothing from their past experience of God’s faithfulness and care and again give into self-pity, grumbling and complain-ing. Yet we have to admit that all to often when faced with difficulties and problems we cannot personally solve we give in to despair and complaint.

Write it down. Testing is a part of life. When one test ends, another starts. This is one school from which you will never graduate. This is what I mean. V. 4 says then the Lord said to Moses “Behold I will rain (down) bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day that I may test them as to whether they will walk in my law or not.” I find that very interesting. God says “I will meet your need for hunger but the meeting of that need will bring another test.”

When Israel was tempted with leanness for a season,
they failed the test. We, too, will be tested in this area in one way or another. Economically, we will be tried. God looks for faithfulness even in the lean times. He wants to know if we will serve Him even when our stomach is not fully satisfied.

The truth is that some of us make grumbling an art form. We grumble habitually, only taking off for Sunday’s, some-times that is. We grumble if we are caught in slow moving traffic, if our meal at the restaurant is not delivered in a timely manner, lots of things make us grumble and grouse.

Question. Have you ever been hungry before? You say well I’m kind of hungry right now… Tea and Mixture would be great. I mean really hungry. When someone gets hungry and has not been able to eat for several days they can often become very grumpy. Some of us get that way if we don’t get to eat lunch on time. So can you imagine what this must have been like to be leading a group of about 2 million grumpy people. That was the job Moses was facing. 

I want you to notice with me some of the characteristics of complaining or grumbling. 

1.Grumbling is gratitude problem. 
Grumbling comes as a response to pain or problems in life. We grumble because we think that we should experience pleasure rather than pain and prosperity rather than adversity. In other words we just are not very grateful… we’re not content with our lives. We grumble when pain or problems enter our lives. And we do it because we don’t think we deserve for these things to happen to us. We think that instead of pain we should always have pleasure; we think that instead of adversity we should always have prosperity. 

Many of us are like the person who said,

“My car broke down and it cost me ₹40000 to get it fixed…. ₹40000 that I did not have. Why me Lord? After all, I've been better than most. Why are you treating me this way? Why are you punishing me this way? Then the TV went on the blink, and so did the dishwasher, and the clothes dryer and the lawn mower, and even the iron! Why me, Lord? Besides that, why, at my age, should I still be having financial problems? Why am I not “set” financially like some others I know? Why have you denied me opportunities for fame and fortune that you have given to others? Why me, Lord?

When I find myself starting to think like this, it sometimes helps for me to ask the same questions about the other aspects of my life. Lord, what have I done that is so grand that you should have blessed me with a car, a TV set, a clothes- dryer, a lawn mower, and an iron? Why did you give me all these things anyway? Why me, Lord?

Lord, why did you permit me to be born in America with all its plenty? I could have been born in poverty-stricken Bangladesh instead of rich America. Why me, Lord? Lord, why did you give me the opportunity to have a job when so many, who are as deserving as I, are without work? Why me, Lord?

Lord, why did you give me good health? Others have died at my age of heart attacks or are crippled by accidents or disease. Why should I escape ill health when other religious people do not? Why me, Lord? Lord, why have you spared me from the sorrows that strike so many other families? Others, wonderful people, have lost close relatives, but I haven’t. Why me, Lord? 

When I think of all the ways the Lord has blessed me, though I don’t deserve it. I wonder how I could possibly complain about the relatively insignificant things that go wrong in my life from time to time. If I could only learn to count my blessings.” 

[Ted Kyle and John Todd. A Treasury of Bible Illustrations. “Why Me Lord?” # 260 (Nashville: AMG Publishers, 1995) pp/ 96-97.]

The truth is we need to take a moment and review the past and remember all of the things God has done. Stop and count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done. Hmm. That could be a song. 

Whenever we are tempted to murmur and complain we need to review the past and remember how the LORD has blessed us!

2. Grumbling is a perception problem. 
The problem is that when we grumble our perception is faulty. Grumbling invariably causes us to distort the facts. 

(a) There is exaggerated memory of the past. The children of Israel exaggerated in their minds the benefits of Egypt. They said they “sat” by their flesh pots and ate “all they wanted” of a great variety of foods and meats. As slaves this could hardly be true. They conveniently forgot about the lash of the taskmaster and the anguish of their hearts to be free as they did the backbreaking work of the Pharaoh. 

(b) Their perception of the imminent danger of starvation was also greatly exaggerated. 

3. Grumbling is a contagious problem. 
According to verse 2, “Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained…” What had begun with only a few now had contaminated the whole congregation. 

1. Complainers Always Find Something To Complain About!

2. Complainers Have Already Failed The Test!

God responds gently and graciously to the grumblings of the Israelites. Verse four says, “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.”

“What an interesting announcement. ‘I will meet your need for hunger, but the meeting of that need will bring another test.’ Have you found that to be true? I have. We find ourselves in the midst of some predicament that we cannot escape. So God says. ‘I’ll provide the way out: I’ll show you the way.’ We accept his answer, His new direction, which introduces us to a whole new set of tests and trials of a different kind. So while we are relieved of one wilderness problem, we gain a new one.” 

[Charles Swindoll. Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication. (Nashville: Word Pub., 1999) p. 238]

God said, “I am giving you a certain portion every day and no more.” Sometimes, for perhaps a lengthy period of time, God parcels out only what we need and no more. We have our necessary needs met; but, if I could say it like this, we do not have enough for the lusts. We may not have enough for our desires, but only our needs. I am making reference not only to food here, but also to other areas of life.

Let me ask you… have you found that to be true in life? I have. We find ourselves in the middle of some predicament that we simply cannot escape. We can’t find a way out. So God says I’ll provide the way out. I’ll show you the way out. So we accept this new direction God is giving us in life and then what happens? We get a whole new set of tests and trials. We are relieved of one problem only to gain another one.

Often these problems arise on the mission field. People may say, “I want this, this, and this. I want this type of house. I want a new car. I do not want my children growing up in this area,” and so forth. It breaks my heart, because they are living in Exodus 16:4, where God has limited their resources. They have enough, but they desire additional comforts, even comforts that others may not have. God has given them what is necessary, but they are not content.

Our desires and preferences, therefore, must be crucified in order that we may thank God for whatever He chooses to provide. There is a beautiful Scripture which expresses well the excellent attitude of the Apostle Paul. Paul said, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:11-13).

Nothing breaks your heart more than listening to a minister complaining about what he has or does not have. That attitude flows into his message, and the waters that flow from his mouth are both bitter and sweet.

Sometimes God pours upon us in abundance, and we have to learn to live with abundance without lavishing it upon ourselves. Or, as with the prophet Ezekiel, to eat and drink in limited amounts (Ezek. 4:9-11). Paul uses the phrase, “I have learned.” This is not something that comes naturally.

It is most necessary to learn to live with what God gives us. If we want to make it through the wilderness to the Promised Land, and then on to Zion, we must learn to be content with what God gives us (Num. 14:22-23).

According to verse four the daily gift was intended as a test. “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.” 

Gathering of manna was a test of their obedience. 

V. 4 tells us that this daily gift of Manna was intended as a test. 

1. Complainers Always Find Something To Complain About!

2. Complainers Have Already Failed The Test!

3. Complainers Are Always Looking For Someone To Blame!

They accused Moses of leading them into the wilderness to kill them. They thought that they were only venting their frustrations on a man like themselves, but in reality they were grumbling against God. 

In verses six to eight Moses tells the children of Israel, “… At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. (7) And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?” (8) Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your com-plaints are not against us but against the LORD.” Moses declares to them “the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him.” (v. 8). As Moses clearly pointed out to them grumbling was not a protest of his leadership, but of God’s. 

1. Complainers Always Find Something To Complain About!

2. Complainers Have Already Failed The Test!

3. Complainers Are Always Looking For Someone To Blame!

4. Complainers Are Never Satisfied With What They Are Given

Beginning from verse 13 to 15 we find out how God provided for Israel’s needs. “So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. (14) And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. (15) So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. 

Complainers are never happy with what they get and no matter how much they get, it is never enough. Never. Because the issue is the heart and the heart has to change. I asked our Bible study group Wednesday night to try something. For 24 hours do not speak a negative word. Can you do it? If you ask a recovering alcoholic and they said I can’t do it or someone trying to stop smoking… and they couldn't… here’s the deal. They are still addicted. Is it possible we can be addicted to complaining? Is it possible that we actually enjoy it? As blessed as we are.

Psalm 78 call’s manna “angel food.” The angels would bring it to the people each morning. They didn't have to work for it, they didn't have to grow it, they didn't have to prepare it… all they had to do was eat it but the still didn't like it. 

The manna was described as having appeared in flakes or small round grains. It is described in Exodus 16:31 as being “like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Numbers 11:5-6, records the feelings of the children of Israel towards this manna, “We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; (6) but now our whole being is dried up (that is that they have lost their appetites) ; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” You can almost hear the “yech” in their voices! Even when the people of God are being fed in abundance they grumble. Why? Because the food God provides is not what they would have preferred. We want steak and God provides bologna. 

1. Complainers Always Find Something To Complain About!

2. Complainers Have Already Failed The Test!

3. Complainers Are Always Looking For Someone To Blame!

4. Complainers Are Never Satisfied With What They Are Given

5. Complainers Are Never Satisfied With How Much They Are Given

In verses sixteen to twenty the children of Israel are given specific instructions about how to gather the manna. “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’” (17) Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less... (19) And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” (20) Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.”

Having run out of food in the wilderness, so that the Israelites feared that they would starve to death, one can only imagine the zeal with which they harvested the first provision of manna. There was enough manna, it would seem, for every Israelite to have filled his tent. But the efforts to hoard the manna were direct disobedience to the God’s instructions. It would seem that Israel was guilty of two sins; greed and grumbling. 

God had made it very clear that the manna was to be picked up every day, and not stored up. Then, on the sixth day, there was to be a double portion taken so that on the Sabbath (the seventh day), they were able to rest. Some disobeyed, gathering and storing the manna anyway, as we read in Exodus 16:20, “Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.”

Therefore in Exodus 16:28, “And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?” The Israelites were very disobedient.

“Now a Conservative estimate of the total number of Israelites who came out of Egypt would be two million for they had six hundred thousand men able to go forth to war (Numbers 1:45-46). An “omer” was to be gathered for every one of these two million souls and an “omer” is the equivalent of six pints. There would be twelve million pints, or nine thousand pounds gathered daily, which was four thousand five hundred tons. Hence, ten trains, each having thirty cars and each car having fifteen tons would be needed for a single day’s supply. Over a million tons of manna were gathered annually by Israel.”

[Arthur Pink. Gleanings in Exodus. (Chicago: Moody, 1981.) pp. 124-125.]

Was God not generous to them. According to verse 35 he did for forty years, “And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.” 

Invitation And The Final Challenge

While it is not my intention to examine the whole story of the manna with all it its many spiritual implications, but I do what us to notice a few simple applications. 

1. It teaches us to look to the Lord for our supply. The Israelite are told that this supply will come “from heaven for you.”

2. It teaches us to look to the LORD daily for our needs. The manna was to be gathered daily. Fresh food must be gathered every day. You cannot live on yesterday’s blessings. We must have something fresh every day. We cannot live today on the gathered provisions of yesterday. Dependence is a daily matter. Everyday fresh problems will arise to test whether or not we will depend on God.

3. It teaches us that to feed on Christ is the only secret of strength and blessedness. The Lord himself founded a sermon on this story (John 6:22-58). In this great story Jesus not only fed the 5,000 to provide for the physical needs, he used it as a picture to present to them their spiritual needs. He uses a play-on-words to draw them back to the story of the Israelites in the wilderness. Here God provided “bread from heaven.” Here he describes himself as the “bread of heaven” not just to meet their physical needs but to give them eternal life.

"Pastor Jack Hinton from NC in USA,was leading music for a worship service held in a leper colony on the island of Tobago. There was time for one more selection. He asked for a request, and a woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around." "'I saw the most hideous face I had ever seen,' Jack says. The woman's nose and ears were entirely gone. Most of her lips had rotted away." "'She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, 'Can we sing Count Your Many Blessings?'"
"Overcome with emotion, Jack left the service. He was followed by a team member who said, 'Jack, I guess you'll never be able to sing that song again.” “Yes, I will,' Jack replied, 'but I'll never sing it the same way again.”

When we begin to think this way it is a good thing if we would just stop and ask ourselves Lord what have I done that is worthy of even having a washing machine, a car, a water softener and a home? Why did you bless me with these things? Why do I have things and many others have nothing. Lord why have you spared me from so many tragedies when others are never spared? Why me Lord? We grumble because we are not content.