Niv Lesson 08-02-2009 (grumbling And Complaining)

Call Sealed with Promise

Unit 3: Called to Obey

(Lessons 9-13)

GRUMBLING

AND COMPIAINING

INTRODUCTION

A.

COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT

Does your church have a complaint depanment? Unfommately, most churches do have such a depanment, which is staffed by one person: the preacher. The preacher hears it alL The music is too loud. The church is cold (or hot). The sermon was too long. There is a misspelled word in the bulletin. There's no toilet paper in the men's restroom. Someone left a light on down­ stairs. The new carpet is a dreadful color. And on and on and on. People sure seem to find plenty to complain about! Traffic, cO\vorkers, weather-you name it, and there is someone ready to grumble. This com­ plaining occurs in the most technologically advanced, prosperous, and safest society that has ever existed in the history of the world! Complaining has a long and extensive history. The Bible itself is full of complainers and gripers. One of the more startling examples, though, is found in the history of Israel during God's transplanting of the nation from Egyptian bondage to the promised land. The Israelites were promised a place that flowed with milk and honey. But when we read the book of Numbers, we are tempted to conclude that the Israelites spent most of the time griping and grumbling on the way there. This lesson \villlook at one such incident. By examining it, we will better understand God's perspective on our complaining.

· DEVOTIONAL READING: PSALM

142

BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE:

NI.JMBERS11 PRINTED TEXT:

NUMBERS 11:1-6, 10-15 LESSON AIMS

After participating in this lesson, each student ""ill be able to: 1. Tell why the Israelites I complained and why Moses · cmnplained to the Lord about them. 2. Give a modem example of people who complain as , they are greatly blessed. 3. Make a list of recent complaints and commit to seeing God's · blessing in each situa­ · tion that has produced B. LESSON BACKGROUND The book of Numbers takes up the story of Israel a little more than a year a cornplaint. after the depanure from Egypt (Numbers 1: 1), or about 1445 Be. The nation was still encamped in the "Desert of Sinai," meaning the area around Mount KEY VERSES Sinai where t-.10ses received the tablets of stone from the Lord (Exodus 24:12: The rabble with them 31: 18). began to crave otherfood, The book of Numbers derives its name from the lengthy census data that · and again the Israelites occupies the first few chapters. Yet there is much more to the book than lists · started wailing and said, "if of numbers and names. It has a great deal of narrative, telling the story of the only we had meat to eat! We various adventures of Israel while in the wilderness period. Moses was clearly · remember the fish we ate in the leader of the nation, although his leadership was challenged from time to Egypt at no cost--also the time (as in today's lesson). cucumbers, melons, leeks, Within a few weeks of the beginning of the book of Numbers, the Israel­ onions and garlic. But now ites left the area around Sinai and relocated to the "Desen of Paran" (Num­ we have lost our appetite; we bers 10: 11, 12). Eventually, they seemed to settle in the "Desen of Zin" at never see anything but this a place named Kadesh (Numbers 20:1, compare Deuteronomy 1:46). This manna!" -Numbers 11:4-6

9 NOTES

exact location is unknmvn today, but it \vould have been somewhere in the southern e.cxtremity of modem Israel, perhaps in the vicinity of the town of Beersheba. Israel at this time was a very large group of people, 'With traditional mates placing their number at more than two million. To camp in such an isolated place created enormous logistical problems in meeting daily needs for food and water. The food needs were met through a miraculous provision of God called Inanna. This was a bread-like substance that appeared in the camp in sufficient quantities to feed everyone. Manna was white and had a honey-like flavor (Exodus 16:31). It was pro­ , cessed in various ways and seemed to have had oil within it (see Number 11 :8). This was Israel's primary diet for the 40 years in the 'Wilderness before entry into the promised land (Exodus 16:35). God also made miraculous provision at various times for the people to have water while in the wilder­ ness (example: Exodus 17:1-7). \Ve can imagine that this was a terribly frustrating period for many Isra­ · elites. 1h1e, they had been rescued from being a nation of slaves and had \viffiessed mighty acts of God in their deliverance. But few people play the DAILY BIBLE READINGS waiting game very well. The Israelites found themselves parked in the middle Monday, july 27-Give Heed to My Cry (Psalm 142) of nowhere Oiterally) without a clear understanding of their future. Their Tuesday, july 28-A Test · focus qUickly shifted away from God and his mighty works to their own plight. This is the backdrop for today's lesson, where the focus of grumbling of Obedience (Exodus 16: was the marvelous manna itself. · 1-12) LESSON

Wednesday, july 29­ 1. COMPLAINERS (NUMBERS 11:1-3) Living Bread (John 6:41-51) A. FIRE OF THE LORD BURi\lS (v. 1) Thursday, july 30-Com­ 1. Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the

plaining and Turning Bach LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the

(John 6:60-68) LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outshirts of the camp.

Friday, july 31-An The e.cxact nature of this particular complaint is not stated. But it probably Example to Instruct Us is directly critical of God, for it causes his anger to be aroused. God's anger is · (1 Corinthians 10: 1-11) Saturday, Aug. 1-Faith, manifested as a supernatural fire on the fringes of the camp; the fire is of such a nature as to kill some of the Israelites. It is among these "fringe dwellers" Love, and Mercy (Jude · that the criticism is probably the deepest, so that is where God directs his 14-23) · anger. The primary purpose of God's actions, however, is not to dispense jus­ Sunday, Aug. 2-Com­ • tice. Rather, the main intent is to get the attention of the people concerning a plaining About Hardships serious problem that needs to be corrected. (Numbers 11:1-6, 10-15) SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

My brother-in-law was a minister in rural and small-tO\vn churches in IO\va and Illinois. ~embers of these congregations often included fanners. As a result, my brother-in-law became acquainted \-vith various fanning attitudes. One man in par­ ticular often was given to complaining. If the rains did not come, he complained about the drought. \Vhen the rains did come, he complained about the humidi­ ty. If the corn crop was good, the fanner complained about the beans. If the beans were good. he complained about the wheat. One year. however, everything was about perfect. All his crops yielded bum­ per harvests, and the prices for his Ihrestock held up. Talking \vith this fanner near the end of the grmving season, my brother-in-law remarked that things apparent­ ly had gone well. But the fanner complained, '~'\ year like this sure takes a lot out of the soil."

Unfortunately, this fanner is not the only one with this kind of mind-set! I serve as an evaluator for an association that accredits universities and colleges. In the visits I have made to different schools, students always complain about the cafe­ teria. They complain about the quality of the food. (1 have eaten in most of these cafeterias, and my experience does not match their complaints.) They complain about the lack ofvariety They complain about the seats or the shape of the tables (round, rectangular, oval, or whatever). Some things never change; the ancient Isra­ elites would find many kindred spirits in our world today! -J B. N.

B. PRA'r'ER OF MOSES SAV'ES (Yv. 2, 3) 2. "When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. The spirit of complaining is transformed into a desperate cry for help. The people do not cry to God, however, but to Moses. Moses has to intercede for them "'lith God. His prayer is effective, and the fire threat passes. 3. So that place was called Taberah, becausefire from the LORD had burned among them. As happens at other times, this place is given a symbolic name: Taberah, which means "burning place." This and other places are remembered as the sites of Israel's disobedience and rebellion, where the nation provoked the "Hath of the Lord (see Deuteronomy 9:22). Many centuries later, the aposde Paul will use some of these incidents as warnings to the Corinthians to stop their grumbling (see 1 Corinthians 10:10,11). II.

GRUMBLERS (NUMBERS

11 :4-6)

A. MEAT EATERS (v. 4) 4. The rabble with them began to crave otherfood, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! As dramatic and traumatic as the Taberah incident must be, it is quickly followed by another complaint. It is easy for us to condemn Israel for folly in this matter. Yet we should not think ourselves above falling into similar pat­ terns of ingratitude. The new round of grumbling is the result of a craving for favorite foods. In particular, the Israelites want a diet that includes meat. They are apparently unwilling to eat any of the livestock that remains from when they left Egypt (Exodus 17:3). Thus their only source of nourishment is the daily provision of manna. These longings for a steak or lamb chop are so strong that the people actually weep. Their behavior has passed the boundaries of rationality and moved to childishness.

B.

(v. 5) 5. "We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost-also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. The list of cherished foods includes many items that apparently had been common to them, even as slaves, in Egypt. Assuming that they are not viewing the past through rose-colored glasses in this regard, they remember having had plenty offish, for the Nile produced fish in abun­ dance. They also had grown juicy vegetables and fruits in their gardens. Some of the produce of Egypt could be cooked into stews to provide sa­ vory flavors. ECYPT1kV-CUISINE LOV'ERS

Do You THINK? Under what circustances, . if arry, is it proper to com­ plain to God? WHAT

WHAT Do You THINK?

What are your "top five" words to describe the atti­ tudes of the children of Israel as they listed all the foods they used to enjoy in Egypt? Hmv can we overcome our own tendencies to glory in memories of "the good old days "7.

How TO SAY IT Abraham. AY-bn!h-ham. Beersheba. Beer-SHE-buh. Egypt. EE-jipt. Israelites. IZ-ray-el-ites. Kadesh. KAY-desh. Moses. MO-zes or MO-zez. Paran. PAIR-un. Sinai. SIGH-nye or SIGH-nay-eye. Taberah. TAB-eh-ruh.

Do You THINK? How do we recognize people who (1) are genuinery grateful and thanliful, (2) put on afaLse front ofgratitude and thankfulness, and (3) are outright ungrateful? How can you mal?e sure you are in the first of these three categories? [Consider Mark 12:4144 and Luke 18:9-12 as you frame your answer.] WHAT

It is doubtful that the people of Israel loved these foods so dearly while in Egypt. They are like American travelers of today who may spend an extended time in an isolated country, and then long for a cheeseburger. It is not that the cheeseburger is such fine food; it is just familiar. The underlying problem here is a spiritual problem. The people of Is­ rael are deeply dissatisfied \vith the way God is treating them, and they use their lack of diet options to express discontent and, ultimately, lack of faith. THE GOOD OLD DAYS?

I am no\\' old enough that I can join the refrain about remembering "the good old days." I was a teenager through most of the 1950s, and I can remember the good times that that decade represented. The blue-collar community where I grew up was part of a major industrial area, and work in the factories was good. Our local schools were integrated, and there were no racial tensions. Iwas not aware of any illegal drugs. Churches thrived. I can identify with the positive, idealized pre­ sentation of 1950s life as depicted in the TV series Happy Days. But the 1950s also had its problems. My dad \vas a carpenter who worked out­ doors in house consmlCtion: when the weather got bad in the winter, he didn't work and thus wasn't paid. I remember suppers of thin potato soup because that was all we had. I remember wearing shoes \vith holes in the soles because we couldn't afford new ones. I remember girls who dropped out of high school because of pregnancy I remember gang fights. The decade of the 1950s was not ideal. The Israelites idealized their past life in Egypt. They remembered (or thought they remembered) many good things, but they forgot the slavery. They remem­ bered the vegetables, but they forgot the whips. Human tendency toward having a selective memory hasn't changed much over the centuries, has it? -J B. N.

C. MANNA HATERS (v. 6) 6. "But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" \Vhat if a restaurant today were able to offer authentic manna on its menu? The sky would be the limit as to what could be charged. \Vho would not want a bite of the miraculous, tasty bread from Heaven? Yet the people of Israel, who had this perfect food in inexhaustible quantities for free, become bored with it. At one time, lobster was considered to be the food of poor people. When . the first European immigrants arrived in New England, they found that lob. sters sometimes washed up on the beaches in such quantities that they were taken for granted. Lobsters were even cut up and used for fish bait. The lob­ ster, after all, was seen as a type of sea insect-to be shunned by polite soci­ ety. Today, however, lobster is among the most prized of foods. Its subtle and delicious flavor is appreciated by gourmets all over the world. Tastes in food may change, but there is no excuse for being ungrateful for God's provision. For people to become distressed to the point that they lose • their desire to eat because of a repetitive diet is not acceptable. I

i

III. MOSES GRUMBLES AND COMPLAINS (NUMBERS 11:10-15) A. GRIPING W4.VE REACHES MOSES (v. 10)

· 10. Moses heard the people of everyfamily wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled.

Despite the recent incident at Taberah, the people of Israel persist in their petty complaining. The complaint is universal, being expressed by every fam­ i!y. They are tired of manna! From our perspective, this all seems to be quite silly and childish. They are even shedding tears over this! Yet, again, we must remember that at its core this is not a problem 'with diet. It is a spiritual problem, a lack of faith in Moses' leadership and there­ fore in God. The Lord has a plan to create a people for himself. He will allow the Israelites to populate the land he had promised to Abraham, but the plan seems to be going a~ry because of the people's attitude and behavior. This causes God's wrath to be kindled anew. We don't know how Moses himself feels about eating manna every day, but he seems to have no complaints about it. His displeasure is the com­ plaint of leadership, of having to appease the grumblers. See the next verse.

Do You THINK? How can complaining by church members affect church leaders? "Vhat corrective ac­ tiOll is appropriate? [Make sure to include Hebrews 13:17 in your an­ . swer.} WHAT

B.

11-13) 11. He asked the LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble on your setvant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden ofall these people on me? COMPLAINING INCLUDES MOSES (vv.

The endless wave of complaining overwhelms Moses. Thus he joins the ranks of the complainers. Moses takes his complaint directly to God, asking why the Lord has saddled him with a nation of grumblers. Moses understands this to be a personal matter. He believes that Israel's dissatisfaction is a sign that he, Moses, has fallen out of favor vvith God. The experience is so negative that Moses sees leadership as a burden rather than a privilege and a responsibility. 12. "Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to cany them in my arms, as a nurse carnes an infant, to the land you prom­ ised on oath to their fonifathers? WHAT Do You THINK? Moses' litany of complaints grows deeper as he lays bare all of his frustra­ How should parents react tions before the Lord. In effect, he is saying, "This is not what I signed up when their children com­ for." That's the attitude behind the questions Did I conceive all these people? plain? Did I give them birth? All this is as if to ask, 'f\m I their father?" The answer to this question obviously is no, he is not their father. The only one who fits the role of father is God himself. Moses is tired of babysitting these whiners. So he too gives in to the spirit of complaining. 13. "Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!' Moses then confronts God on the practical level. He knows the people are clamoring for meat in their diet, but he has no solution. He cannot seem to quell their grumbling, and he has no resources to meet their requests. While we may criticize Moses' attitude at this point, we should appreci­ ate that his impulse to tum to God is a step in the right direction. In church leadership roles, it is tempting to tum first to our 0\\'Il skills; it is easy to think that we have all the answers, that we should be able to fix all conflicts in short order. Or we simply tum a deaf ear to complaints and hope they will go away. Moses does neither of those. Instead, he takes the concerns seriously, turning to God for help. As with Paul, Moses understands his per­ sonallimitations, knowing that solutions can come only from God (compare 2 Corinthians 12:10).

C. MOSES BREAKS DOWN (vv. 14, 15) 14, 15. "I cannot cany all these people by myself; the burden is too healYJor · me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now-if I i haveJound Javor in your eyes-and do not let meJace my own ruin." · Leadership can be thankless, isolating, and lonely. vVhen it gets to this point, any leader \\ill say the hurden is too hemyJor me. And that leader will be correct. No one is able to survive the pressures of leadership without help. In this case, the pressure has crushed '\-loses to the point that he longs for , death. Again, he reminds us of Paul, who admits that in his circumstances · he "despaired even oflife" (2 Corinthians 1:8); Paul ultimately learns to "not rely on ourselves but on God" (1:9). If we read beyond today's text, we learn that the Lord directs Moses to cre­ Visual for Lesson 9. Point ate a leadership council of 70 elders to help him deal with the people (Num­ to this visual as you ask, : bers 11:16). God's intention is that this group of men will "carry the burden "Under what circumstances of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone" (11: 17). It is never are you most likely to gnl.m­ God's intention to abandon those who are leading his people. bIe?" \Vhat about the grumblers? God takes care of them too. The rest of this

chapter reveals that God causes a miraculous deluge of quail to fall on the

camp so that the tasty birds are three feet deep (Numbers 11:31). Israel's

: enjoyment of the meat is short-lived, though. Very soon-while the meat is · "still between their teeth"-God brings a "severe plague" on the people and many die (11:33, 34). i

PRAYER

God, from whom all bless­ ings flow, we are too oJten guilty oJleUing life's disap­ pointments steal our joy. We become gmmblers, never satisfied. May we be content with your care. May you re­ move the spirit ojgrumbling from us. Keep us from JaIling into the sin oj the Israelites in the wilderness, who were not satisfied with your miracu­ lous man na. We pray this in the name oj the tme living breadJrom Heaven, jesLLs. Amen.

CONCLUSION A. Cm.1PLAINING Don't we have a right and an obligation to complain? We all know people • who have refined their complaining skills to a very high level. They seem to ; enjoy complaining simply for the sake of complaining. There are limits to this, though, as the people of Israel found out while in the wilderness. God does not reward ungrateful complaining. Yet we should never hesitate to express our discouragements and hurts to the Lord, for he truly cares (1 Peter 5: 7). It is difficult, however, to have much joy in our lives if we focus on · our complaints. There is no more effective joy stealer than griping and grum­ bling. On the other hand, if we pause to reflect, then we will better appreciate the many ways God has blessed us and is blessing us.

· B. COUNTING

BLESSINGS

The hymn writer johnson Oatman, jr. (1859-1922) advised Christians to "count your blessings, name them one by one." Oatman knew that we , would find blessings "wealth can never buy." Our materialistic world tends to , equate blessings with wealth and abundant possessions. Yet this is not what the Bible teaches. jesus teaches that material possessions are fleeting and perishable (Matthew 6: 19-2 D. jesus knows that we can become enslaved by possessions (6:24). The desire for money can become insatiable. If we go through the exercise of counting our blessings, we may list some very mundane things. We have clothes to wear. \Ve have homes to live in. We , have food to eat. But our most precious blessings are nonmateriaL In God's · economy, we are truly wealthy if we are rich in relationships. \Ve should never take for granted the blessing of family and friends. \Ve should never

minimize the power of loving others and being loved by them.

Even more important are the mighty spiritual blessings we have been given by the grace of God. He has bought our salvation through the blood of his Son,Jesus. God has given his Holy Spirit to comfort us in times of distress. He has given us his Word to guide us and help us understand his \'vill for us. He loves us deeply. These are blessings that wealth cannot buy. \Vhen we tire, we are tempted to go into complaint mode. But we are better served and THOUGHT TO REMEMBER Foats on your blessings, more acceptable to God if we resist this temptation and thank God for the not your lack. many blessings he has showered into our lives.

Discovery Learning

The following is an alternative lesson plan emphasizing learning activities.

Classes desiring such student involvement will find these suggestions helpful. At the

back of this booh are reproducible student pages to further enhance activity learning.

Say, "Relate the observation on each slip to a INTO THE LESSON verse or idea in today's text of Numbers 11: 1-6, 10­ To introduce the next three lessons, prepare 15." Verse numbers are suggested in italics \'vith the seven pieces of poster board \Vith the letters N, U, observations given here, but do not include those M, B, R, 5 on the front side, at least four inches verse numbers on your handouts. Shuffle the strips in height, one letter per card. On the back of the N before handing them out. have a G; on the back of the 5 have an L Complaining reaches God's ears (v. 1) Affix to the board the seven cards to read NUM­ Complaining makes God angry (v. 1) BERS; use pieces of masking tape. Then move the Complaining to human leaders may be no better U under the M position; move the M under the B; than complaining to God 6~ 2) move the B under the E; move the E under the 5; Complaining can lead to destruction (v. 3) move the R under the position that was first held Complaining may arise from physical wants (v. 4) by the U (that is, it \\i11 be to the left of where the Complaining as tied to "the good old days" (v. 5) U now is). Only the N and the 5 \\111 remain in the top row. Complaining can ignore the good things that are present (v. 6) Say, "Behind the N and the 5 are different letters. When we flip them and move them to different Complaining may affect whole families (v. 10) locations, we will have a sad theme of the Book of Complaining often infects leaders as well as followers (v. 11) Numbers." See who can identify the letters. \Vhen the G and L are identified, flip the N to a G and Complaining can deteriorate into self-pity (v. 11) place it to the left of where the R now is. Flip the 5 Complaining may arise from feelings of being overwhelmed (\: 12) to an L and place it bet\veen the B and the The new word, of course, is GRUMBLE. Complaining may arise from feelings of personal and faith inadequacy (v. 13) Say, "\Vhen one reads the book of Numbers. Complaining can lead to self-deprecation, even one is tempted to conclude that the ancient Israel­ despair (w. 14, 15) ites spent most of their time griping and grumbling Read (or have read) the whole lesson text aloud. on their way to the promised land." Then ask learners at random to read their com­ plaint statements, identify the verse(s) associated, INTO THE WORD and relate how they see the same phenomenon at Prepare on 13 strips of paper the following obser­ vations about complaining, one per strip. Give one work in their 0\V11 lives and/or in society. Option: to each learner. If you have more than 13 learners, After your learners are familiar with the complaints they \\ill be able to complete the reprodUcible activ­ repeat some of the strips; if you have fewer than 13 ity "The ~'\in't Got's'" on page 508. learners, double up some of the assignments.

As your learners relate current occasions that elicit complaints, ask them to consider if there ul­ timately was a "hidden blessing" in each occasion that was met "lith a complaint. INTO LIFE Suggest that each learner prepare a personal Complaint Box in this manner: (1) cut a slot in the lid of an empty margarine tub; (2) \vrite the word Complaints on the top of the lid; (3) 'WTite God's Blessings on the underneath side of the lid; (4) place the lid on the tub \vith the word Complaints showing.

Say, "Keep a small notepad handy throughout the week. Use the notepad for \\Titing dO'WTI com­ plaints that come to mind. After writing a com­ plaint, deposit it in the tub. At the end of the week, remove the slips. Look at them one by one to pon­ der how each was 'hiding' a blessing of God. Then flip the lid over so that the phrase God's Blessings shows. Next, reinsert those same slips through the slot" Once the complaints and grumbles are thus deposited the second time, your learners are ready to pray with a different attitude over their concerns! Distribute as take-home work copies of the repro­ ducible activity 'f\s Some of Them" on page 508.