Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”
Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.
Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”
Numbers 11:4-15 ESV
This is again one of the passage in the Old Testament where Moses cried out to the Lord. Moses was so burdened with the attitudes of the Israelites and their complaining. He seems to be feeling caught in the middle of a displeased God and people who grumbled too much.
God provided the manna for the Israelites to eat but they wanted more as they craved for meat so they grumbled. I don’t think God’s anger rekindled simply because of their desire to eat meat, I believe God got angry because in spite of their salvation they still looked for their old lives in Egypt. Sometimes, we are like the Israelites. Even after we received salvation offered by Jesus, we have tendencies to go back to our old dead self. Although we have this predisposition, we can be thankful to God that we can rely on His grace to help us overcome backsliding. We just need to abide in Jesus so He can work on our faith to perfection as we remain on guard with our heart.
As for Moses, the way he cried out to God is worthy of emulating. There is this sense that he was in intimate relationship with God. This for me is what a bold prayer is – pouring our hearts out. Oftentimes, we think of asking God for major breakthroughs or miracles as bold prayers. There is nothing wrong asking for those things so we shall continue to do so but God is generous and already laid out a plan for each and everyone of us, there is nothing that can change His mind on how He shall bless us. A bold prayer is talking to God asking Him “What are You doing Lord, why can’t I understand Your ways and will? Override my feelings and my will because it will do me no good if I’m not aligned to Your will. It is unbearable that sometimes I don’t hear from You, make Your presence felt. Remember me.” 💔😢😭
Our Lord is so gracious hearing our deepest cries, especially when we feel most alone and helpless with what is happening around us. A strong relationship with Him is what we can hold on to, He fully knows our hearts and He won’t mind how we say them.
Soli Deo Gloria!
– Rhia
PS:
Speaking of bold prayer, last year I onced asked the Lord to not let my mother go back for vacation if it would only cause animosity, heartaches and family division, I did not want to deal with her because of her issues. But if He would allow it, then cause a change in my heart so I would honor Him the way I would treat my mother. And so God answered, in the end we had a fun family get-away with my mother without any ill-feelings whatsoever. I have nothing but gratitude for the Lord!!! ❤❤❤
In Honor of Christ 