Text: Hebrews 3:7-12; Numbers 11; Psalm 34:1
Definition:
- Complaining, murmuring, griping, grumbling, whining, belly-aching, etc.
- Complaining is defined as “an expression of unhappiness, dissatisfaction or discontent.
- Complaining is the outward expression of discontent from within.
A History of Complaining – The Children of Israel
God always considered their complaints as an act of unbelief directed toward Him. They complained about their circumstances, their food, their water, their leadership, etc. They refused to trust in Him to provide, protect and to direct the order of their lives. They complained about their circumstances, their food, their water, their leadership, etc. They refused to trust in Him to provide, protect and to direct the order of their lives.
The book of Leviticus covers only one month of the 40-year journey to the Promised Land. The book of Numbers records 39 years of wandering in the desert. Chapter 11 is still the first of the journey. The people are tired and weary as is Moses.
They had been in Sinai for eleven months. Sinai was 5000 feet above sea level with rich pastures and well watered valleys. As they begin to descend the mountain there are rugged gorges, no tracks, no paths and it leads to a barren desert which has very little vegetation.
Deut 8:15 calls it a “great and terrible wilderness with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water”.
Shortly After They Got There Their Old Complaints Began!
Complaining was a disease with these people! Complaint is not only as expression of pain, dissatisfaction or resentment; it is usually something that a person whines about repeatedly. (After all, why say it only once when we can indulge in our misery!).
What Do We Complain About? Everything. You name it, we complain about it, anything and everything. Basically we complain about anything and everything that does not meet our approval.
Why Do We Complain?
- Sometimes we simply want others to know we are suffering.
- Maybe we want to gain sympathy.
- Sometimes we hope someone will step in and fix our problem.
- Sometimes we just want to “vent” our emotions and our feelings of powerlessness.