The Sin of Grumbling.

Then they despised the pleasant land;

they did not believe in His word,

but grumbled in their tents;

They did not listen to the voice of the Lord,

therefore He swore to them,

that He would cast them down in the wilderness,

and that He would cast their seed among the nations. Psalm 106:24-27 NASB

     It is easy to get into the habit of grumbling and complaining about the various twists and turns of life that befall us. It is just as easy to downplay it as no big deal. In fact, many of us perhaps are not even aware that we are complainers! But it is a big deal, and instead of downplaying it, we should take a careful look at ourselves to see if we are guilty of this sin, and then forsake it.

     Look at the above verse, and you can see what preceded the grumbling mentioned. God had promised the nation of Israel the land of Canaan. He would go before them and give it to them. They only had to go in and take it. It was a pleasant land with all they needed. The bible describes it as a land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 13:27). However when they learned that the land was inhabited by giants, they were afraid, and began to weep and grumble.

     This verse tells us that they despised the pleasant land. It did not mean anything to them; they no longer desired it, in fact they preferred to return to the hard life of slavery that they had lived back in Egypt. They also did not believe the word of the Lord; that He would give them this land. They did not believe that they could take this land in His strength. And in this unbelief, they refused to obey Him, in going forward to possess the promised land. Instead, they spent the night, in their tents, weeping and grumbling about the entire situation.

     Let this be a warning to us today. It is no small matter to grumble and complain about the things we go through. It only shows our lack of faith in God. In fact, it exposes our unbelief; it is a good indicator that we do not take the word of God seriously. We may say we believe His promises to us; we may say we are willing to obey Him at all cost, but if we grumble instead of acting upon His word, we are deceived. 

Destroyed by the Destroyer.

Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 1 Corinthians 10:10 NASB

     The apostle Paul is here speaking of the sin and unbelief of ancient Israel, as a warning to us in this present day (1 Cor 10:1-12). This verse in particular is dealing with grumbling, and bitter complaining. From the day they left the hardships of Egypt, by God's own intervention on their behalf, they found occasion to complain. Time after time they grumbled that there was no food, there was no water, they were afraid of the people of the land, and so forth. They cried out bitterly, desiring to return to Egypt, rather than face death in the wilderness.

     At the root of their grumbling lay unbelief. They had quickly forgotten the God who had delivered them with awesome power. They forgot the ten plagues in Egypt. They forgot how God led them through the Red Sea on dry ground. They seemed not to understand that He was in their midst as a pillar of fire by night, and a cloud by day. They were not content with His provision; they were not satisfied with God, and how He chose to lead them. They could only look back and see in their own minds that the harsh slavery in Egypt was much better for them. 

     The breaking point came at Kadesh, when the ten spies returned from scouting the promised land. (See Numbers 13:25-14:36) Eight of the spies gave a bad report. "The land is good, but we are like grasshoppers in their eyes. We can never take this land." Joshua and Caleb urged the people to go forward in faith. God would be with them. It was He who gave them this land, and He would go before them. They could take the land if they would only go forward and do it. The response of the people was to cry and weep all night long. They lamented, once again, that God led out here to die; They longed to return to the "good life" they enjoyed in Egypt. In His anger, God swore that that generation would not enter the promised land. They were doomed to wander in the wilderness for forty years until they all died.

     This is a lesson for us. It is so easy to grumble and complain about the way we are treated; about our jobs; about our paychecks; about our neighbors; and numerous other things that don't go the way we expect them to. I wonder how many of us seem to live "cursed" lives, all the while wondering why things never seem to work out for us? Could it be that we are reaping the consequences of our complaining? Are we being "destroyed by the destroyer;" wandering around the desert of our own unbelief? 

     While complaining is a sign of unbelief, thanksgiving is born out of a heart of faith and trust in God. This is why Paul is able to instruct us to be thankful in every circumstance in life (Eph 5:20). When we have that confidence in God, that trust that knows He is working all things out for our good (Romans 8:28), we can go through life's hardships and valleys with joy and thanksgiving in our hearts. 

     Take a lesson from Israel's tragic decision not to believe God. Instead of unbelief, confidently trust in God who cannot lie (Hebrews 6:17-18). Instead of complaining, give thanks to God, who is for us, and not against us. God gave up His own beloved son for us. How much more will he freely give us all things (Romans 8:31-32).