In the Middle of the Desert

When the journey gets long, people begin asking, “Are we soon there?” Children sometimes begin whining and complaining. A wise parent has packed away a few ‘new’ things to pull out to distract them for a while and make the trip go faster for them. It is the middle of the journey that seems the longest and hardest and tries the patience of all – leaders and followers alike. The Israelites were no exception. 

Egypt was far enough behind them that they forgot about the excessive hard work and the bondage of slavery. They remembered only the good food they had to eat – and the variety of it. Now, in the desert, though they were free from bondage and on their way to the Promised Land, they were getting bored with manna and began to crave other food. They complained and wailed until the “Lord became exceedingly angry and Moses was troubled.” Numbers 11:10b I wonder if Moses was ‘troubled’ because of the wailing or because he wasn’t sure whether God had just enough of it and was going to wipe them all out. 

Moses’ patience was tried to the max and he asked God what he had done to displease Him that He would put the burden of all these people on him. In fact he went on to say, “If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now – if I have found favor in your eyes – and do not let me face my own ruin.” Numbers 11:15 As a leader (who was reluctant to begin with), Moses’ frailty became most apparent in this stressful situation. God understood that He had asked Moses to do a pretty big thing and had been present with Him all the way. 

In His tenderness, God once again looked out for Moses. He had provided Aaron to help Moses get started. Now He provided 70 elders to help share some of the burden of the people. Though God could have done it with Moses alone, He allowed for Moses’ human frailty, his need for human support in managing this body of people. 

Then God turned back to the people and told them to get ready because He was going to give them what they asked for until they had so much they would begin to hate it “– because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” Numbers 11:20 The people had lost sight of following God and were focused on what they didn’t have instead of what God had provided and where He was leading them. 

The word ‘rejected’ seems strong – yet I wonder how quickly I ‘reject’ God’s promises and focus on my circumstances. Even Moses wondered how God was going to give these people meat. There wasn’t enough livestock among them to feed them all and hunting wasn’t too good in the desert. “The Lord answered Moses, ‘Is the Lord’s arm too short?’” Numbers 11:23

In this moment of stress, Moses lost site of the power of God to do what He set out to do. His circumstances were yelling pretty loudly and his hearing of God’s voice was dimmed by the wailing of the people around him. It was the middle of the journey. The people ‘craved’ meat over following the Lord to the Promised Land. They lost sight of the goal and were focused on their immediate circumstance.

I wonder how often I lose sight of the goal in the middle of a journey. I am easily distracted and sometimes forget I even have a goal. That is when circumstances become overwhelming. If I lose sight of the goal, I can no longer determine what is worth my attention and what needs to be ignored. I can no longer determine what I need for the journey and begin to crave things I don’t need. If I lose sight of God leading in my life, my cravings will take over. 

God gave the Israelites what they wanted – meat in the form of quail. But with it came a plague that killed many of them. “Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah [means graves of craving] because there they buried the people who had craved other food.” Numbers 11:34

 

I look around me and I wonder how many people are driven by their craving rather than their worship and obedience to God. And I look at the things people crave – love, attention, food, drugs, alcohol, pornography, gossip, electronics, and so much more – and I wonder how many are buried in graves of craving – figuratively or literally. And I ask myself, what is it I crave? If it is anything other than seeking the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and strength, where will it lead me? 

Every day I make choices. I can choose to follow my God – even if the journey is long and goes through a desert or two – or I can choose to follow my cravings to an early grave. Lord, please give me wisdom to see and identify the cravings and step back from them, knowing that You alone are God and You alone can fulfill all of my needs. Amen.