The Rabble

Trivia question: How many Israelites left Egypt for The Promised Land? Let's look in the Book of Numbers!

In chapter one God told Moses to count all of the men, 20 years old and above. That number came to 603,550. That's a lot of people! But there were also a great many women, children, and men under the age of 20. A total number is not known. God knows.

Let's assume two million. Two million people walking through the desert. Where did they eat? WHAT did they eat? McDonald's? Nope. God fed them. All two million of them, for 40 years.

After they all left Egypt, it wasn't long before the people complained about having no food, so God gave them manna to eat. Then they got sick of that and complained some more. So God gave them quail to eat. Lots of quail.

"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.” - Numbers 11:4-6

God had provided food to eat for two million people and yet they complained. What's that old saying about biting the hand that feeds us? God was not pleased. At all.

"Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”" - Numbers 11:18-20

God sent the quail. "Two cubits" deep a day's walk in any direction around the camp. And then he sent a plague. A very specific and targeted plague.

"The anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague. Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth- hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving." - Numbers 11:33-34

God provides many things for us, even today. And yet, we still complain. We don't like the style of worship music, the off-key singing, the brand of coffee used in the fellowship hall, or the color of the carpeting.

We should be grateful for every gift we receive from above, and most of us ARE grateful. But woe to those who God calls "the rabble." And He knows exactly who they are. Don't be part of the rabble and so not complain against God.

Kibroth-hattaavah in the verse above means "Graves of Desire."