“Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you when you wailed, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!’ Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” (Numbers 11:18–20, NIV 1984).
My Musings – “Look at the experience of the Israelites after their deliverance from the land of Egypt. God miraculously provided the people with bread in the form of manna. Then what happened? First, they stopped thanking Him for His provision. Second, they stopped asking Him for His provision. Third, they began grumbling about His provision. Finally, they began reminiscing about how good things had been in Egypt. They dreamed about the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, and the garlic they had had in Egypt—all the while forgetting about the oppression, the hardships, and the tortures they had endured at the hands of Pharaoh. They grumbled about having to eat manna for breakfast, manna for lunch, and manna for dinner. The Israelites ate manna soufflé, manna pie, manna meringue, boiled manna, baked manna, and broiled manna. Soon, they cried out for meat.” Sproul, R. C. (2009). Does Prayer Change Things? (Vol. 3, pp. 33–34). Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing.
Turkey soufflé, turkey pie, turkey meringue, boiled turkey, baked turkey, and broiled turkey. Enough of “recycling the turkey from Thursday! ” “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the [pizza] we ate—also the [tacos, double cheeseburgers, gyros, fried chicken and pulled-pork]. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but [leftover turkey!]” (Numbers 11:4–6, NIV 1984). On Thursday we thank God for his bounty, by Sunday we are grumbling for something else. I thought this was purely an American tradition, but apparently not. It’s the human condition.
My Advice – There is much more to God’s provision than manna, quail and turkey with all the fixin’s. He provided a cure to the human condition. Some turn up their nose and never take the cure. Others take the cure, but then take the cure for granted. Still others might also grumble about the cure. Be one with the cure that always give thanks for the cure in both word and deed.
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances [even when it’s leftover turkey once again], for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, NIV 1984).
The Brew Is A Musing 