The negative report was all the fodder the complainers needed--and good grumblers are very apt with pious, self-righteous words. 'Why is God doing this to us?' 'Our children are in danger.' 'Let's give up and turn around.' I would like to say those thoughts have never come to my mind, but like the Israelites I sometimes fail to have faith in God's goodness, in His love for my loved ones and in His power to prevail. It most definitely does not please the Lord when we fall into the grumble mode. The commentary points out that every time complaints begin, the glory of the Lord appears. Makes me think of the days when the kids were young and tones of voice indicated a growing problem; I would call out, 'You don't want me to come in there.' Praise will take us into the presence of God; we don't want Him to come down to our grumble zone.
Moses shines brightly for us again...in response to God's offer to wipe out the entire nation, Moses pleads for God's glory. Moses' deepest concern was for God's reputation--not his own weariness or the people's whining, purely God. Out of that concern and confidence in God's love, he begs for the forgiveness of the people. I want to be like Moses, don't you? God forgives as Moses asked but consequences remained; the negative reporters died of a plague and the faithless folks wandered outside of the promised land for the balance of their lives. Let us fix our eyes firmly on Jesus, claim His promises and leave in His Kingdom every day!
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