The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat round pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.’

The ‘season’ changed again. Following a winter of thirst, they had come into a beautiful spring/summer at the oasis of ‘Elim’. But then it was time to move on again, and they arrived at an autumn of hunger, and could feel the winter chill approaching. But whatever season we are in, we can trust God to provide for our needs. The question is, ‘Will we?’

You will see that they weren’t long out of Egypt (1). The newly redeemed people quickly came into trials and tests. The life of a pilgrim is not an easy one. The Bible never encourages us to believe it will be.

Memory can be selective (3). As we recall, they hadn’t mentioned the great meals in Egypt previously (!!) – just the terrible suffering of slavery, causing them to cry out to the Lord. Memory can also be distorted.

As we saw previously, their grumbling was really against God (8), but Moses and Aaron were convenient targets. You might say they got ‘caught in the cross-fire.’ They got credited with bringing the people out of Egypt, and blamed for the lack of food. They deserved  neither.

PRAYER: Lord God, please help me to turn away from grumbling and trust in you in all circumstances.May I remember the past with thankfulness and accuracy, and meet today and tomorrow with faith.