In the 2020s, a married couple in their twenties are living as though they are in the 1940s. Their furniture, clothes and car are all from that period, and they embrace the lifestyle, eschewing modern technology, playing board games and attending 1940s dances at the weekend. They were attracted to that “simple life”, they explained. But of course, this isn’t the authentic 1940s experience, because the real 1940s were dominated by the atrocious Second World War.
The Israelites similarly had selective memories. In the wilderness, they became bored of the manna (Numbers 11:6–9). They began moaning about the absence of meat and fish with a mournful yet specific list of delicious vegetables they remembered fondly from Egypt: “the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic” (v. 5). Astonishingly, they forgot the horrors of slavery. Even when they were on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, they were ready to march right back to Egypt (14:4).
When I encounter tough seasons, I tend to look back longingly with rose-tinted spectacles, forgetting the negatives. We remember Egypt without the slavery. But in the desert, God guided the Israelites by fire and cloud, gave them sufficient manna and guaranteed a future land of milk and honey. Whenever we find life hard, instead of looking back, we can cling to God’s guidance and provision in our present, and trust in God’s promise of a good future.
By Tanya Marlow
REFLECT & PRAY
When are you tempted to ‘remember Egypt without the slavery’? How is God guiding you and providing for you in the present?
Father God, You are my loving Provider and Guide. May I forget what is behind and press on to what is ahead.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
As Numbers 11 begins, it had been more than a year since the Israelites escaped out of Egypt (10:11-12). They’d spent almost a year at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1; Numbers 10:11), where Moses received the Law, the people rebelled by crafting a golden calf, the tabernacle was built, and the priesthood was established. The Israelites were the beneficiaries of God’s daily care through manna and a cloud that guided them during the day and a pillar of fire at night. But soon after leaving Mount Sinai, the people “complained about their hardships” ( 11:1), and God judged them with fire. After His judgment subsided, some began to “crave other food” (v. 4). Moses grew tired of their complaints and cried out to God, “I cannot carry all these people by myself” (v. 14). As a result, He instructed Moses to choose seventy leaders to help share the burden (vv. 16-17).
Alyson Kieda
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