“If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we … ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
Exodus 16:3
Years ago, the small, land-locked African country of Malawi experienced a famine that killed many of its people. I visited a church there not long after this famine and watched with awe as our impoverished brothers and sisters brought the first fruits of their harvest to the church, accompanied by songs of worship.
I was astonished in part because their acts of worship went so thoroughly against the grain of human nature. Think about God’s people soon after their deliverance from Egypt. Afflicted by hunger, they did not worship God. They didn’t even cry out to Him. Instead, they grumbled against Him as they thought of the bread and pots of meat in Egypt they were missing. They didn’t savor their salvation as much as they did their slavery.
This is a temptation for all of us—to think that our hunger can be satiated by things of this world, rather than by the God of the Feast. Are you grumbling against God? What are you yearning for instead of Him? If you find His grace no longer satisfying, turn to Him and ask Him to renew your gratitude.
I was astonished in part because their acts of worship went so thoroughly against the grain of human nature. Think about God’s people soon after their deliverance from Egypt. Afflicted by hunger, they did not worship God. They didn’t even cry out to Him. Instead, they grumbled against Him as they thought of the bread and pots of meat in Egypt they were missing. They didn’t savor their salvation as much as they did their slavery.
This is a temptation for all of us—to think that our hunger can be satiated by things of this world, rather than by the God of the Feast. Are you grumbling against God? What are you yearning for instead of Him? If you find His grace no longer satisfying, turn to Him and ask Him to renew your gratitude.
Scripture Focus
Exodus 16:1-8
Insight
We long for the wrong things when we have lost track of the Righteous One. Hunger for Him!
Bible In A Year
- Genesis 3-4
- Psalm 2
- Matthew 3-4