Numbers 11:4-9 – Contentment, a remedy to murmuring.

In Numbers 11:1-3, in the first scene about grumbling, we saw how this spirit of discontent started with those at the outskirt of the camp. And we know that people who are uninvolved in the thick of God’s work are most predisposed to developing this spirit. Numbers 11:4 introduces us to the second scene, where we see how the spirit of discontent became contagious. What began at the outskirt had now become full bloom. From the rabble, it spreads to the sons of Israel.

Who were the “rabble”?  This is a reference to the people of all nationalities who had joined the children of Israel when they left Egypt. These people had not fully embraced the culture, the value, and the standards of the children of Israel. Verse 4 also said that they were greedy. This would suggest that their appetite matters a lot to them. So at the fringes of the camp, they were murmuring and complaining. And soon their murmuring spread to the children of Israel as well. What were they complaining about? Verses 5-6 reveal the content of their grumblings. They were complaining about how boring and unappetizing the manna was, the heavenly food which God had provided them. They were imagining and wishing for “the fish which they used to eat for free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.”

In truth, the manna was not so boring or unappetizing. Verses 7-9 suggest that it was more appealing than they knew. But their complaining had distorted their perception of this heavenly food. The manna, firstly, was like coriander seed that had the appearance of bdellium. According to Genesis 2:12 bdellium was a valuable material found in the Garden of Eden. Secondly, they forgot they didn’t have to pay for it, every morning it would rain down automatically, together with the dew from heaven. Thirdly, verse 8 shows them there were various ways they could make the mana attractive and appetizing. They could “…grind it between two millstones, or pound it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make loaves with it; and its taste was like the taste of cake baked with oil.” Murmuring always makes one loses one’s creativity.

Though the people of God had left Egypt, the mentality of bondage had not left them. They were still whining and bellyaching about everything. This was a symptom of an enslaved people held in bondage by the habits they had acquired while in slavery. While there, they complained about the insufficient straws to make the unrealistically expected quota of bricks. Not in the abundance of God’s provision, they complained about how monotonous and boring God’s provision was.  Their evaluation had become distorted. In their discontentment, their mind gravitated toward Egypt and reimagined it to be the promised land, flowing with milk and honey. The spirit of discontent will always distort our perception. If we keep on murmuring and complaining, we will soon have a very disfigured impression of God’s promises.

First Timothy 6:6 tells us that godliness with contentment is great gain. We know that grumblers are seldom godly nor contented with their portion in life. We must learn to be contented with our lot in life. God wants us to progress at the right time. He is always getting us prepared and ready for the next level. While God is preparing us, we must surrender and yield to His molding. Like Paul, make Philippians 4:11-13  our dictum in life. He said, “…I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Complaining and murmuring can never give us a better tomorrow. If we keep complaining, we will not be able to find time to be creative. Stop complaining and start contributing to a better tomorrow!