More Grumble-Mumbles
More Grumble-Mumbles
No Promised Land! And all because the people didn't believe God could take care of them. The people of Israel turned back to the wilderness. And Moses turned sadly back with them.
God was still with them. The pillar of cloud was still there, and the tent-church was still there, and the manna was still there - but they weren't happy. They wandered from place to place in the wilderness, not getting anywhere, because they hadn't gone to the one place God had wanted them to go. And then - they got the mumble-grumbles again!
It started with LITTLE mumbles. "Nothing but manna, day after day," they mumbled to themselves. And they thought of the figs and other fruit and that big bunch of grapes on the pole. "Nothing but wilderness," they mumbled. And they thought of the grain and the trees and the big cities in the Promised Land. "Nothing but 'March-stop-march-stop!'" they thought, as they wandered around. And then they got to a place called Kadesh.
They were tired when they got to Kadesh and began to unpack and put up their tents. But that wasn't all. They were THIRSTY too. And there wasn't any water at Kadesh. That's when the little mumbles turned to BIG ones.
"Why did you bring us here?" they asked Moses. Mumble-grumble-mumble. "Why didn't you leave us in Egypt?" Mumble-grumble. "There is no fruit." Grumble-mumble. "And there is no grain." Mumble. "And now there isn't even any WATER!" Mumble-GRUMBLE.
Moses sighed. He was getting weary too. Weary of these people. And weary of their complaining. He knelt down and asked God what to do.
"Take your rod in your hand," God told Moses. "And gather all the people around that big rock over there. Then SPEAK to the rock, and it will give water."
Moses had the trumpeters blow on the long silver trumpets, and all the people gathered around. He stood up there by the rock and looked at them. He saw their scowling faces and heard their low mumble-grumbles - and suddenly - he was angry! He was angrier than he had ever been in his life!
"You - you REBELS!" he shouted. "Always wanting to have your own way. Must WE fetch water for you out of this rock?" And instead of SPEAKING to the rock, as God had told him to - Moses was so angry, he -
WHAM!
- took his rod and STRUCK the rock with all his might!
Oh-oh-OH. He'd said, "Must WE fetch water?" when it was GOD who was fetching the water. That was the worst thing he could have said. And he'd STRUCK the rock when God told him to SPEAK to it. That was the worst thing he could have done.
But, in a minute -
- the most wonderful thing happened!
Out of the rock - swirling, bubbling, foaming, tumbling - came - WATER! God had kept his promise!
The people cupped their hands and drank it. They filled their jugs with it. They splashed it over their faces and necks and arms.
WATER! It just kept coming out of that big rock. It kept coming and coming and COMING. Until there was enough for everybody.
But the people weren't very happy. Because they knew they had the grumble-mumbles in their hearts.
And Moses wasn't very happy, either. Because he knew that he had disobeyed God.

THINK!
God told Moses to do one thing and Moses did another. What was it? God sent the water all right but Moses still wasn't happy. Why? And the people weren't really happy either. Why? Can you think of a time when you were told to do one thing and you did another? How did it turn out? How did it make you feel?
A VERSE TO LEARN
"If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).