After all God did for them, they complained….

Our ELOHIM truly is patient, isn't He? My goodness, in this week's Torah portion - after all YHWH had done for His people - we saw the beginning of some whining by the Hebrews and the "mixed crowd" who had ultimately followed Moshe out of Egypt!

These people who had personally witnessed the Ten Plagues, and the parting the sea, etc., and who had all been receiving supernatural sustenance in the form of manna, were now lamenting that they missed the meat and goodies they used to enjoy in Egypt ... never mind that they had just been liberated from 400 years of slavery!

How very human! Aren't we all guilty of this? We pray for YHWH to "do" something for us; and then, when He does it, we become dissatisfied and want more or "better".....We humans are often a thankless, bottomless pit of needs and wants!

Anyway, note, in the following passage how "the mixed crowd" - the Gentiles - not only participated in the whining, but they actually instigated it and caused YHWH's people to incur His wrath.

Numbers 11: 1 But the people began complaining about their hardships to ADONAI. When ADONAI heard it, his anger flared up, so that fire from ADONAI broke out against them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried to Moshe, Moshe prayed to ADONAI, and the fire abated. 3 That place was called Tav'erah [burning] because ADONAI's fire broke out against them.

4 Next, the mixed crowd that was with them grew greedy for an easier life; while the people of Isra'el, for their part, also renewed their weeping and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt - it cost us nothing! -and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, the garlic! 6 But now we're withering away, we have nothing to look at but this man." (CJB)

So, yes, YHWH was VERY angry! Not only were they whining about their hardships and lack of meat, but they were also guilty of committing gossip against Moshe in the midst of their grumbling. And so, no one can blame Him for saying this:

Numbers 11: 18 "Tell the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat; because you cried in the ears of ADONAI, "If only we had meat to eat! We had the good life in Egypt!" All right, ADONAI is going to give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You won't eat it just one day, or two days, or five, or ten, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month! -until it comes out of your nose and you hate it! -because you have rejected ADONAI, who is here with you, and distressed him with your crying and asking, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'" (CJB)

Wouldn't it be interesting to be able to time travel back to those days and personally SEE what YHWH's people endured, and to personally see the pillars of cloud and fire, etc.?