Title: Growing Past Grumbling
Text: Exodus 15:22-25
Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
A brief overview of the grumbling generation:
We’re going to talk about grumbling today. We see grumbling as a constant feature of the Exodus generation.
It all began back in Egypt when Pharaoh increased their burdens in hopes of silencing Moses’ agitation. When this happened,
They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; and they said to them, “The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (Exodus 5:20)
We see it again in Exodus 14:12. With their backs up against the Red Sea and the Egyptian army coming in hot – the people of Israel complained:
Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
Then three more times in Exodus 15, 16, 17 – the people are hungry and thirsty and grumble against Moses.
They do it again as Moses is on the Mountain receiving the law. They grumble about his absence and Aaron directs them to create a golden calf to worship in the mean time. (Exodus 32)
And then we find them grumbling 9 more times in the book of Numbers.
We don’t need to wonder what to do with this data. 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 tells exactly how to apply this information:
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
See that in vs. 9-10?
So all of this grumbling is meant to instruct us. Instruct us in what? To see that grumbling is a very serious problem. We might label is venting, or getting something off our chest – but whatever we call it, grumbling is sin and like all sin, grumbling leads to death.
Here’s three effects grumbling has:
Grumbling wearies God’s workers:
Grumbling offends God:
Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. Moses said to the LORD, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? – Numbers 11:10-11
Grumbling opens the door to other sins:
I was doing some reading on new research done into the cause of marital affairs. Unsurprisingly, those who cheated on their spouses had previously gone through a period of time where they became fixated on the failures of the other spouse. He doesn’t listen. He doesn’t compliment me. She doesn’t respect me. Etc…
Grumbling itself is bad enough. But it absolutely weakens our ethical immune system and encourages additional bad behavior. James 1 tells us that temptation deceives us and when it deceives us, gives birth to death.
Grumbling about one’s situation discounts the sinfulness of sin. It makes sin seem reasonable.
That is evident in the golden calf story. What started out as grumbling, turned into full blown hedonistic idolatry.
“The Hebrews’ post exodus grumbling in the wilderness (Exod. 17:1–7) ultimately precluded an entire generation’s entrance into the promised land.” – Gordon Fee
What Should They Have Done Differently? // Put Off / Put On
So here we have a behavior strictly and wisely forbidden. We are to put off grumbling. But you will rarely, if ever, find a behavior forbidden in the bible that isn’t in some way connected to a behavior commanded in the bible.
This is frequently referred to as the put off / put on dynamic. The classic example of this is Ephesians 4:28 – “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor,doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”
What’s the behavior he’s supposed to stop: Stealing
What’s the behavior he’s supposed to start: Do honest work and share what you have.
Or more relevant to our discussion, consider Philippians 4:6 –
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
Put off: Anxiousness
Put on: Prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.
In that verse we get a hint about grumbling. Which is the behavior we’re supposed to put off. What is the behavior we’re supposed to put on?
Stop grumbling and just grin and bear it?
Stop grumbling and put on a stiff upper lip?
Nope. The positive behavior we’re supposed to put on is lamenting.
What is lamenting? One helpful resource describes it this way:
“A lament is a prayer expressing sorrow, pain, or confusion. Lament should be the chief way Christians process grief in God's presence.”
Exodus 15:22-25
Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
Now here we have both grumbling and lamenting set side by side.
The people grumbled against Moses.
Moses cried to the Lord.
So that’s what we’re going to do today. We’re going to contrast the difference between lament and grumbling. But before we contrast them, let’s talk about two things they have in common.
We know that grumbling is complaining. And so is lamenting.
With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. – Psalm 142:1
Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me. – Psalm 52:1-3
A second thing they have in common is that they're both arising out of unsustainable circumstances.
In the Exodus story, the complaints, for the most part, were connected to truly dire circumstances.
Pharaoh’s army is charging at us and we have no place to run.
We don’t have any water.
We don’t have any food.
These are very serious situations. And when we turn to the Psalms, which is going to be our primary
You need to understand that the presence of legitimate desires or needs is going to force you to either grumble or lament.
Here’s some examples:
Infertility.
Singleness.
Relative poverty.
I wish my husband would be the spiritual leader.
Taxes.
These are the kinds of things that are going to lead to either grumbling or lamenting. There is no third option.
Don’t assume lamenting is highly emotional
I do have one concern about the word lament. I think it feels very emotionally charged. Very heavy. Very dramatic. And sometimes it is, but it doesn’t always have to be. I only mention that because when I hear the word lament, I get certain vibes – as if lamenting is only for very serious things. We need to dispel of that notion. Lamenting, just like grumbling, is on a scale of intensity.
What are the basic differences between grumbling and lamenting? Here are 4-5 (depending on how you count them)
Direction:
The direction of the complaint
The grumbler complains to others
Exodus 15:24, 16:2, 17:3 – “the people grumbled against Moses.” They didn’t even grumble to Moses – but to one another about Moses.
Psalm 106:24-25 says – “Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD.”
The lamenter complains to God
With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him. I tell my trouble before him. (Psalm 142:1-2)
The direction of the cure
The grumbler romanticizes the past. his life before the hardship came. As if the previous state was wonderful.
Exodus 16:2-3
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Unchecked nostalgia may be a sign of grumbling.
The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions. – Ecclesiastes 7:9-10
The lamenter romanticizes the future.
You’ll see future tense appear repeatedly in laments. Psalm 22.
Psalm 22:1–31
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. (1-2)
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. (14-15)
But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! (19-21)
Now notice the shift to future grace…
I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: (22)
From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it. (25-31)
The grumbler is trying to go back
The lamenter is trying to break through
II. Despair
The grumbler lets despair run unchecked.
The lamenter’s main project is to resist despair - to not let it get a root.
Despair is a lurking scavenger. It will get you if you do not actively resist it. There’s a story in Genesis 15. Abraham prepares a sacrifice and waits for the Lord. As the sacrifice is just laying there, vultures keep attempting to eat it and so Abraham has to repeatedly chase the birds away. That’s what a lamenter is doing to despair and what a grumbler is not doing to despair.
The grumbler lets the vultures of despair consume him. The lamenter shews them away.
III. Discipline
The grumbler is letting his/her heart and emotions run wild. The lamenter is trying to preach to his heart.
Psalm 42:5
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
IV. Data
Both the grumbler and the lamenter are interacting with some of the same data. My life is hard and I want that to change.
But the lamenter has more data. He has the past mercies of God.
The grumblers of Exodus could not infer God’s past faithfulness even though that faithfulness was remarkable, repeated, and recent.
God’s past faithfulness was high in both quality and quantity. But they were forgetful. Psalm 106:9-13
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert. So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
And again in vs. 21, “They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
But laments have a real rootedness in God’s past faithfulness. Again from Psalm 22
In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. (4)
Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. (9-10)
Now let’s wrap this up by going back to Exodus 15:22-25
Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
In vs. 25 we see that a piece of a tree made the bitter water sweet.
The Cross is Evidence of God’s Goodness
Nearly all commentators I consulted are quick to point out that here we see a foreshadowing of the cross.
The wood made the water sweet because it came from God’s tree. This reminds us of some of the other trees in Scripture: the life-giving tree in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:9), the tree of life in the New Jerusalem, with leaves for healing the nations (Rev. 22:2), and especially the tree on which Christ was crucified—the tree that heals our bitter, bitter sin.
Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 418–419.
One key difference between grumbling and lamenting has to do with whether or not we reckon God’s past faithfulness as evidence of his present and future faithfulness.
Friends, the cross of Jesus Christ stands as irrefutable evidence that God can be trusted.
Romans 8:32 – “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
God took care of us while we were still his enemies, and made a way to reconcile us to himself.
It is as if God looked down on you and saw you full of sin and bitterness – and through the cross, he healed you and made you pleasing to him.
In our story, God causes something in the wood to interact with something in the water – and the result was transformation.
Conclusion:
Let me ask you to reflect on a very serious question. Why do we grumble instead of going to God? Why are we so slow to take our complaints directly to the throne of grace?
I think it is often due to our lack of confidence in the power of the cross. We do not fully believe that in the cross of Jesus Christ, we have become sons and daughters of God.
1 Peter 5:7 tells us to caste all of our cares on the Lord, because the Lord cares for us!
Consider the promise in 1 John 5:11-15
11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.