Murmuring

Read: Numbers 21: 4-9

Israel had experienced God’s miraculous power when it was liberated from Egyptian slavery. They escaped from the land of oppression, crossed the Red Sea, and were now on their way to the promised land. Our text recalls an episode in their march through the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan. Something unexpected happened: God failed to lead them on a direct route northward, but instead by detour southeastward toward the Red Sea, because the king of Edom denied them passage through his land. They actually were forced to move back into the direction from which they had come. The people found this change of course disorienting: had God reneged on God’s own promise?

The people murmured against God and Moses. Why did God lead us from Egypt into this wilderness without food and water? Egypt looked like a better place. They spoke against God and questioned God’s ways. “Murmur” is not an open rebellion against an authority with whose judgment we strongly disagree. It is a muttered complaint spoken under one’s breath.

How often have we murmured against God or God’s leaders concerning decisions that do not agree with our opinion?

Prayer: Keep me, O God, from murmuring against you and help me to accept your way even if I don’t understand it. Amen.

Manfred Hoffmann