impatient – Praying Pint

47.u. “Wilderness” – 12. “And the people spoke against God”

Num 21:4-6  From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.

Jeremiah 8:17   For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you,” declares the LORD.

Amos 9:3-4   If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.  And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good.”

1 Corinthians 10:9    We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,

They had to go far out of their way because the Edomites refused them passage (Numbers 20:14-21). To go around the Edomites, they had to turn back towards the wilderness and away from Canaan. This was a discouraging situation, but it was also an opportunity to trust God. The same God who just gave them victory at Hormah and provided all their needs would also guide them, even though this may seem like a setback. “The people spoke against God” Israel’s new generation sounded like the old generation that died in the wilderness. If they continued in the steps of their fathers, the new generation would be no more able to conquer Canaan than the previous generation was. This was a major problem. They were on the threshold of Canaan, closer to it than the previous generation of unbelief had been, and now they started to act with the same unbelief – or worse. Like the generation of their fathers, this generation despised God’s provision of manna, calling it worthless bread. Their complaining against the “bread of heaven” (Psalm 78:23-24) was the sin of ingratitude against the God who miraculously sustained them in the wilderness. These came from God, to get the nation’s attention at this critical place in their journey to Canaan. If they continued in the unbelief of the previous verses, they would never take the land. (Guzik)

“When the grumbling humour is on us we complain of anything and everything, as did these Israelites: they complained of God, they complained of Moses; they complained of the manna. They would have been ready to complain of Aaron; but, fortunately for him, he had been dead a month or so, and so they poured the more gall upon Moses. To men in this state nothing is right: nothing can be right.” (Spurgeon)

“When a person’s heart is intent on rebellion and beset by discontent, even the best of gifts from the Lord can lose their savor; nothing will fully satisfy until the heart is made right.” (Cole)

The children of Israel were wearied by a long march round the land of Edom. They speak discontentedly of what God had done for them, and distrustfully of what he would do. What will they be pleased with, whom manna will not please? Let not the contempt which some cast on the word of God, make us value it less. It is the bread of life, substantial bread, and will nourish those who by faith feed upon it, to eternal life, whoever may call it light bread. We see the righteous judgment God brought upon them for murmuring. He sent fiery serpents among them, which bit or stung many to death. It is to be feared that they would not have owned the sin, if they had not felt the smart; but they relent under the rod. (Henry)

46.t. “Wilderness” – 10.z. “Is anything too hard for the LORD? “

Num 11:23  And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

Genesis 18:14    Is anything too hard for the LORD?

Isaiah 50:2  Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert; their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst.

Isaiah 59:1    Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear

Micah 2:7    Should this be said, O house of Jacob? Has the LORD grown impatient? Are these his deeds? Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly?

Luke 1:37     For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Ezekiel 24:14     I am the LORD. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord GOD.”

Numbers 23:19    God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

God had not suddenly become weak or limited. God had resources that Moses knew nothing about. God would meet Israel’s need in a completely unexpected way. (Guzik)

Is the divine power diminished? What has not God done to convince mankind that his power is always unlimited? And yet man is still ready to fall into the weakness of thinking that there are circumstances in which the power of God cannot afford relief or deliverance. (Benson)

Even true and great believers sometimes find it hard to trust God under the discouragements of second causes, and against hope to believe in hope. God here brings Moses to this point, The Lord God is Almighty; and puts the proof upon the issue, Thou shalt see whether my word shall come to pass or not. If he speaks, it is done. (Henry)

Is there any limit to what God can do? NO. Is there a limit to what we think God can do? YES. I wonder why it is that we put limits on what God can do. He can do all things. Nothing is impossible for God. Absolutely Nothing! He is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of everything seen and not seen. He can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.

13.s. “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Zechariah 11:4 Thus said the Lord my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them. For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter. Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

Ezekiel 22:26    Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

Ezekiel 8:18     Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Hebrews 10:26-31   For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,  but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.  Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.  How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?  For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

From Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary; Christ came into this world for judgment to the Jewish church and nation, which were wretchedly corrupt and degenerate. Those have their minds woefully blinded, who do ill, and justify themselves in it; but God will not hold those guiltless who hold themselves so. How can we go to God to beg a blessing on unlawful methods of getting wealth, or to return thanks for success in them? There was a general decay of religion among them, and they regarded it not. The Good Shepherd would feed his flock, but his attention would chiefly be directed to the poor. As an emblem, the prophet seems to have taken two staves; Beauty, denoted the privileges of the Jewish nation, in their national covenant; the other he called Bands, denoting the harmony which hitherto united them as the flock of God. But they chose to cleave to false teachers. The carnal mind and the friendship of the world are enmities to God; and God hates all the workers of iniquity: it is easy to foresee what this will end in. The prophet demanded wages, or a reward, and received thirty pieces of silver. By Divine direction, he cast it to the potter, as in disdain for the smallness of the sum. This shadowed forth the bargain of Judas to betray Christ and the final method of applying it. Nothing ruins a people so certainly, as weakening the brotherhood among them. This follows the dissolving of the covenant between God and them: when sin abounds, love waxes cold, and civil contests follow. No wonder if those fall out among themselves, who have provoked God to fall out with them. Wilful contempt of Christ is the great cause of men’s ruin. And if professors rightly valued Christ, they would not contend about little matters.

10.u.”The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart”

Micah 2:7 Has the Lord grown impatient? Are these his deeds? Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly?

Psalms 19:7-11    The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;  the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;  the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.  Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Proverbs 2:7     he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

Proverbs 10:29     The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers.

Hosea 14:9    Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

Jeremiah 15:16     Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.

Psalms 119:99-103   I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.  I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.  I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.  I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me.  How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

God’s word is a light unto our path, a beacon to our soul, a delight to our heart, wisdom to our mind, shield against our fears, a stronghold of courage, a fortress of rest, joy, and peace, and a sure foundation throughout eternity. Through His Word, we find hope, and our faith is continually strengthened. His Word exposes the intent of our hearts and leads us onto paths that honor and glorify Him. His Word will revive a tired and broken soul. His Word will convict our hearts. His promises become our stronghold against the devil. Spend time in His Word, hungering, and thirsting for His truths to be revealed to your heart, mind, and soul. In them, the things of this world grow strangely dim and eternity grows brighter than the sun.

4.p. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

Job 4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? Yet who can keep from speaking? Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed. Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?

2 Corinthians 4:16    So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Hebrews 12:3     Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Psalms 73:26     My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Ephesians 3:16   that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

1 Peter 1:6    In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

Isaiah 40:31    but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

I can’t imagine the physical and emotional pain Job was experiencing. After 7 days sitting and waiting with Job, Eliphaz asks if it is ok to speak without Job being impatient. We know these are some of Job’s best friends for all others who abandoned him in his troubles and these three friends came when they heard the news. I am not sure I would want to hear “but now (these trials and troubles) come to you, and you are impatient.” I am sure Eliphaz is meaning well but it seems a bit hard.

He tries to encourage Job with “Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?” Eliphaz, is reminding Job that in his life he has always lived in reverence to God and obedience to Him. This has been his confidence, strength, and hope.

It is easy to say “stand firm”, “do not grow weary or fainthearted”, “be strong”, and “rejoice” to others when affliction, trials, and troubles come their way. It is another thing to be in physical and emotional trials and actually find the ability to do it. I do know that it has to come from within us by and through the Holy Spirit of God. When every nerve in our body is shouting out with pain and our brain is consumed with it, it is in these times our faith and trust in Jesus Christ will direct, strengthen, and give some level of peace. Our moments of relief come when we surrender to the sovereignty of Jesus. Our strength comes when we have no power to handle or manage these trials. Our hope comes with reliance on Him to carry us through. It may not seem like it while in the depths of trials, but on the other side, we see more clearly and understand deep within our mind that we did not come through this on our own. In fact, we were powerless to handle it and yet there was a power given to us. This power and strength come from Jesus Christ. It is in and through Him we are able to make it to the next hour with hope, the next day with security, the next week with confidence.

31. We wait for it with patience.

Numbers 21:4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Psalms 106:43-45   Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity.  Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry.  For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

1 Corinthians 10:9     We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,

John 3:14-15     And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

John 12:32     And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Isaiah 45:22    “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

John 6:40     For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Zechariah 12:10    “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

“And we loathe this worthless food”, How many times have we read about the grumbling, impatient, rebellious ways of God’s chosen? God did miracles, wonders, and signs before their very eyes. His presence was before them in fire by night and smoke by day. He provided for them. He protected them. He supplied their needs. He told them of His plan and purpose for them. He gave them promises. He gave them commands to live by. He chose them. He loved them. They wanted a remedy to their problem, in their time, in their way, and did not want to believe in or wait for God’s perfect plan. They closed their heart and mind to believe. They opened their heart and mind to impatience, rebellion, unthankfulness, and grumbling.

Exodus 14:14 – “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Isaiah 30:18 – “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”

Psalm 27:14 – “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Romans 12:12 – “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

Romans 8:25 – “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

Jesus is not honored by impatience, unbelief, neglect, complacency, unthankfulness, pride, greed, lust, hate, or unforgiveness. He is honored by obedience, hope, patience, love, reliance, trust, and faith that does not shift with circumstance but remains firm and steadfast. Nothing tests the steadfastness of our faith and belief more than trials. In these troubles, our faith and hope are demonstrated as either being refined and becoming more and more dependent upon God or to impatience, grumbling, unthankfulness, and rebellion.

Wait upon Him, trust Him, rely on Him, and cling to Him.

Isaiah 40:31 -“but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Mocked, flogged, nailed to the cross

“And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”

John 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Proverbs 30:4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!

Numbers 21:4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

How do we feel when we are mistreated or treated unfairly? We want to retaliate or have it made right. Yet Christ knew what was waiting for him and willing went. He had done nothing wrong worthy of any form of punishment. What He did do was heal the sick, bring dead back to life, feed five thousand, open the eyes of blind and the ears of deaf, He gave hope, joy, love. He cast demons out of those possessed and taught the word of God with authority. And for this He willing went to be mocked, flogged and nailed to a cross to die. Why???? Because He was sent from heaven to redeem man from sin, to be the sacrifice once and for all making a way for man to be right with God. What manner of lives ought we live knowing the price that was paid for our personal sin?