Have We Lost Our Appetite?

Historical Overview - Israel had languished in Egypt for 400 years. Pharaoh had increased an already weighty burden on them. More bricks - no straw. They witnessed the miracles of the ten plagues. The last of those plagues was the death of the First Born. the "Death Angel" silently roared through the land and the first born died. Not a dog barked. There was absolutley no question as to the source of this sweeping plague of death. It was the True & Living God. He showed Himself to be God ALONE!

Exodus - Free at last. 400 years of bondage and now we are FREE! The chains of bondage are broken. We are free to worship this Great God who preserved us in and delivered us from the unrelenting grief of Egypt. The blood on the door post and lintels marked us as the people of Jehovah (cf. Ministry Magazine, www.ministrymagazine.com , Covered with blood: A better understanding of Exodus 12:7 by L. S. Baker for an interesting historical and archeological insight into the blood on the doorpost.). The Death Angel passed over us. What mercy. What Grace.

Rebellious & Thankless - In Numbers 11 Moses and Aaron face a murmuring band of rebels. The text refers to them as "rabble"; probably to gracious. They are free, Jehovah is their Cloud & Pillar. They have witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian army. They passed over on dry ground. Their complaint? No meat. They express disdain for mana and long for the fish, cucumbers, garlic, melons and onions of Egypt - - and you do not get that without a return to BONDAGE!! Stunning, absolutely stunning. They have the very Presence & Provision of Jehovah God and all they can do is whine and complain. They want the familiarity of the past (even though that includes life as slaves) rather than the liberty and joy of Jehovah's Provision & Presence.

Application - Sound familiar. The church has the Promise & Presence of the LORD - - I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS. They prefer to feast on the husks of the bankrupt culture of post-modernism. No Truth. No certainty. No Redemption. No Hope. These folks are, as the text says - rabble! Cover them with prayer. Perhaps, as the text says, (2Tim. 2:22-26) some will come to their senses.

Prayer - LORD forgive us. Cleanse us. Open our eyes that we see you High & Lifted up! Restore our appetite for Mana, the Mana of the Word of God. Make it, as Job said, more precious than our daily portion, more essential than Cheerios and Starbucks! Make it Applied Theology. Integrate Truth into the fiber of our being so that we and all we touch is Transformed for the Glory of Jesus Who is LORD!