Sermon: Numbers 11

 

Are you the type of person who shops at the same supermarket every time? Do you do a “weekly shop” or do you shop as you need to? Sonia and I will shop anywhere for the meal that is just before us. In fact, since we’ve been together, I’ve learned a fascinating thing about Sonia. She has in her mind a kind of “supermarket categorisation system.” From time to time, we’ll be considering what shopping is needed, and where we’ll go to get it, and she’ll respond with a comment like “that Woolworths at such-and-such a place is no good,” or, “that Coles is completely disorganised.” She factors in things like the layout, how good the selection is, the “vibe” of the place. For me, it comes down to practical matters like parking. Can we get in and out easily? What if it’s raining? We work together well and we like shopping and cooking together, but I have to say I don’t know the full extent of the supermarket categorisation system that exists in my wife’s mind. I’m also pretty sure it includes every supermarket in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Recently, the shopping centre at Blackburn Square was completely renovated. Now, this is very convenient for us since it’s right next door to the kid’s high school. It took a long time to complete but finally, last year, the works were completed and the doors opened to a new shopping experience. This place quickly went high up the ranking system. It has a Coles, a Woolworths, AND an Aldi! There is an amazing butcher and an excellent chemist. Plus, there is a sneaky undercover parking section that no one goes to, so I pretty much always get a park there in any weather. It’s amazing.

The best of the best, though, is a shop called Sacca’s. Sacca’s is a big fruit and vegetable shop that sits in the middle of the shopping centre. In the centre of Sacca’s, there is the deli. So many meats. So many options. And the prices! They’re so much cheaper than the supermarkets. We go there all the time and so it’s not uncommon for us to have a small charcuterie board with a selection of deli meats, cheeses, olives and crackers, before us as we sit and watch TV together.

As we prepare for our move to Brisbane, amongst many other things, we’re going to miss Sacca’s. We’re going to miss the meat. Sonia is going to have to start her supermarket categorisation system all over again. Something tells me, though, she’s up for the challenge.

Numbers 11 is an interesting passage. I am a little disappointed that more of the passage isn’t included in the lectionary, though, given there’s so much more to the story than what we’ve just heard. The people are wandering through the wilderness under Moses’ leadership. The Lord has brought them safely out of slavery in Egypt, through the waters of the Sea of Reeds, has guided them with the cloud by day and fire at night, he’s supplied manna from heaven every day to ensure they are sustained for the journey. Yet, it’s still not enough.

They’re having a whinge.

“We miss the meat.

We miss the fish, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, the garlic.”

Moses, the leader of the group, has an option here. He can lead the people through their complaints and help them recognise all the good that God has done for them, reassuring them that their destination is still before them… or he can join them in their whinge.

He decides to join them in their whinge.

“Why have you treated me so badly? Why have I not found favour in your sight? Am I their parent? Did I give birth to them? And yet you make me carry them through and all they do is whine and complain? Where am I going to get enough meat to give to all these people? I can’t do this all on my own. If this is the way it’s going to be then just kill me now!”

Wow!

Here’s one of the interesting parts of the story that the lectionary skips over (verses 16-23). The Lord gives them what they ask for… all of them. First, he enacts a plan that will give Moses support in the leadership of the people. Seventy elders are chosen, and the Lord takes some of the spirit resting on Moses and places it upon them. To signal the presence of the spirit with them they begin prophesying. Despite his whinge, the Lord heard the heart of his cry and gave him his request.

Second, the Lord gives the people meat. Boy, did he give them meat! Here is what it says in verses 18-20

And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat: for you have wailed in the hearing of the Lord, saying: “If only we had meat to eat! Surely it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat not only for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you—because you have rejected the Lord who is amongst you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we even leave Egypt?”

So, Moses has a whinge and gets what he asks for, support in his leadership. But the people have a whinge and really get what they asked for. So much meat that it makes them sick! There’s a paradox here that remains unresolved in the passage. We shouldn’t try to be overly clever with the passage or try and explain this away with some sort of pretty interpretation.

Instead, there are multiple lessons we can learn from this passage whilst still sitting with this awkward paradox. First, trust in God. Regardless of the external circumstances, God is with you and is bringing about his kingdom purposes in and around us.

Second, if you’re going to whinge, whinge to God. That may seem counterintuitive, but the best place to take your complaint is directly to God. The Psalms are filled with people having a whinge. If nothing else, it tells us that God is a big god and is big enough to hear all of our prayers, including the whinging. However, if you are going to whinge, be prepared for God to give you exactly what you ask for.

Last, don’t let the troubles of the present cause you to lose perspective on the past. When the people recalled the meat in Egypt, they completely forgot about the little thing called slavery. Oftentimes, when people are remembering the “good ole days,” they completely edit out the very things that God has rescued us from. Keep perspective. Keep your eyes on God. Trust that God will fulfil God's plans and bring you to your kingdom destination.