Even though they were walking in the wilderness, the children of Israel were being taken care of by God. It turned out though for some it wasn’t doing enough. It’s good to be thankful and satisfied with the provision of God for you?
Who will give us meat to eat? Numbers 11:4
We should be thankful because of the provision of God. We can walk into a store and buy boneless, skinless chicken in just about any cut we want. The Israelites in the wilderness weren’t as fortunate.
God had laid down some safety guidelines for them to keep disease from spreading throughout the Israelite camp. He provided manna each morning so the people would have fresh food every day.
There were however, a few instigators that wanted meat like they had in Egypt. So the Lord sent quail to them. Later in this chapter is says;
Now the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground. Numbers 11:31
So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. Number 11:32
50 Bushels of Quails Each!
I don’t know how many birds make up fifty bushels, but I’m sure it was a lot. Think about it, a million to two million people gathered this product.
They couldn’t do anything with them until they killed, feathered, and gutted them.
Then the bones had to be done away with. Can you imagine the mess, the stench, and the rotting trash that had to be dealt with?
The Israelite camp suffered many deaths, but not because of the mess. No, it was because of their murmuring.
Shamefully we as humans have no problem murmuring and complaining against the Lord. When that happens, we are sinning against God.
King Solomon dedicated the newly built temple to the Lord in 2 Chronicles. In his wisdom, he knew the people would sin as time went on.
So when he prayed, he didn’t say “if they sin,” he said “when they sin.” I wrote a post on that very phrase in which you might be interested in reading.
The Psalmist wrote, “He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them bread from heaven. They ate the food of angels! God gave them all they could hold.” But yet, they weren’t satisfied.
Be Thankful and Satisfied With the Provision of God
Maybe you are wondering how this might apply to us today.
I pray at just about every meal I sit down to. Because I’m thankful for the provision of God for the food I’m about to eat.
This scripture is a reminder to us. We must be seriously thankful and satisfied with the provision of God and not just say the words.
Lord, thank you, and I truly mean thank you, for providing for me and my family.
Also read an excellent post on Worship called, How To Worship God With All Of Your Life.
To read this entire story in the Bible you can read it in Numbers chapter 11.
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So true. God became angry because of their ingratitude and they ate until they were sick. Some died. Gratitude is the least we can give to the Lord. Why do we think we deserve more?
You are right, we must be thankful and satisfied. Thanks for your comment.