Jump Start # 3854
Numbers 20:11 “Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came froth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank.”
Our verse shows the angry Moses smacking the rock. God had told him to speak to the rock. Not only this, but Moses declared, “shall we bring forth water out of this rock?” Moses sounds as if he could do this on his own. The people had accused Moses. They longed to go back to Egypt. They questioned the goodness of God.
And, running through all of this, is the forgetfulness of the people. When they were hungry and complaining, God fed them. When they were thirsty, God brought forth water. Now, they are thirsty again. My, we tend to forget the goodness of God. These are not the only ones to do this. In Mark’s Gospel, the disciples are in a boat with Jesus. They brought only one loaf of bread. As Jesus is teaching, they are discussing food. They are not listening. Jesus says, “Do you not remember?” He then asks how many baskets full of food they picked up after the feeding of the five thousand. They remembered, twelve. Jesus then reminds them about the feeding of the four thousand. How many baskets full were picked up? They remembered seven. Jesus ends this by saying, “Do you not understand?”
Our forgetfulness can lead to complaining. We think that God has left us. We think God won’t answer our prayers. We give up and are ready to throw in the towel in defeat. How could Israel forget that God had given them water before? No one died in the wilderness because of starvation or thirst. No one. God had taken care of them. And, for the apostles, God always cared for them.
But, here we are, all these years later, and tough times come. Our bellies growl. We are thirsty. We are not happy. When babies are like that, they cry. When adults are like that, they complain and get mad. Multiple times, Peter in his letters tells the readers that he is reminding them of things that they know. We can so easily forget. Could this be one reason why the Lord’s Supper needs to be a weekly reminder. Might we forget the greatest thing the Lord has done for us? How many days, weeks, yes, months, might pass, if it were up to us to remember the Lord’s sacrifice?
How can we do a better job of remembering?
First, spending time deeply in study of God’s word will help. Is there an occasion where someone can point out a time in which God forgot His people? Noah in the ark, and Genesis eight opens with God remembered. Oppressed in Egypt, God saw the tears. Daniel in lion’s den, God was shutting the mouths of the beast. Peter in prison and God sent angels to rescue him. Frustrations with this life can distract from our faith. We see the problem and take our eyes off of the Lord. We focus more upon us and how we feel, more than trusting in the Lord.
Second, look deeply in your own life. Prayers answered. Doors opened. Blessings coming to you. God has put people in your life to remind and help you. God has put classes and sermons in your life to help you. But, we forget. We think we are on our own. God’s rain and sunshine has fallen throughout your life.
Third, remembering builds trust and makes us thankful. Remembering helps us realize that God has not left us on our own. Remembering reveals how patient and good the Lord is to us. Remembering draws us closer to the Lord and closes our lips to complaining.
God had given Israel water. Did they think He could not do that again? How easily we can forget.
Roger