I mentioned a few weeks ago in my introduction to the book of Numbers a section in chapter 11 where Moses deals with the "rabble". Most versions translate this word as "the mixed multitude" and Exodus chapter 12:38 tells us that this "mixed multitude" was not Israelites but others (even Egyptians) who had blood on their doorposts and left slavery with the Israelites. We can't say ALL of these "rabblers" were non-Israelites because we see in chapter 12 that Miriam, Moses’ sister, is one of the leaders of a dissenting group.
Whatever the case, there are complainers in their midst. The Israelites are experiencing a time of uncertainty and insecurity. They are in between, in transition, and there is ambiguity between where they ARE and where God has them GOING. It is interesting to note we have not changed much through the years. Anytime we are in transition, there will always be the tendency to romanticize the past and demonize the future. In this case the rabblers say, "Remember the good old days in Egypt when we ate good food at no cost?" We laugh at this, realizing that the "cost" they paid for a life of slavery in Egypt was the lives of their children! The food in Egypt was ultra-expensive...yet the rabblers manage to convince themselves that somehow the past represents the good old days.
I am quick to blame them, but then I realize that too often I begin to act that way. I romanticize the past sometimes because I am afraid of the ambiguity of where I am going. We all are capable of whipping up a frenzy or worry and dread for the future, and a common cure for that is to imagine that the past was a whole lot better than it actually was. That's why serving a God who points us forward on a journey to a promised land that he has prepared is an exciting adventure.
Certainly we all see a little of ourselves in the rabble. I rabble sometimes in my marriage, in my job, in my family and in my church. It’s encouraging to see a story where God's faithfulness and goodness leads, and how Moses, the great leader that he is, deals with the rabble.
Mark
Whatever the case, there are complainers in their midst. The Israelites are experiencing a time of uncertainty and insecurity. They are in between, in transition, and there is ambiguity between where they ARE and where God has them GOING. It is interesting to note we have not changed much through the years. Anytime we are in transition, there will always be the tendency to romanticize the past and demonize the future. In this case the rabblers say, "Remember the good old days in Egypt when we ate good food at no cost?" We laugh at this, realizing that the "cost" they paid for a life of slavery in Egypt was the lives of their children! The food in Egypt was ultra-expensive...yet the rabblers manage to convince themselves that somehow the past represents the good old days.
I am quick to blame them, but then I realize that too often I begin to act that way. I romanticize the past sometimes because I am afraid of the ambiguity of where I am going. We all are capable of whipping up a frenzy or worry and dread for the future, and a common cure for that is to imagine that the past was a whole lot better than it actually was. That's why serving a God who points us forward on a journey to a promised land that he has prepared is an exciting adventure.
Certainly we all see a little of ourselves in the rabble. I rabble sometimes in my marriage, in my job, in my family and in my church. It’s encouraging to see a story where God's faithfulness and goodness leads, and how Moses, the great leader that he is, deals with the rabble.
Mark
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