Contentment

J. Thomas Johnson

February 8, 2023

In Numbers 21 we find the people of Israel falling back into a common complaint against God and against Moses. Numbers 21:4-5 reads:

⁴ From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. ⁵ The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”

Numbers 21:4-5, NRSV

Wandering in the wilderness between Egypt and the land of Canaan for forty years must have been a tedious misadventure. Of course, Israel was wandering in the wilderness by choice in that they had refused to trust God to bring them into the land of Canaan. Even so, forty years of wandering aimlessly must have been a struggle even if it had been deserved.

Since they were cursed to wander, they could not settle down. So, everything from their Tabernacle to their homes to their possessions had to be mobile. I’ve met a few people in my life who prefer to live that way, but for most of us, living out of suitcases is not something we’d want to do for forty years. I suppose Israel’s growing frustration is not hard to understand.

Even more, the lands through which they were travelling were quite arid. Oases were few and far between, and they often found themselves wandering into areas with little or no potable water. And to top it all off, for forty years, with very little variation, they ate the same food. It was miracle-food, of course, provided to them six days every week by God Himself. When they first ate it, they marveled at it, found it delicious, and gave thanks to God. But after a few decades, eating the same food for every meal every day became distasteful to them.

Israel wanted new and different tastes, but God gave them only manna. Israel wanted houses and lands, but God gave them only tents and sandals that never wore out from walking. Israel wanted water whenever they were thirsty, but God gave them only enough water to survive. So Israel grumbled. Many of the people wanted a God who was less stingy and more gratuitous in His provision for them. Why did God care for Israel in this way?

Later, near the end of their time of wandering, Moses told the Israelites that God cared for them in this way, “to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good” (Deuteronomy 8:16b, NRSV). When the Lord leads us through lean times, arid lands, and monotonous repetition, we, too, might allow those seasons to humble and to test us that they might do us good. The Apostle Paul provided similar encouragement when he wrote:

Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; ⁷ for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; ⁸ but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

1 Timothy 6:6-8, NRSV

May we find contentment in obedience to God and His watchcare in these days. May we not be like our ancestors whose eyes were fixed on that for which they wished, rather than on that which God was then providing them. Amen.

~ J. Thomas