“We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic” (Numbers 11:5).
The children of Israel are in the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers 1:1 cf. 10:11-12). They had left Egypt about a year earlier (Exodus 12:2, 3, 6, 18; 13:3-4; 16:1; 19:1; 40:2, 17 cf., Numbers 1:1, 18; 9:1; 10:11-12). They begin to miss some of the comforts and provisions of Egypt. They seem to have forgotten the hardships of Egypt. The Egyptians “made their lives bitter with hard bondage” (Exodus 1:14). The Egyptians ordered the death their newborn male children (Exodus 1:15-22). Moreover, “the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of their bondage” (Exodus 2:23). They had wanted freedom. Now they miss Egypt. They looked at the past through “rose colored glasses.”
Lesson one: Change (even good change) can be difficult. In the text, the children of Israel are in the wilderness. The Promise Land awaits at the end of the journey. However, they are not yet there. They are living in tents. Their food is provided. However, it lacks variety and abundance that they remember in Egypt. Their way of life had changed. Freedom was not always easy. There were challenges that they had not faced in Egypt. Some would trade their freedom for comfort and security. Some would trade their future home for their wants today.
Lesson two: It is easy to inaccurately remember the past. They remembered what they enjoyed and forgot (or minimized) what they did not. The past is usually not as good as remembered. One man wrote, “The past always looks better than it was; it’s only pleasant because it isn’t here” (Finley P. Dunne, Found in The All-American Quote Book by Michael Reagan and Bob Phillips, p. 231). Another man said, “Schoolboy days are no happier than the days of after life, but we look back upon them regretfully because we have forgotten our punishments at school, and how we grieved when our marbles were lost and our kites destroyed – because we have forgotten all the sorrows and privations of that canonized epoch and remember only its orchard robberies, its wooden sword pageants, and its fishing holidays.” (Mark Twain, Mark Twain Wit and Wisecracks selected by Doris Benardete). Or consider these lyrics, “The good ole days weren’t always good, and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems” (Billy Joel, song: Keeping The Faith). Some so idolize the past that they fail to appreciate what they have in the present.
Application: There are difficulties which comes with living the Christian life. We should not forget what our true condition was before we became Christians. We should not forget how lost and hopeless we were. Furthermore, we should not forget where we are heading. The wilderness is temporary. We are headed to the Promise Land.
