Murmur or Lament?

No sooner had the Israelites left slavery and bondage of Egypt, they began to complain. They complained about the lack of water. They complained about a lack of food. Then they complained about the lack of variety of food. Numbers 11:4-6 says, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” They complained about Moses and to Moses. They complained about the God they barely knew. In the Land Between, the Israelites became champion complainers.

Tomorrow, we are going to focus on the phrase "We have lost our appetite". Today, I want to drill down on the difference between murmuring and lamenting. The first puts us on dangerous footing with God; the second actually brings us face to face to God.

In the Land Between, the Israelites whined and complained to one another about how God had let them down. They gave in to discouragement. They did not complain to God. They complained about God.  And there is a big difference. The Bible calls murmuring. Murmuring is complaining about a situation to someone other than the person to whom you are murmuring. The New Testament word for this is gossip. And God rebukes the Israelites for their murmuring.

And the reality is, murmuring does no good! Usually the person we are murmuring to cannot do anything to change the situation. Our murmuring is usually just an attempt to divide and cause people to take our side!

By contrast, there is another form of complaint in the Bible that God seems to affirm. It is called a lament. If murmuring is complaining about God, lament is faith-filled complaining to God.
 Murmuring is gossiping about God; lament is a prayer of desperation to God. Murmuring is a hopeless cry of despair. Lament is a despairing prayer of hope.

There is a wonderful example of a godly lament in Numbers 11:11-15. The Israelites were complaining about manna. And then we are told that God was angry about the Israelites murmuring. Moses was at the end of his rope also. Moses asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors? Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”

Sounds like Moses is complaining as well, doesn't it? The difference? In their murmuring the Israelites are complaining about God. In his lament Moses is praying to God. There is a huge distinction. Moses isn’t rejecting God. In bringing his questions and complaints, Moses has turned towards God, not away from him.