I suspect that most people know the story of Moses and Israel
as they sought deliverance from Pharaoh.
Many movies, books, plays, and songs have been written to chronicle the
events of that miraculous journey to freedom.
Even those who are not of the Christian or Jewish faith can see some the
lessons taught as God led His people out of bondage to freedom.
Pondering the trials and victories of the Hebrews as they
fled Egypt often brings up thoughts of how life evolves for most of us here in
mortality. We all have varying forms of
bondage that keep us from receiving all the good that is available from God. Most of us have myriad experiences working our
way out of, in one form or another, that captivity. Some efforts are amazingly successful, but others
fall flat and make us wonder why we even tried.
I am ever grateful for the lessons learned from trying (and failing or
succeeding) but wonder if the success ratio might be improved by following the
example found in one story from the life of Moses.
When Israel had finally escaped, completely, from Egypt –
remember that the Egyptians were drowned and destroyed so they could not follow
– the Hebrews celebrated by writing a song in honor of Moses. Part of the song goes like this:
The Lord is my
strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will
prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. (Exodus 15:2)
At that moment of great joy the Children of Israel were
sincere in their focus on praising their God.
He had delivered them from slavery and death by eliminating their
greatest enemy. They were headed to a
land of plenty with hopes of a bright future.
From there on, life would be easy and smooth. Or so they thought.
A mere three days later, Moses, the vaunted leader of the innumerable
company, the Lord’s anointed prophet, seer, and revelator, is confronted by
these same ‘children’ with another dilemma.
So Moses brought
Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and
they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not
drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter:… And the people murmured
against Moses, saying, what shall we drink? (Ex.
15:22-24)
It is a serious thing to be without water and it is not
unreasonable for the people to wonder where they will find refreshment. The trouble comes for Israel as the
congregation recognizes the situation that lies ahead and decides what to do
about it.
Having just received deliverance from God in an outstanding
way, it would seem appropriate to find Israel pondering about what miracle God
would perform to help them through this trial.
But their response is consistent with what seems to be their level of
faith.
They MURMURED.
Why? Because murmuring
is easier than doing what should be done.
Murmurers seem to derive a sense of power from their actions. Murmuring invites a feeling of superiority
because a problem has been recognized and brought to the attention of the world. Never mind that no solution is offered – that’s
a duty for another – the situation has been identified and will now be reviewed
incessantly.
It’s not always clear what brings on this malady of
character, but it is often – much too often – the tool of response to difficult
(or even simple) challenges. And
it isn’t just the Israel of Moses’ time that follows this path. Every day there are examples of murmuring
found in news, politics, religion, education, etc.
How did Moses deal with the attitude of his people?
And how can we avoid developing this habit that is so
unproductive?
It’s really pretty simple.
Moses trusted.
Where Israel murmured,
Moses trusted.
Not in himself or any other mortal person.
He trusted in God.
In the story from Exodus, we learn that Moses went to God and
asked what to do. He was inspired to
find a tree, cut it down, and toss it into the waters of Marah which were so
bitter. That particular tree had
properties that, when submerged in the water, neutralized whatever substances
were causing the bitterness that rendered the water undrinkable. Now it was sweet.
Moses acted on his trust in God and found an answer.
 |
| Who knew a tree could fix water? |
But how did Moses know what to do. Why would God give him the idea to use the tree? After all, he was raised in the palace of
Pharaoh and was considered by many to be an Egyptian.
Moses knew who he was and never
let go of his heritage. And when he was
forced to flee Egypt, he did not abandon that heritage because things got
hard. He found others of like faith and
continued to be a faithful follower of Jehovah.
In that heritage, valued by Moses so much, was a tradition that
still survives today. We find the gist
of Moses’ ability for finding answers in a message of modern revelation. Here’s what it says:
Yea, behold, I will tell you in
your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and
which shall dwell in your heart. Now behold,
this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses
brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground. (D&C
8:2-3)
Instead of turning to the worldly method for confronting
challenges (murmur), Moses chose to go to God and ask for
revelation. And revelation he
received! This communication from God is
available to anyone who seeks it. Not just
prophets or pastors or priests, but anyone who wants to know.
So when the waters of Marah were too bitter to drink, Moses
did exactly the same thing he did when the waters of the Red Sea stood before
the whole company of Israel. He asked
God for help. We might even consider
that the previous scripture could have ended like this:
Now, behold, this is the spirit of
revelation; behold this is the spirit by which Moses healed the Waters of Marah
for the children of Israel so they did not die of thirst.
Revelation is not magic.
Revelation is not a mystery.
Revelation is asking in faith and waiting on the Lord for the
answer.
Revelation is available to every one of God’s children.
Too many good people revert to murmuring when difficult
questions or experiences arise.
Murmuring
eliminates or reduces any chance for revelation.
Without revelation, we cannot know what God would have us
do. We are then left to our own devices,
ideas, or prejudices for the answer.
As Israel continued to find fault with Moses and Aaron, the
Lord inspired the Prophet to issue this challenge:
…the Lord heareth your murmurings
which ye murmur against him; and what are we? Your murmurings are not against
us, but against the Lord. (Ex. 16:8)
It is one thing to issue condemnations against mortal men,
but when we start to contend against the God of this earth, we are placing
ourselves in a dangerous situation.
There is a God in heaven who communicates directly with His
children if they will ask. He will tell
the least of us what He wants if we will but ask. His prophets guide the Church and give us
counsel on how we can find happiness.
When we choose to murmur instead of seek revelation, we place
ourselves outside the protection of a loving Father. Our actions tell Him that we aren’t ready to
understand His truth.
He wants us to know.
And He will tell us if we ask.
He did it for Moses.
He will do it for us.
