| From Desire to Lust |
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Is it wrong to desire good things? Well, some might say that it depends upon what the good thing is. I don't think that the answer relies in what the thing is but rather in you.
11:34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.
We find the Israelites in the desert losing their appetite from eating the manna everyday. They began to crave meat. I can understand what they are going through.
Have you ever been fed up with your life. Tired of the same ol same ol'. Wanted something new and exciting. Everyday waking up early to catch the bus to work and waiting after work to catch the bus home. Washing dishes with your own hands rather than letting the machine do the work.
I've been there before. I can relate to the Israelites. If I were in their camp I might just grab one of them and say, "Me too brother! I want some real food."
But let's not overlook what they had. God had favor upon the Israelites. God had caused manna to fall from heaven and the Israelites had opportunity to collect their food daily as the morning dew had fallen.
Look yourself in the mirror and say, "God provided!"
Yeah! God provided them with food. Remember that God was in a process of moving these Hebrew slaves from pity to party. They were in the transitional phase. God was preparing a feast for his chosen people in the promised land.
So imagine how upset God became when he heard the people complaining about the food situation.
I can see God (in my spiritual imagination) as Moses is talking to him:
Why are my people complaining again? Don't they know what I have in store for them? Have they
overlooked the manna which I have left for them? Do they remember what it feels like to be whipped and forced to make bricks without straw? And now they complain about appetite.
So now, God is angry and he says, desire will push my people forward, but cravings and lust will kill them. So he drove quail in from the sea. The people went out all that day and night and all the next day and gathered the quail. In other words, the people were glutton. But while the meat was still between their teeth he struck them with a severe plague. (Numbers 11:31-35)
Now here is the difference between desire and lust. If the people had maby gatherd just a little bit of quail and said, "Ah that was good!" maybe God would not have destroyed them. But they spent a day and a half collecting meat. They splurged a good thing. They became preoccupied with the good thing.
I don't want to beat a dead horse here. I think that you understand the point here. Don't let your desires turn into cravings.
God Bless His Word,
Aaron a.k.a. Hands On
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