Murmuring Is A Waste of Time

In the section of the Old Testament I am reading now (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), there are several major sections of murmuring records. The people involved murmured against Moses.  They were on a roll in Exodus 15:24, 16:2 and 17:2-3. Moses was acting for God, so it was really God whom they were complaining about. Moses explained to them that they were murmuring against God in Exodus 16:7:

And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

What a waste of time! Laying blame at God's throne is ultimately an act of unbelief. Moses said to the Israelites in Exodus 14:13:

And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

The blame game has been alive since the beginning long before anything was written down in God's word. It is still around today. God is not to be blamed.  Moses told the people not to fear and to stand still and see God go into action.

What does it mean to stand still? I looked it up and it is the Hebrew word 'yatsab'. It means to set, station oneself, take one's stand. With any circumstance, the act of believing is to do just that. It means to stop being afraid and take one's stand with God. Sure there are Red Seas, enemies, no food, no water and what ever else comes at us. Regardless we can just plant our feet in God's light and face whatever head on. We lay claim to God not circumstances. 

In our day and time, Jesus Christ has been resurrected, the Bible is printed and the pouring out of the gift of holy spirit on the day of Pentecost has happened. We have a lot of resources individually that the didn't have in the Old Testament so we shouldn't be too judgmental on those 'murmuring' travelers. 'Standing still' involves a huge dose of thankfulness!