You Asked for It—You Got It

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Proverbs 18:21

The Israelites complained incessantly to and about Moses after they left Egypt: they were going to drown in the Red Sea, they didn’t like the food, and there was no water. But hearing Canaan’s spies’ report about giants in the land far outweighed the abundance of goodness God promised. They cried out, wishing they had died in Egypt or the wilderness (Num 14:2). So God gave them what they wanted. The giants would not be a problem for them; instead, they would wander in the wilderness for forty years and die. Moses would only see but not enter the land of promise because of his act of disobedience. But Joshua and Caleb believed God would be their deliverer; they would enter Canaan with the people’s children under twenty years old.

God is merciful and longsuffering with our doubts, whinings, and desires, but the time may come when He says, Enough. We must be careful about our complainings and what we wish for; we may get what we want: “As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you.” Numbers 14:28