Expensive Melons

Scripture Reading

Numbers 11:1-10

     Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD hear it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.

     The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died out.

     So the name of that place was called "Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.

     And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, "Who will give us meat to ear?

     "We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,

     but now our "appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except manna."

     Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.

     The people would go about and gather it and grind it between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of cake baked with oil.

     And when the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

     Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased.    

What's the Big Idea??

     "The Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat. We remember ...'the melons." Numbers 11:4,5

Think of it this way:

     Let's take a piece of bread and a piece of watermelon. Which of these two things would you rather have? If I were to tell you that the bread is free but if you want the melon, you have to become my slave for life, which one would you choose? Not the bread?

     Did you know that that is not what the people of Israel chose when they were asked to make a similar choice? When Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt and they were on their way to freedom in the promised land, God provided them with food called "manna," which was something like honey bread.

     However, after a little while, the people of Israel complained and said they wanted the melons they had in Egypt. Of course, if they went back to Egypt to get the melons, they would have to be slaves again. But they didn't seem to care about that. They wanted the melons.

     In this story, the manna or bread represents God's gifts to us, which are given to us with no strings attached. They are truly free. The melon represents the selfish pleasures of the world, which, in the end, cost us our freedom because we become enslaved to them.

     I hope all of you will choose to accept God's gifts over the world's goodies. And do you know what God's greatest gift to us is? Jesus Christ! When we accept that gift, then we are really set free from slavery to the things of this world.