Numbers 11:10-15

The people of Israel are moaning and complaining at the VERY beginning of their “wanderings in the wilderness.” They will regularly show themselves to be rebellious and stubborn people. This grumbling of the people makes the Lord angry and Moses, their leader, frustrated. Moses surprisingly offers a prayer of challenge to the Lord. In the raw and real prayer, he even goes so far as to call on the Lord to kill him rather than have to lead these people! This strange prayer is important because it shows us that the Lord’s “shoulders” are strong enough to bear all of our deepest and darkest thoughts. God is not scared away by our fickleness. And, of course, Jesus ultimately succeeds where Moses fails, and he is the perfect mediator between God and humanity.