Instead of making good decisions from a position of strength, which is to trust in the faithfulness of, they made bad decisions from a position of weakness, which was the emotional an arrogant complex of sins.
Please notice in verse 2, they blamed Aaron and Moses, the leaders.
And now in verse 3 they blame the Lord.
It is always interesting how people think that they can solve their problems by blaming others and by electing a new leader.
If there's any REAL weakness in our governmental system it is to think that the persons we elect as leaders, somehow are going to solve our problems.
Even in our own backyard we have to deal with the media that says to us every day, "Let us go back to the ways things use to be."
LEV 26:7-8; 'But you will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword; five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword.
"You come to me with ballistic missiles and threats and a large military but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you are taunting."
ISA 54:17 "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their vindication is from Me," declares the Lord.
PSA 33:16-17, The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
PSA 44:6-7, For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me. But Thou hast saved us from our adversaries, And Thou hast put to shame those who hate us.
"Well we got a problem, the majority of the world hates us."
1SA 24:6 "Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord's anointed."
PRO 21:31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the Lord.
PSA 44:6-7, For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me. But Thou hast saved us from our adversaries, And Thou hast put to shame those who hate us.
Prin - The plan of people who are irrational is always retreat and withdraw.
Psa 77:11 I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; surely I will remember Thy wonders of old.
In PSA 106:7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Thy wonders; They did not remember Thine abundant kindnesses, But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
Remembering doctrine under pressure is one of the great ways that a believer is able to comfort himself; PSA 119:52 I have remembered Thine ordinances from of old, O Lord, And comfort myself.
Imagine having an attitude like this when people are hating you and they even want to kill you.
Notice the word shocked = Moses recognized their mental illness.
ROM 9:16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
The will of the people was to get rid of Moses, elect another leader and go back to slavery.
The only Christian service that counts is where God is working on our behalf!
This shock indicates their total immobility of thinking and action under pressure.
Because they either lacked the doctrine or withdrew from the doctrine under pressure!
Notice what He said, He said that in the desert, God carried them!
First of all, in Egypt they saw the 10 great miracles by which they were released from slavery.
In Egypt they wanted to get away until they realized that if Moses failed that they might all suffer for it.
They also saw the power of God in the desert.
Irrationality has come into the picture.....they wished that they had died in Egypt or in the desert.
The last thing this congregation wished is that they were dead. For if they wished that they were dead then they would have thanked God for sending them such a terrible leader as Moses.
Exo 5:21 And they said to them, "May the Lord look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh's sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us."
Exo 16:3 And the sons of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
In Exo 17:3, they accused Moses of trying to kill them with thirst; EXO 17:3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"
In fact, in Num 16:14, they will try and will blame Moses for not bringing them into the promise land and then they will accuse him of trying to pluck out their eyes.
Don't be so concerned about them, as the apostle Paul warns us in 1Co 10:1-12, he said learn from them.
This is why we study the Exodus congregation, to learn what not to do when under pressure from the trials of life.
Now, 9 tests later, we have exactly the same thing again.
This is maximum complaining and maximum discouragement from all the garbage in their soul.
First of all, the distorted thinking of the depressed person is largely the result, rather than the cause, of depression.
One of the main reasons for depression is the fact that people are not content with their circumstances or their setting and surroundings.
For the believer who is under pressure, his reinforcement or strength is to come from the doctrine resident in his soul.
For the depressed believer, they have no system of strength to select from or else they have a system of strength but refuse to apply it or live in it.
2. The depressed believer looks to people and circumstances for his strength.
They become obsessed with people either needing them or wanting to ignore all contact with them.
People emphasis takes preeminence over God emphasis.
Either they can't stand contact with certain people in a doctrinal assembly and therefore refuse to come.
They are more interested in deriving their strength from people rather than the Word of God.
The depressed believer looks for someone to give him a boost or reinforcement in times of pressure.
In times of pressure, reinforcement is not as available as the depressed believer desires.
If the believer lives in the doctrine which they have been taught, they can handle any situation magnificently.
1CO 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.
The problem of people emphasis over God emphasis
Prin-Your responsibility as a Christian is to be kind to your fellow man and operate in agape love but you are not to compromise your doctrinal convictions.
The emphasis in Christianity is not people, that is a result but not the first priority.
The present trend in Christianity is to emphasize our experience and relationship with people.
This leads to the erroneous philosophy that if you're right with your relationship with people that you're right with your relationship with God.
People will let you down, God will not, says Heb 13:5, never, no never - ou me, ou me.
The plan of God teaches that there must be a right experience with God before there can be a right experience with people.
A wrong experience with God means a wrong relationship with people.
Prin - Neglect, rejection, resistance of Bible doctrine results in giving # 1 priority to people emphasis over God emphasis.
People emphasize their relationship with others over relationship with God which is exactly the first thing that our parents did in the garden after they fell.
For many believers, life is related to thinking about people and love, romance, and friendship, social life etc.
These priorities can never be sorted out and nothing could be straightened out as long as we live by the old life.
The provision of divine power to the royal family of God makes it possible for relationship with God to take precedence over relationship with people.
One of the problems that we all have to face is the problem of rejection, and for many believers, this causes depression in their life.
Rejection is allowed by God to alert the believer to change his perspective in life from people emphasis to God emphasis.
As an expression of your God emphasis over people emphasis, divine power must take precedence over people power.
Occupation with Christ results in God emphasis taking precedence over people emphasis.
This means that the place where you are taught doctrine is much more important to you than the place where all your friends are!.......if they are really even your friends?
Secondly - The doctrine which is taught from the pulpit is much more important than the people in the congregation.
Thirdly, the reason - Fellowship with God is infinitely more important than fellowship with people.
This all means that you cannot grow spiritually and execute the PPOG through Christian fellowship.
Occupation with Christ results in God emphasis taking precedence over people emphasis in your life.
TLJC was not loved the way He wanted to be loved or treated the way He wanted to be treated, yet he did not have any unrealistic expectations toward people around him.
LUK 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
LUK 14:27 "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.