1 Corinthians 10:10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Numbers 14:36-38 Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord. But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.
Numbers 16:3 They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
Numbers 16:30-32 But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.” Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods.
Paul exhorts the church at Corinth about grumbling and complaining. He reminds the believers of the judgments that befell the 10 spies who brought a bad report of the land – and were struck down by a plague, and terrible fate of Korah and those aligned with him that came against Moses and Aaron and were swallowed up by the ground under them.
How easy is it to fall into grumbling and complaining? It reminds me of an old muppets skit with two old men, Waldorf and Statler.
Waldorf: That was wonderful!
Statler: Bravo!
Waldorf: I loved it!
Statler: Ah, it was great!
Waldorf: Well, it was pretty good.
Statler: Well, it wasn’t bad…
Waldorf: Uh, there were parts of it that weren’t very good though.
Statler: It could have been a lot better.
Waldorf: I didn’t really like it.
Statler: It was pretty terrible.
Waldorf: It was bad.
Statler: It was awful!
Waldorf: It was terrible!
Statler: Take ’em away!
Waldorf: Bah, boo!
Statler: Boo!
It didn’t take long for these two to turn something that was good into something they could complain about. It’s especially easy for us to fall into this type of behavior – especially during this political season!
However, our calling is to exhort, uplift and bring encouragement to the world! So let’s not descend into murmuring or complaining – it did not go well for any who did.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]New Year’s Eve celebrations have come and gone. Now the reality is settling in — it’s 2025 and we’ve entered into a new decade!! Some of us are wondering where in the world the time went… the Lord knows I am.
Anyone who has traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland has probably seen the Edinburgh castle. It is a tower of seemingly insurmountable strength. However, long ago that castle was attacked and seized.
While we were in the womb, we had eyes, but there was nothing to focus on. Our eyes, equipped with rods and cones to perceive shapes and colors, remained unused in the total darkness surrounding us. Yet, those eyes were designed to see light—a hint of a world beyond the womb, a world we had yet to encounter but were created to experience.
In December 1903, after many attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting their “flying machine” off the ground. Thrilled, they telegraphed this message to their sister Katherine: “We have actually flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas.” Katherine hurried to the editor of the local newspaper and showed him the message. He glanced at it and said, “How nice. The boys will be home for Christmas.”
During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in history took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both sides were dug in, safe in muddy man-made trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever… but it was Christmas, and what happened next was astonishing, writes Stanley Weintraub, author of the book, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce.
While Chanukah is not a Biblical feast mentioned in the Old Testament, it is an important one. Chanukah commemorates the story of small group of men with much courage — enough courage to defeat even the greatest of the world’s empires.
As we mentioned a couple of days ago, Chanukah commemorates of the desecration of the holy temple of old, (just another attempt of the enemy to wipe out the Jewish people and the things of God), God’s great grace and the rededication of the temple to Him.