Firmer in Their Murmur #3

Saturday, February 18, 2023

“The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven…. Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves…. When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?” (John 6:41,43,61 KJV).

Behold, they have become firmer in their murmur!

When addressing the Corinthian church’s abundant problems, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul prompted these saints to recall the Hebrew Bible (after all, some Corinthians had been synagogue-attending Jews; see Acts 18:7,8). Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-14. These members of the Body of Christ were repeating the sins of ancient Israel. As Israel abandoned Moses, so Corinth had forsaken Paul. Neither group was grateful for their God-given identity. Both dabbled in devil worship, sexual transgressions, and various other iniquitous deeds.

Observe verse 10 of 1 Corinthians chapter 10: “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” This is the same activity in today’s Scripture—the Jewish unbelievers were doing it in Christ’s earthly ministry, as Israel complained centuries back (in the days of Moses). “And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!” (Numbers 14:2). God pronounced judgment: “Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me” (verse 29). As Corinthians stated, they “were destroyed of the destroyer:” “Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD” (verse 37). See also Numbers 26:63-65.

When Korah incited a revolt to challenge Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:1-3), God smote these unbelievers by causing the ground to open and swallow them alive (verses 31-35). “But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD [Could they get more confused than this?!]” (verse 41). The LORD inflicts another plague, killing over 14,000 people (verse 49).

Let us not be “firmer in our murmur” either….