The Kind Husband

Men have a big job as a husband. I'm not even gonna pretend like they don't. Not only do they bear much of the responsibility for their families, but they are the Heads, the Leaders, the Bosses. As the saying goes "crap rolls down hill". When my husband and I were going through premarital counseling (which also included talking/hanging out with elders and their wives outside of the sessions) I realized I didn't want my husband's job. He was made for it and he can keep it! That job is a delicate balancing act and it takes a strong, godly man to perform it.


The most important aspect of marriage is a man and his wife are pictures of Christ and His church. A man is to love and care for his wife emulating how Christ loves and cares for His bride (Ephesians 5:25). Wives are to submit and respect their husbands as the Church submits and respects Christ.

Genesis 2:18 "The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'"

God made man a helper for Adam when he created Eve. Not a servant, not a slave, not a punching bag, not something inferior, not an object to satisfy him...a helper. And he created Eve from Adam. Eve was a part of Adam. She was made from his rib (v. 21)  and they were of one flesh.

Genesis 2:3 "'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.'"

Once God made Adam,  He didn't wait to make a woman then bring them both into the garden before laying down the laws. He made Adam, put him in Eden and gave Adam the law (v.15-17). When Eve was made, Adam then taught Eve what God had taught him. Eve didn't hear directly from God. It was Adam who did. When they fell God went to Adam first. Adam was the boss, he heard directly from God, knew better and was the one held responsible for what happened. Eve was punished too, but not as severely as Adam and Eve was the one deceived. But Adam was Head and he should have had a better handle on the situation. At any job...if the owner isn't happy with an employee who does he go to first? The manager. The manager didn't make the mistake, but he's the one who's going to ultimately be held responsible because he's in a leadership position over that employee. So it is with the husband.


It's their job to lead they wife and family, to guide her and the kids in the right direction. They are the teacher just as God taught Adam and Adam taught Eve. If the family runs amok they will be held responsible. Of course those running amok will get their share too, but the vast majority of it will fall on husband's shoulders. If the home is a mess then problem #1 always indicates the husband/father is absent, indifferent and uninvolved like an old chair. When the husband is involved and runs his household as the Head then his home run smoothly and orderly.


If the wife is the Head that's because the husband gave it to her. He let her become the Head and the home will not run right unless he takes the lead position back. They can't be Head on some matters. They can't be the Leader once in a while. Someone has to be Chief and if the husband is not doing it, as they were made for, then she will. This is not natural. This is not God's design and anytime we as people go against the order established by God there is always a huge price to pay.

1 Timothy 3:4-5 "He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)"

The fact is if a man's house is a mess he can't be effective anywhere else. The home is where it all begins and is his first priority whether he wants it to be or not. If he can't control his family what can he control? If a man is not self controlled at home, if he disrespects his wife, is violent with her, dishonorable toward her, doesn't lead or teach her then he can't be effective respectably anywhere else. It begins at home. As the Head,  it's the husband's job to teach the rest of the family and lead by example. He can't leave the wife to give the "education" to the kids on her own or to find her own spirituality and learning.

The husband's example as the Head of his home and family is Christ (Ephesians 5:25-26) If he didn't have a good example of a man, husband and father growing up then he is to look to Christ and godly men and follow the examples. As Christ leads the Church so a man must lead his family. Ephesians 5:28-29 tells men to love their wives and care for her the same way they care for they own bodies....feeding (fig or not) and caring for them. A man should love his wife as Christ loves the Church and sacrificed Himself for it. Who feeds the Church? Christ. He provides materially and spirituality so must the husband.

Colossians 3:18 "Husbands love they wives and do not be harsh with them"

If they can't gain control of they family with wisdom, grace, respect and loving kindness there's something wrong. If a man thinks he has to beat his wife and kids, slap them around or be a dictator he's already failed as a husband, father and Head. Men have to remember their wives are heirs of the Promise along with them. She is to be treated as joint heir and as gently as men treat their own body. She should be treated better than others (except God).

As the Head men will set the tone of they family. If they are respectful and loving then things will run much smoother and the wife will fill her role much easier. If they're not then they're causing their wife to struggle to fill her role, stumble or give up all together. It begins and ends with him. Husbands must be involved with their wives in every aspect.

The husband is the provider (1 Timothy 5:8). That doesn't mean the wife can't help. Proverbs 31 describes a wife who does help, but the bulk of it falls on the husband. He must work to provide for his wife and kids sufficiently.

"Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home." Proverbs 27:8

A husband should not be away from home. That's not saying he can't work or go out once in a while, but if a husband is always out running around and spends very little time at home, neglecting his family, that is a cruel man. The truth is if a guy can't stay at home and is always out with friends or doing something else besides being with his wife he's acting in pure selfishness. A husband's first priority is to be the head of the family and provider. It's true that the wives are the home builders and are a huge influence on their kids, but stability, security, a huge amount of learning, strength, guidance, teaching, emotional, mental and physical stimulation doesn't come from moms...it comes from dads.

1 Peter 3:7 "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as they live with they wives, and treat them gently as the weaker vessel and as heirs with they of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder they prayers."

Wives are not inferior because they're weaker...it simply means don't treat or speak to they wife like she's one of the guys and assume she can handle it. Instead a husband is to treat his wife as if she were a delicate crystal glass...and compared to men she is. By using the word vessel it pictures something being filled or with the capacity to fill. If a husband is pouring into his wife verbal abuse joking or not...a woman isn't able to contain that like other men can. He will destroy her.

Genesis 2:24 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh"

I'm sorry, but mommy can't come with them. "A man will leave"..."they will become one flesh". In this case 1 + 1 = 1. A man's mom cannot be one flesh with them. If he can't live without his mother being involved in every area of their life, if he runs back to mom when he and his wife are having problems and fills her in on personal issues then he has no business getting married. This can and will ruin a marriage.

Proverbs 5:18-20


May they fountain be blessed, and may they rejoice in the wife of they youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer — may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?"

A husband is to be satisfied with his wife and look to her to fulfill his needs. He is to keep pursuing his wife with love and kindness even 10-20-40 years down the road. They are the protectors and their wives need to feel safe with them.

Wives, our lives are wrapped up in them. As head, leader, guide, teacher, provider and protector we depend on them more than they think we do. Everything we are, everything we become (outside of God) is in them. They are an enormous influence and factor. We look to them for so many things and if they can't provide, if they're too selfish, if they're too immature or lazy they're destroying their wives and don't even realize it.

If they're the teacher then they must teach. If they're the leader then they must lead! All the time. If they're the protector and provider then they must protect and provide always. Not half hearted. They were given that position by God therefore they're fully capable of filling it.

Statistically the wives follow the husbands when it comes to conversion. If the wife is a Christian and the husband is not statistically he doesn't convert. That is the enormous impact they have. This is the influence of a Leader. We think wives have the most influence because they are the home builders and mothers, but that's not true. It's the men.

The Crown of a Husband

For a look at what God expects from husbands go HERE

Marriage is a covenant and not a contract. There's a difference. A contract means two people have lists of demands and expectations and if they're not met at some point the contract can end. A covenant is lifetime and doesn't just involve two people...it also involves God. There's no getting out except through death. If demands are not met you can't just end a covenant. A covenant is entered with full knowledge and expectation of a life long union with full commitment on both parties of making it work when (not if) things go down hill.

Wives...

Ephesians 5:17-30 "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. . . .Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church."

Philippians 2:6-8 "Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. But made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!"

In essence, Christ (as God) was and is equal to the Father, but he didn't cling to that, argue with the Father about coming here, butt heads etc. He submitted to the Father even though They're equal. Wives are to view and treat submission to husbands the same way.

Submit doesn't mean be a door mat. Submit means, though we are equal in standing before God, on a team such as a husband and wife, both can't be chiefs. One has to submit for harmony in marriage and that is the wife. We are to submit to his authority that God gave him. Society teaches us differently, but to God women are to submit to their husbands as long as he's following God's will. If we have to choose between submitting to God or our husbands we must go with God. If the husband is a godly man then he'll have no problem with this. If he suddenly wants you to help him break the law then submission is out.

Proverbs 12:4 "An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones"

Being a crown to a husband means a wife is a visible treasure to everyone just as a crown on her husband's head would be. Her excellence is well known. Her husband is honored to be with her, thinks of her as a blessing and a source of great joy. A man who has a wife like this is considered highly blessed by God.

The opposite wife, who is shameful, is compared to rottenness in his bones. She's shameful, disrespectful, flirtatious, obnoxious and a total embarrassment to him.

Proverbs 21:9 "Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife."

This doesn't mean a wife can't disagree with her husband, but this type of wife is always fighting with him, she's always locking horns with him, always difficult, always starting a war no matter what he does. Basically if a man has this kind of wife it's just better for him that he go live on the roof.

Proverbs 9:13 "The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge."

The loud wife is an overbearing and domineering wife. A woman who has a overwhelming opinion on everything, gossips about everyone, is snide, mean spirited toward others, malicious and obnoxious.

Undisciplined wife actually translates "seductive" wife. She's flirtatious with other men. Jesus said "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28

A married man or woman who flirts with someone else, looks at another sexually, thinks about them sexually, looks at porn etc....has already committed adultery.

Without knowledge translates "stupid". She's uninformed. She opens her mouth and has something to say about everything and tears people down. She has no idea what she's talking about. By tearing her husband down she's made the marriage a mother/child relationship. This will cause a "divorce" without actually getting one. The man withdraws from his wife emotionally, mentally and physically...basically he'd rather chew off his arms then hang out with her in a any way. By him doing this it's causing him to sin because he's depriving his wife. He may also look elsewhere to get his needs met which turns him into an adulterer.

Now the excellent wife....


        Proverbs 31:30 "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

An excellent wife builds the home and fears the Lord. First priority is she fears the Lord. She loves, honors, respects and worships God. This is the most important. If a woman does this she will fall in line everywhere else because she fears God and how she treats others is part of that fear or reverence. This kind of wife is a blessing, a treasure from God.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting. This doesn't mean a beautiful or charming woman is bad, but if that's all she has to offer then it won't turn out well later. None of that lasts, but if she fears the Lord that is highly virtuous and that not only lasts, but it ages well. An excellent wife is to be praised. This kind of woman is someone her husband is proud of, can trust and can wear as a crown to everyone.

We are to place high value on being a wife and mother. Our first priority outside of God is to build the home which is building the family. There's nothing wrong with having a career, but our first career and priority is the home...making it a place where our husbands are helped, safe, loved, cared for and at peace when he walks through the door. Where our kids will be treated the same way and brought up under the admonition of the Lord. Where both get nourishment, compassion, love and support from us. We are the home builders...life builders and that's a huge responsibility.

And lastly Proverbs 31...

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

 ¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find?
   She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
   and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
   all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
   and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
   bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
   she provides food for her family
   and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
   out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
   her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
   and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
   and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
   for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
   she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
   where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
   and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
   she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
   and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
   and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
   her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
   but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
   and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Hey Meatball Maker! You Suck!

I made my grandmas recipe for meatballs for dinner. I even slow cooked them in her old crock pot for 5 hours. It was my first attempt and everything went good. I'm a pretty good cook so I was confident. How hard could it be?

Part of the ingredients for the sauce was a half jar of grape jelly and a jar of cocktail sauce. No problem! 5 hours later everything was ready and Sharb came in from work and I knew he was starving. I served him and he's staring at the meatballs on his plate. Sharb is used to Iranian food which I can't cook....yet. But he's ok with eating what I know which is a whole lot of American and some Jewish. When he wants what he's used to he always cooks it himself and he's a really good cook! But as far as my cooking...as long as he eats and it's good he's not picky. Thank God too!

Because of the jelly they were really dark on the outside. That's normal. I assured him they were good. My grandma used to make them for parties or holidays and everyone loved them. They were always the first things to go. I wasn't hungry because I'd been munching the whole day so I left him in the kitchen to eat while I put more laundry in the washer and came back a few minutes later. He was rinsing my meatballs off under the water faucet! The poor man was so hungry he was willing to rinse them off and eat them!

I'm like "what are you doing?!" And he says "did you try these?" No but how could anything be wrong? I followed her recipe to the last detail

so I tried one. O Lord help me they sucked something fierce! The actual meatball itself was good but something happened to the grape jelly sauce they cooked in during the process and there was a whole lot of weirdness going on. Sharb kept rinsing them off and says with his mouth full "baby don't make this again ok?"

So one recipe out the window and I ended up making dinner twice. I couldn't let him eat those things. God talk about blonde moments! Sometimes following directions doesn't help. I should've at least tried one before giving them to him lol

Selfishness Wears A Mask Called "Blame"

"'The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?" Ezekiel 18:2

When this was quoted Judah had been attacked by the Babylonians and taken into exile. God had been warning Judah for decades that if they didn't straighten up He would use the Babylonians to  straighten them up for them. He'd been warning them of this even before the Babylonians were a power or threat to anyone. They didn't take Him seriously or the Babylonians so God was forced to keep His word. What did most of the people do? They blamed everyone before them. It was there fathers sins that brought this judgment not themselves. Their fathers sinned and now they...the innocent were paying for it. They blame shifted.

They were all aware of the warnings God was giving them but they did nothing about it. The children followed in their fathers footsteps of everything wrong instead of paying attention, turning it around and doing what was right to avert God's judgment. When the time came after so many opportunities of going the right way and so many warnings...they simply blame shifted. By doing this they were ultimately accusing God of getting it wrong. He was unjust holding them responsible for things they didn't do. Did it end their captivity? No. They sat around in Babylon having a pity party over their innocence. Those before them may not have listened, but neither did they. They knew right from wrong and chose as their fathers chose...the wrong path. So they carried just as much responsibility as those before them. The key here....they knew right from wrong. When we know right from wrong no amount of blame shifting really holds any weight.

Have you ever known someone who takes little to no responsibility for their behavior? No matter what happens or what they do it's always the fault of someone else? I'm sure you do. In fact you only need to look in the mirror because we all do it. Blame shifting is part of our own depravity. We're not only taught this through all forms of media and psychologists, but it's self preservation. It could be excessive pride or fear of consequences. If someone is a murderer then they were traumatized as a kid by someone else. If someone is a thief it's societies fault. If someone is a molester it's because they were molested etc. People have millions of excuses for bad behavior. Instead of adjusting behavior to the standards of right and wrong, even though we know it's wrong, we continue to do it and blame others for it. It's a lot of work to change. It doesn't always feel good to change. We don't get what we want right away if we change. There are no immediate rewards by changing.

I'm not saying individual backgrounds don't effect people. It does. I'm not saying personal struggles or past abuse isn't a factor in how people behave. It is. But when we know right from wrong and continue in bad behavior then there are no excuses left no matter what our background is. People who abuse often claim they were abused therefore they acted out of wrongs done to them. That argument doesn't work. They knew they'd been wronged. If they knew they were wronged by others then they're fully aware of right and wrong therefore are now fully responsible for their actions.

The knowledge of right and wrong is used in courts every single day that so many try to get around by blaming their parents, friends, bullies, insanity, mental disorders, society, etc. In these post modern times, right and wrong is no longer absolute. You'll hear something like "Everything is not so black and white" or "to you that's wrong, but to me it's not" or "I don't believe as you do" or "I don't have the same opinion" or "who am I hurting?"

How did we go from right and wrong being absolute to this? One word..."selfishness". Instead of reigning in bad or destructive behavior people have just let it all hang out, made excuses for it and then forced others to accept it for no other reason than because of selfishness. "Doing this makes me feel good so why should I change or stop it when I like it?" or "Living this way is conducive to my personality so deal with it" Just because we don't want right and wrong to be absolute, because it cramps our style (ie sinful nature), doesn't mean it stopped being absolute. Did the world stop being round because everyone believed it was flat? Did the planets stop revolving around the sun just because everyone believed the sun revolved around earth?

Ever notice when someone points out bad behavior we get all defensive and irritated? I'm guilty of it too. I'm not excluding myself here. Our usual first reaction is to think or say "who are you to tell me what to do? Weren't you doing A, B and C last week? Stop being a hypocrite!" Then instead of adjusting our behavior and conforming it to right and wrong we rationalize in our minds so and so is a hypocrite and doesn't know what they're talking about and continue on in our bad behavior. That's just our own selfishness rearing it ugly head.

Humans can justify anything. We have excuses for everything we do especially if it's wrong. When we're being rewarded then no one gets the credit, but us. If it's wrong then we have 1,000 people lined up to get the credit for that. It's simply because we're selfish creatures. Selfishness is behind almost everything we do. Take a look at yourself...how often have you done something "good" so you could brag about it to others? So others would think you were awesome? Because you would get something out of it? Examine yourself. Look at your motives just for a minute on everything. I've done this too and didn't fair well.

Selfishness ruins lives. Selfishness ruins marriages and other relationships. Selfishness is a monster we all carry around. Selfishness in extreme is why we have millions crowding prisons and jamming up court systems. We always recognize it in others right away, but how often do we see it in ourselves without blaming someone else? When we become aware of what's "wrong" or "bad" the only one who bears the responsibility to change it is us.

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." Galatians 6:7

If you sow tomato seeds the chances of  reaping pumpkins is zero.  If we sow "bad" then it's absolutely insane to expect a harvest of "good". We reap exactly what we've sown. The consequences always catch up and consequence never makes a mistake. No amount of blame shifting will save anyone when the chickens come home to roost. If we spent as much time and energy on doing what was right as we do on blame shifting in selfishness to avoid consequences this world would be a much better place.

Do You Have A Slave Mentality?

How much do you complain? How much do you complain about your life? We all do it, but did you know God hates complaining? Did you know He takes it very personally? This is a slave mentality. Let me explain and start from the beginning...

The Book of Exodus is all about the Jews leaving Egypt where they'd been enslaved for 430 years. Then God sends in Moses to lead them out of Egypt because...

"The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them." Exodus 2:23-25

Over 1 million Jews left Egypt under the leadership of Moses and Aaron and under the protection of God. There were even Egyptians who went with them after they witnessed this foreign God showing up so powerfully for His people. We automatically think they were ecstatic about being set free and celebrated as they left. These people witnessed some of the greatest miracles that are still talked about thousands of years later. They also had the God if the universe leading them in the form of a fiery cloud as they left slavery.

Slavery was all they'd known. They knew no other way of life. As much as they wanted to be free they didn't have a clue about living free. They talked about, dreamed of it, imagined what it must be like, but the only thing they knew about freedom was what they saw around them among the Egyptians or others who came to Egypt. They wanted it, they just didn't really know what it was. Even Aaron was clueless.

For someone like Moses who grew up in Pharaoh's house, privileged, free to do anything he wanted, to come and go, to not have to put in back breaking labor, he understood what freedom was. He understood that freedom was not just living without an overseer, living without starving, being beaten, having children taken from you to work in someone else's fields, being murdered by a harsh overseer and living under the worst kinds of conditions. They were now free to make life for themselves and to prosper, but it doesn't come without work in itself.

So they leave and they get to the Red Sea. God was still leading the group and He led them right to the Red Sea. There's no where for them to go. I'm sure some if not most were wondering why they were at the edge of the sea. They settled down for a while to rest, eat and to feed and water all the livestock with them.

Exodus 14...

Some Jews looked up and spotted Pharaoh and his army marching toward them. They freaked. God led them to the sea and now the Egyptian army was coming straight for them. There was no where to run and with the amount of people and livestock, they'd never get away even if they tried. They're now screaming in absolute horror. Some turned on Moses...


“Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”Exodus 14:11-12

They saw God act powerfully on their behalf in Egypt. They could look up and see the cloud still hovering there, still leading them. They knew the miracles God performed through Moses and Aaron, but they still went into meltdown. Does that make them stupid? No...just human. Remember slavery was all they'd known.

Moses assures them by yelling  “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”Exodus 14:13-14

Nice speech. Moses knew God didn't go through all the trouble to bring them out only to let them die, but Moses even lost faith for a moment. What he knew and what he could see around him was clashing

"Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move forward." Exodus 14:15

Over 1 million people were panicking and no amount of assurance was going to calm them. It was mayhem. They were stuck between a rock and hard place and Moses was wasting his breath. Basically God told him to zip it. The only thing Moses needed to be doing was getting the people to move. Move where? To the sea!

Suddenly the cloud moved from in front of the group to behind coming between the army and the Jews. The cloud threw darkness over the army so they couldn't see what was happening and there was light on the other side for the Jews as they advanced. The sea split and the Jews started through. It was no minute walk. They had to cross the sea so it took a long time. Eventually they reached the other side and verse 31 says the Jews feared God after seeing what He did to the sea and how he took out the Egyptian army. They feared Him and they trusted Him...for a little while.

Jump ahead 3 days after this awesome miracle. Now they're in the desert. It's hot, dry, and the water where they were couldn't be drunk. The people start complaining about Moses Exodus 15:24. By another miracle, God makes the bitter water drinkable for them. They all saw it, experienced it, drank it and lived.

Now they've been led by God to the Desert of Sin between Elim and Sinai. They've run out of food and water. People are exhausted, hungry and thirsty. Did they look back at everything that had happened over the last 2 1/2 months and say "God will provide"? No, they started complaining again...


“If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”Exodus 16:3

Still patient, God acknowledges their need, but points out their grumbling against Him (Ex 16:7) Instead of trusting Him and seeking His provision they whine. But look at what was said. "There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted"

Jump ahead a little more. They leave the Desert of Sin and end up in Rephidim and there was no water there. It's easy for us to look at everything and judge the Jews for complaining once again but we do the same thing.

“Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" Exodus 17:3

This happens several times more later on. "Why did you bring us out of Egypt? We may have been slaves, but at least we had constant food and water supply!" Despite everything, they still kept returning to the slave mentality. Eventually God got sick of it (among other things) and didn't allow the generation who came out of Egypt to enter the Promised Land including Moses. Instead He lead the entire group around in a giant circle in the desert until all the people from that generation was dead. It was the next generation He allowed to go in.

We know everything written is an example to us and a picture of things to come. Having been set free, how often do we complain and look back at the old life with regret? I look back sometimes. Things were extremely difficult living with my father, but living on my own isn't easy either. At first I was thrilled to be out from under him and now able to live my life without being treated so bad but then reality set in. It may have been rough there but I had very little to worry about as far as money and necessities went. I always had gas money. I always had my pick of whatever food or drink I wanted. The bills were always paid. If I needed something I got it. His company may have become a war zone, but it was comforting to not be alone at night knowing he was just in the next room. I had some protection. A lot of people will stay in awful conditions simply because they're afraid to live any other way.

God didn't forget the Jews had to eat and drink. He didn't take a wrong turn when He led them to the Red Sea. The Egyptian army wasn't a surprise to Him. He was testing them. Would they trust Him and depend on Him for everything or would their faith take a nose dive? He didn't expect them to be pinnacles of faith when they first got their freedom. He knew freedom was going to be shocking and terrifying for them at times. They knew nothing other than being treated like dirt and slavery. They didn't know how to act once they were out and we do the same thing.

We don't know how to act when He brings us from a way of life into something so much better. People can adapt to almost any situation. When all you know is garbage..."better" is a shock to the system. The old life may have been bad, but we knew that life. We were familiar with it. It was predictable. We knew what to expect. We learned how to survive in it. When we leave that lifestyle everything is turned upside down. Everything is uncertain. Change is scary. Nothing's familiar and predictable and we tend to freak out and even sometimes go back to a bad lifestyle simply because we know it.

He's patient, He's merciful and compassionate but eventually he expects better from us. When we complain about our lives it's actually complaining that God doesn't know what He's doing. What He's doing for us and for our benefit isn't good enough and we're ungrateful. God isn't indifferent or let's things run without Him only showing up if he absolutely has to. He micro manages every thing and every area from the smallest aspects of our lives to the largest. Complaining about anything does nothing but make God angry.

Eventually He'll test us. Eventually things may go down hill in the worst way. Are we gonna complain about and look back at the old life or are we gonna trust Him? Things will change if we just wait and trust.