The Whining Israelite Losers
What is surprising about the whining they did in the Wilderness of Sin is that if we trace their journey after they crossed the Red Sea they went to:
1. Wilderness of Shur
In the Wilderness of Shur (Exodus 15:22) they experienced water shortage.
2. Marah
When they left the Wilderness of Shur, they went to Marah and found that they could not drink the water because it was bitter (Exodus 15:23) and they also whined about it.
3. Elim
After Marah, they went to Elim where they found 12 wells of water and 70 palm tress. (Exodus 15:27)
4. Wilderness of Sin
After Elim, they went to the Wilderness of Sin where they faced food shortage (Exodus 16:1) and so technically they should not have whined because they had seen God give them water in Elim after they suffered from water shortage in the Wilderness of Shur and Marah.
However, they did whine and as a result of all the whining and other things they did that upset God, He said told Moses, I have heard the complaints which the Israelites make against Me and tell them that the bodies of those who are older than 20 years who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness. They shall not enter the Promised Land except for Caleb and Joshua. (Numbers 14:26-29)
Therefore most of them died as losers in the wilderness after wandering for 40 years.
David the Non-Whining Winner
The whining tendency of the Israelite losers was different from the attitude of David the winner.We can see this when Saul was hunting him down trying to kill him because of jelousy because he had to leave his home with the other Israelites and live in caves with his followers. (1 Samuel 24:3)
When Saul and his army continued to pursue him, David had to go and live in the land of the Philistines with his men.
One day while he was living with the Philistines, David came home and found that the Amalekites had burnt his home to the ground and kidnapped his wives. His men then begun talking about killing him and what did David do?
Did he whine to God about being persecuted by King Saul even though he was innocent?
Did he whine about having to live in caves because of Saul's harassment?
Did he whine about having to move to a foreign land only to find his home burnt to the ground?
Did he whine about his wives being kidnapped?
Did he whine about his men wanting to kill him?
No, David did not whine.
David strengthened himself in the Lord.
David strengthened himself in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6) and then he prayed and asked God, Shall I pursue this troop? (1 Samuel 30:7)
And that is one difference between winning David and the Israelite losers - David did not whine.
David did not waste time annoying God by complaining about all the problems he was facing. He simply strengthened himself in the Lord and then prayed asking God what he should do about the problem.
God gave him the go ahead and said, Pursue and you shall surely overtake them and recover everything. (1 Samuel 30:8)
In the style of a true winner, David pursued and Recovered everything that the Amalekites had taken. Nothing of theirs was missing, either big or small, sons or daughters, spoil or anything they had taken from them. David recovered everything. (1 Samuel 30:18-19)
Therefore if you want to be a winner, do not whine about problems. Strengthen yourself in the Lord and then ask Him what you should do about the problem.
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