Commentaries:
This passage expresses what motivates the rest of the story in chapter 11: They yielded to an intense craving. Have we ever had intense cravings? Was there a time when our taste buds were watering away for a piece of chocolate, a sundae, a piece of cake, pie ala mode, or maybe a nice filet mignon? Everybody has, but in most cases something stops us. We either do not have the money or the time or we are not in a place where we can fulfill our desire.
But we should not stop considering this with the desires that emanate from the stomach and taste buds. We desire a lot of things: nice clothing, nice homes, nice automobiles. We desire a husband or a wife. All sorts of desires can become so intense that they begin to drive our lives.
When we get into that kind of an attitude, we will begin to find that our desire is not only dominating our thinking, it is making us do what we do and say what we say. Chances are, if we fail to control it, we will begin to take advantage of situations to satisfy our overwhelming desire. We will take advantage of people, if need be, to satisfy it.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Passover and I Corinthians 10
When we start complaining about our plight, it is usually because our focus has shifted off the Lord, who is leading us, and onto our problems, the details of life. It usually involves something we think we ought to have but do not, so we feel as if He has given us the short end of the stick.
For instance, we think we would be happy or satisfied if we only had more money, a bigger home, a better job, better health, or some other advantage. So, we focus on these details and become ungrateful, dissatisfied, and bored with spiritual things or God's purposes. God tells us in Deuteronomy 8:3-5 that He fed Israel with the manna to discipline and train them so that they might understand an important truth, but their focus and desire were only on what they were missing and thought they needed. So they complained.
Manna was a perfect food and precisely what Israel needed at that time. It was healthy and nutritious, and it was not bland since it could be cooked in many ways. It also provided a perfect spiritual picture, representing Jesus Christ, the true Bread from heaven (John 6:32-35), the only One who can give abundant life. But because the people were focused elsewhere and thought happiness came from things like cucumbers and garlic, they considered it boring, becoming ungrateful for this miraculous food from God.
Do we get bored with the spiritual food we receive? Think about it. Complaining is generally the first sign that we are concentrating on our problems or the details of life rather than on Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.
Clyde Finklea
Consequences of a Wrong Focus (Part One)
