How to Be Impatient with God (Num 21.7) ‣ Praying Through the Bible

The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

Numbers 21.7

Background

This brief mention of prayer is one in a series of scenes, some long, and some short, which continue to show the complaining nature of the Israelites. In this passage, they leave Mount Hor and take a circuitous route around the land of Edom (perhaps to avoid trouble). The people “become impatient” (literally, in Hebrew, “the soul of the people became impatient/discouraged”). This shows that they are not just experiencing slight irritation—they are irate about their difficulties in the desert. We might be quick to criticize them. After all, God delivered them from slavery, but would we be any better after months or years of wandering in a desert? How chipper would we be when we must wonder where our next camp will be, where the next meal will come from, and if we will find enough water?

1. See, for example, 2 Kings 5.8–14 and John 9. ↩
2. John 3.14. ↩