pramsay posted on May 09, 2006 10:58 1161 views

The Bible doesn’t really tell us why a bunch of Egyptians decided to tag along with the Israelites when God led them of Egypt. Maybe some were intrigued or even blown away by the miracles Moses performed with his rod. Others could have been bored with the hum-drum life of living under the rule of Pharaoh, so they decided to do something new. Maybe a bunch of the Egyptian guys thought the Hebrew girls were about as good as they come, so they decided to travel with the Israelites. Perhaps some of the good Hebrew men were convinced the beautiful Egyptian girls had genuinely left their gods to follow the only true God – but they were sadly mistaken. The girls’ hidden agenda for traveling with the Israelites out of the land of Egypt was to snare a future husband.

I am only speculating about the reasons ‘why’ but here’s what I just read in Numbers 11:4-6: “And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? (5) We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: (6) But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.”

Over 3 million Israelites were delivered from the bondage of Egypt and they made their escape towards the Red Sea. But the multitude was not pure – it was a ‘mixed’ multitude. The word ‘mixed’ means riff-raff or a bunch of strangers who jumped on the bandwagon and joined the Israelites on the journey. It seems this bunch of people were the ones who started the whisper campaign of discontent. The riff-raff started craving the old things they used to enjoy back in Egypt. They ‘fell a lusting.’ They had never truly been converted to God – reality was missing in their lives. They were traveling with God’s people for ulterior motives. Instead of depth there was shallowness. They jumped on the bandwagon not because they believed in God but for some other reason. Now their true colors were coming out. They weren’t satisfied with the food God was providing in the wilderness – the manna. They became the agitators, the trouble makers, the under-miners. And they were a bad influence on the true Hebrew people. Eventually the Israelites were whining and complaining about the manna too. “What’s so great about this trip with God – weren’t we better off back in Egypt??!!”

The manna is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. The more time we spend in communion with Christ and enjoying HIM, the more we’ll be nourished and strengthened. He is our spiritual food. But if you are hanging out with someone who has jumped on the bandwagon for another reason – he or she will always be wanting something more than Christ to satisfy their needs. If love for Christ is missing, something’s desperately wrong. If the conversation goes dead when you try to bring up a spiritual discussion with a friend, be careful. If she always changes the subject or starts to squirm, be careful. Your nagging fear may be well founded. If there is zero spiritual interest, yikes – watch out!! If the person’s life contradicts their talk – be super careful. If you are allowing someone to influence your life who always seems to be agitating, criticizing or undermining what you know to be right – watch out! If they’re always telling you about the cucumbers, melons, leeks and garlic somewhere else – they may be on the bandwagon for a different reason. It happened in Moses’ day and it still happens today. People jump on bandwagons but reality is missing.

Why are you on the bandwagon – because of Christ or for some other reason?

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