John Piper: The Deadly Disease of Spiritual Amnesia
English: Moses Pleading with Israel, as in Deuteronomy 6:1-15, illustration from a Bible card published 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I am stunned every time I read the story of the Exodus . How can the people of Israel complain like they do? How could they be so ignorant, so stupid, so forgetful? The God of the universe had just tossed around the most powerful man on the face of the earth like a toddler with a rag doll. God didn’t just humble Pharaoh ; he broke his spirit and revealed Pharaoh’s impotence. A slave people and their God left him and his nation in shambles. This display of power sent vibrations throughout the world, inspiring fear and awe. The Deadly Disease of Spiritual Amnesia Yet Israel ’s response to this spectacular deliverance from Egypt is not mainly praise, worship, and whole-hearted trust. Instead, Israel responds with grumbling — complaining, murmuring, quarreling. “No water, Moses ! Where’s the beef, Moses?