Where's the Beef?

"He gave them exactly what they asked for—but along with it they got an empty heart (Psalm 106:15 The Message).

The incident the poet had in mind is described in the Old Testament book of Numbers: "The riff-raff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, 'Why can't we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt—and got it free!—to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna'"(Numbers 11:4-6). 

"So, you want to eat meat," Moses sighed. "God will give you meat—not just for a day and not two days, or five or ten or twenty, but for a whole month. You're going to eat meat until its coming out of your nose. You're going to be so sick of meat that you'll throw up at the mere mention of it" (11:19,20). 

A wind swept an enormous flock of quail in from the sea. "They piled up to a depth of about three feet in the camp and as far out as a day's walk in every direction. All that day and night and into the next day the people were out gathering the quail—huge amounts of quail; even the slowest person among them gathered at least sixty bushels." (11:33,34). "God gave them exactly what they asked for."

But they all got sick and many died. The place ever after bore the eponymous name, "Graves-of-Craving," because that's where they buried the people who demanded meat.

The take-away? Be careful what you ask for. You might get it. 

David Roper