Exodus 16:1 The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. ² The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 

We know that the Israelites wandered through the desert wilderness for 40 years before they entered the Promised Land. V.1 tells us this occurred in the second month of the journey, so they were just getting started. V.3 gets my attention, particularly “for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Of course this is a ridiculous thing to say. Moses did nothing of the sort, as was made obvious by the devastating plagues God brought upon Egypt before Pharaoh finally let the people go. But the people are hungry and tired and need someone to blame. They don’t dare blame God, so Moses and Aaron will have to do.

Has that ever happened to you? People blaming you for something you didn’t do? Me too, it’s no fun. While there’s often little we can do about that, we can ask the Lord’s help in averting misplaced blame in the first place. Lord let it be so. Amen.