As stated in Part 1, there is a lot we can learn from the people of Israel in their exodus out of Egypt. God has clearly stated in His word that the Israelites are to be an example that we need to learn from so as to not repeat the same fatal mistakes they made. Much of the Israelite's grumblings and murmurings revolved around food and drink. Let us look at a complaint of the Israelites in Numbers 11:5-6, “We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”
If we take an honest look at ourselves, we can't deny that we have also disregarded the nutrition of food in favor of a more pleasurable and self-gratifying eating experience. Furthermore, the Israelites whined that they did not have meat to eat, Numbers 11:13 “Give us meat that we may eat!.” The long suffering of the Lord was about to end for some of these gluttonous and greedy Israelites. Listen carefully to the sarcasm of the Lord spoken through Moses to the people of Israel. Numbers 11:18-20, “Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, 'Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.' Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. 'You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” ' ”
What follows next is a severe consequence of not denying the god of your belly. Numbers 11 :33-34, “While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a severe plague...and many people were buried who had been greedy”. By definition, over indulgence in the area of food and drink is gluttony. This is considered a grievous sin according to God's word, and as evidenced by the Israelite's example.
Therefore, this is something we all need to strive against whether we are overweight or not. If you don't consider yourself as needing to make changes in this area you are not only going to have health issues, but your eternal destination does not look good either, as stated in Philippians 3:19 “whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things”. Many in our culture today would rather take a pill to deal with the symptoms of being overweight rather than deny our sensual and gluttonous appetite. How we tend to our physical and mental health is a direct reflection of how we manage our spiritual health. It takes hard work and self denial to maintain our physical health, and the same is true in the spiritual realm that demands self denial and perseverance to the end.
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