Numbers 11:20 But even a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt.
Even after the people complained and God sent manna from heaven to eat, they still complained that they didn’t have meat to eat. The Lord ended up sending more quail meat than they could use, so that they were stuffed. Their response to the Lord’s kindness and provision was even more complaining: they despised the Lord and wept.
To despise someone is to think badly of, or even to think lightly of, the Giver and the miraculous gifts He gives. Christians don’t know that they are showing hatred toward God when they ignore Him by just setting aside thoughts of the Lord in their lives on a daily or weekly basis. Christians don’t know that absenting themselves from worship is displaying hatred toward God by “despising preaching and His Word.” Thus the Word reveals to us what is really going on with our responses to the Gospel.
Israel complained, “Why did we come out of Egypt?” Christians sometimes have wondered why their lives haven’t gotten better since they were saved. They need God’s Word to show them what they have really been saved from, and how great and good is God and His Gospel. Then the lifestyle response is one of trust and thanksgiving. And life is good, no complaints.