The people craved meat instead of manna because they were discontent with God’s provision and longed for the foods they remembered from Egypt. Though manna was miraculous and sufficient, they despised it as too plain and desired variety. Their craving showed that their hearts were still tied to Egypt and that they were ungrateful for the Lord’s daily supply.
“Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ‘Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!’” (Numbers 11:4–6)
Their desire for meat revealed unbelief, for they treated God’s miraculous provision as worthless and craved the food of their slavery. This craving was not about hunger but about lust and dissatisfaction with God Himself. It reminded Israel, and us, that true contentment comes from trusting the Lord’s provision rather than longing for the pleasures of the past.
