Jude 1:16

Long ago the *Israelites were slaves. But God rescued them. Then the *Israelites complained because God led them into the desert. There was no water to drink (Exodus 15:24; Exodus 17:3; Numbers 14:29). Of course people need water to drink, especially in a desert! So the *Israelites complained: ‘God ought to realise that!’

• Human character does not change. Lucian taught philosophy in the second century *AD. He writes about the same sort of person:

‘Nothing that happens ever satisfies you! You complain about everything. You do not want what you possess. You so desire what you do not have. In winter, you wish it was summer. In summer, you wish it was winter. You are like some sick people. You cannot please them. Nothing is right. Everything is wrong!’

• Such selfish people think only about themselves. They have no interest in what someone else may need.

A change of tone

v17 But, *dear friends, there have been similar alarms in our own day. Remember that the *disciples of our *Lord Jesus Christ also told us what would happen. v18 They said that in the last time, many people will laugh at holy matters. Such people will think only about their own wicked desires. v19 These are men that split society. Human emotions lead them. They do not obey God’s Spirit.