The people had been freed from slavery in Egypt. God had protected them from being captured by Pharaoh's army, he had sent them manna and fowl to eat, had given them fresh water and had allowed them to defeat the armies that came against them.
They still complained against God and Moses and talked about what they had left behind in Egypt. It seems like their complaints had been heard, but the answer was not what they wanted.
God sent seraph serpents that bit many of them and of those, many died. Now they begged Moses to go to God and ask for forgiveness and to relieve their suffering.
The above is God's response.
We complain all the time. We know, now, that God does not send bad things into our lives, only good. However, we also know that when we have sinned, something dies inside of us.
When we are ashamed, we tend to blame the other person. If we are caught in sin, we want revenge on the person who caught us. I probably have already mentioned the friend who for years carried so much anger for an ex-husband that she developed serious stomach ulcers.
God doesn't want us to suffer; he wants to heal us just as he healed the Israelites in the wilderness. He has sent his Son to bring us the healing we need.
When Jesus was hung on the cross, there were those looking up at him who recognized who he was and were healed. We know their stories – the repentant thief and the centurion whose servant had been healed by Jesus.
If we only look upon the cross of Jesus and witness the love poured out for us in his outstretched arms, we too will find healing.
