Exodus
15:22-17:7 - God Provides Water and Manna
After God delivered His people from bondage
in Egypt, Moses led them into the Desert of Shur. They traveled for 3 days without finding
water. They finally found water, but it
was bitter and they could not drink it.
The Israelites began to grumble against Moses saying, "What are we to drink?" - Ex. 15:24. Really they were complaining against The
Lord. They had already forgotten what
the Lord and Moses had done for them.
Moses turned to God for help. God
showed him a piece of wood and when he threw it into the water, the water
became sweet.
Then God made a decree and a law for
them. If they would listen and do what
was right in God's eyes, and if they would pay attention to His commands and
keep all His promises, He would not bring any diseases that He brought on
Egypt. God said, "I am the Lord, who heals you." - Ex. 15:26. Then they came to
a place with 12 springs and 72 palm trees.
God provided as He always does.
Where do you turn for
help when all seems hopeless?
Do you remember what God
has done for you in the past?Do you listen to Him and obey His commands?
Abundant life comes from God. He said, "I am
the Lord, who heals you." Why
did they need to be healed? They
needed to be healed from a broken life as slaves and broken hearts from being
oppressed. We all have heart-break. God can retrain our thinking to have the right
perspective of Him. He does not give us
what we deserve. He commands us to
continually repent. He heals us from our
sins.
On the 15th day of the 2nd month (1 month
after they left Egypt) the Israelites complained to Moses again saying, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all
the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this
entire assembly to death." - Ex.
16:3. Again Moses turned to the Lord
and the Lord said, "I will rain down bread from
heaven to you. The people are to go out
each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see
whether they will follow my instructions.
On the sixth day they are to prepare what they are to prepare what they
bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other
days." - Ex. 16:4-5.
God brought the Israelites out of Egypt
and He was trying to bring Egypt out of the Israelites. He was retraining them. God tested them by telling them to pay
attention and following His instructions.
A test is used to strengthen the spirit.
It is a preparation for when trials come. God wanted them to rely on Him. Instead of praying they grumbled. He knows you trust Him, but He wants you
to know you trust Him.
Complaining is unproductive, praying is productive. Praying shows belief.
God was teaching them what it means to
obey before He brings the Law. Manna
lasted 40 years, but God's Word is eternal.
Can you trust God for
your daily needs?
How has God been testing
you?Have you been testing God or trusting God?
The Lord heard their grumbling and He
said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the
Israelites. Tell them 'At twilight you
will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. The you will know that I am the Lord your
God.'" - Ex. 16:11-12.
Do you complain about
your circumstances and blame others? When you
complain about anything, you are blaming and complaining against God. He is the God of circumstance. Our complaining is always against His
ordering of our lives. I hope you will
stop and think before you complain next time.
Go gave them quail to eat in the evening
and manna or bread in the morning. Manna
was an outright miracle. It just
appeared on the ground and was available year round. It fed 2 million people. The quail was temporary, but the manna lasted
for 40 years. Nothing in nature is like
that. Its attributes are like that of
God's Word: perfection, complete
truthfulness, authority, and power to give life and change lives. Manna was freely given to them. They did nothing to earn it. All they had to do was to gather it and they
had to do it daily. That's like God's
Word. He gives it to us freely and all
we have to do it read and study it. And
it is best to do it regularly. It is
fresh every morning and will last forever.
Manna is a symbol of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I
am the bread of life. He who comes to me
will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
- John 6:35. "I am the bread
of life. Your forefathers ate the manna
in the dessert, yet they died. But here
is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from
heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he
will live forever. This bread is my
flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." - John 6:47-51. Jesus is the source of life. Without Him we will die If we take Jesus into our inter beings, we
will have eternal life.
The Israelites continued traveling in the
desert and then they began to complain a 3rd time. This time it was about water again. Had they not learned anything? They accused Moses of bringing them out of
Egypt to die of thirst. Moses told them
they were putting the lord to the test.
They were looking to man and not to God.
They still lacked faith in God.
The Lord again provided for them.
It the presence of the elders God had Moses strike a rock and when he
did, water came out.
In 1
Corinthians 10:4 Paul refers to this rock as a symbol of Jesus Christ. In John 4 Jesus calls Himself living
water. "If
anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has
said, streams of living water will flow from within him." - John 7:37-38.
The Israelites grumbled and complained 4
times; in 15:24 they grumbled about
no water; in 16:2 they grumbled
about no food; in 17:2 they grumbled about no water again; and in 17:7 they tested God saying, "Is the Lord among us or not"? Not once did they repent.
They had the habit of the sin of
complaining. They really needed God's
cleansing power. They needed to
repent. Repentance is turning away from
sin and turning to God. We all battle
with sin throughout our lives and it's not easy, but with God the battle over
sin becomes much easier. Sometimes we
are not even aware of our sin. Ask God
to reveal to you where you are sinning.
We can't hide our sin from God, because He knows them all. Jesus died for every sin. There is no sin He cannot forgive.
What sin do you need to
confess and repent?
What things do you
complain about?Principle: God cares for us despite our complaints and heals us of our bitterness.
Exodus
17:8-16 - God Provides Victory
The Amalekites attacked the Israelite at
Rephidim and a battle was inevitable. So
Moses told Joshua to choose men to go and fight the Amalekites and that he
would stand up on top of the mountain with the staff of God in his hands, which
was usual done when praying. Joshua was
Moses assistant during the 40 years they were in the desert. Moses then went up to the mountain along with
Aaron and Hur. Moses held his hands high
with the staff of God during the battle.
As long as his hands were up Joshua was winning. When his hands dropped, so did the
troops. Aaron and Hur helped Moses by keeping
his arms steady and the Israelites were encouraged. At sunset the Amalekites were defeated.
This raising of hands was a powerful,
effective, and encouraged to the Israelites.
Prayer is necessary and important.
God told Moses to write down these things so Joshua and the people would
remember and that it would be remembered for generations. This is the first reference to actual writing
of any biblical material. When the
battle was over Moses built an altar to the Lord and called it, "The Lord is my banner." - Ex. 17:15.
Are you dealing with
struggles or disappointments?
Do you take them to God
in prayer?Who is your banner?
What kind of friend are you?
Do you support others when they need encouragement?
Principle: Through prayer God empowers His people to experience victory in daily battles.
Exodus 18
- God Provides Judges
Moses had sent his family away. We don't really know why, but he sent his
wife and sons to her father, Jethro.
Maybe so they would be safe or maybe so they would not be a distraction
to him during his encounters with Pharaoh.
Jethro heard all that God had done for Moses and the Israelites. Jethro and Moses' wife and sons came to Moses
in the desert. Moses told him of God's
power and Jethro praised God of all that had happened.
Remember the Israelites were slaves and for
such a long time they made no decisions for themselves. Now they were free and needed someone to make
decisions for them. They needed direction. Moses became the one they took their problem
to. Jethro saw Moses judging the people
and was concerned that Moses would wear himself out. Moses was working too hard trying to judge
all the peoples' problems by himself.
Jethro suggested that Moses be the peoples' representative before God
and to teach them the decrees and the laws and show them how to live and what
duties to perform. He is suggesting that
Moses be their pastor and have a ministry of prayer, intercession, and seeking
the wisdom of God on behalf of the people.
Then Moses should select from all the
people capable trustworthy men who feared God and put them in charge over thousands,
hundreds, fifties, and tens and to let them settle the disputes. Then Moses could settle the more difficult
problems. Moses accepted Jethro's
advice.
Are you willing to say
something hard to someone that they need to hear?
Do you have a Jethro in
your life?Do you need to be a Jethro for someone?
Do you accept advice of other Christians or are you prideful?
Do you weigh their advice against God's Word?
Principle: Wise leaders listen to godly advice.
Not letting others do things by trying to
do it all yourself is pride, fear, and unbelief. No one person in a church can do
everything. God gave each one a
different gift and we are to work together.
In the New Testament leaders were appointed. Jesus chose 12 apostles, deacons were called
in Acts , and when Paul established churches he placed elders over the
people. Like the judges in the Old
Testament, leaders today are to be trustworthy, honest, respectful, sincere,
self-controlled, hospitable, able to teach, gentle, not quarrelsome, not a
lover of money, fear God, etc. They are
to be selected by the people. See 1 Tim. 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9 for more
qualifications.
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