Daily Devotions

Exodus 14:24-25, During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”

The last watch of the night would be between 3 and 6 am. That is the time of the night it is usually the darkest and the coldest. But there is no rest for either the Israelites or the Egyptians, as they are fleeing and pursuing through the walls of water that were the Red Sea. If you remember, back in verse 20, the pillar of fire and cloud was giving light to the Israelites and darkness to the Egyptians. The Lord looked down from the cloud and threw the Egyptians into confusion.

The word for confusion means to confuse or discomfit. I’m not sure the last time I used discomfit in a sentence, so I looked it up. It means to make feel uneasy, confuse, fluster, unnerve, disturb, disorient, or to mortify. The Egyptians didn’t know what to do, is the idea. Maybe they saw the walls of water and realized they were in a bad place. Maybe they realized they were in the dark and the Israelites were in the light. And then their chariots wheels jammed, and they had a hard time controlling the vehicle.

And they realized the Lord was fighting against them for Israel. That in itself is enough to discomfit someone! Abe Lincoln was once asked if the thought the Lord was on the side of the union or the confederacy. Lincoln’s reply, I just want to make sure I am on the Lord’s side. And that needs to be the attitude we have. All of the different sides don’t matter: Russia or the Ukraine, Hamas or modern Israel, liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, man or woman, the list of different sides is endless. We need to be very careful which side we choose, it is not about our preference, it is about being on the Lord’s side. It is about following God no matter what anyone else does. These Egyptians are going to learn that in a hard way.

Father, help me always choose you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 14:26, Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”

Have you ever wondered what Moses or the Israelites thought was going to happen to the Egyptians? They were pursuing the Israelites and they seemed to be trapped, then God opened the way through the water and the Israelites were able to keep running, but what did they think was going to eventually happen? They knew they could not keep running forever. Something had to happen.

And who would have thought that Moses stretching out his hand would bring the waters crashing back down on the Egyptians? But the Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand before, and the wind blew and made a path for the Israelites. Why not stretch out his hand and have the water crash back down?

Have you ever done something you felt wasn’t going to make a difference, but you did it anyway? Maybe it was just the right thing to do, or it might have been the only thing you could think of, or the only thing you could do. But you did that thing, whatever it was, hoping something good would come out of it, feeble though it was. Perhaps that is what Moses thought when he raised his hand the first time; God said do it, why not do it? But he probably had more faith or hope this last time.

We need to realize God can and does do miraculous things. And sometimes God uses us to bring those things about. Think about the miracles God did because someone was obedient. Noah built an ark and mankind was saved. Abraham left his homeland and was ancestor to the Messiah. A widow used all her flour and oil to make a cake for Elijah and had enough for the entire famine. Peter stepped out of the boat. The disciples passed out five loaves and two fish to multitudes. Ten lepers went to the show themselves to the priest and were healed. That list goes on and on. And I bet you can think about an event in your life or the life of someone else, where much the same thing happened. Just a little faith, a little obedience, made a huge difference. God specializes in things like that; we do our part and God does the rest.

Father, help me trust and obey. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 14:27-28, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

The Lord has already thrown the Egyptian army into chaos on the sea bottom. And the wheels of their chariots have jammed so it was difficult for them to drive. And now Moses has stretched his hand out and the waters that were piled up have started flowing back to where they were. There is no doubt this only added to the chaos! They were all killed right there, not one of them survived.

This is a dramatic account of God taking care of his people. But it’s not the last dramatic report we will get of God doing miraculous things for his people. God is serious about protecting his people, as imperfect as those people are. We can think all the way back to Adam and Eve and see their sin. We were told of several less than upstanding events in the life of Abraham. Isaac did some of the very same thing Abraham did. And Jacob, the deceiver, followed in his ancestors’ footsteps. The sons of Jacob had sold their brother into slavery, and God turned that around and it became the beginning of the story about them being saved. And yet God never turned his back on his people. And the proof is here; Moses going back at God’s command, the people being led out of slavery, and now the Egyptian army being destroyed with not a sword stroke from the Hebrews.

We must realize God also works in our lives as well. Sometimes the story is not so dramatic, but sometimes it is. And we need to look for his hand and give him the praise for the blessings he gives to us. And that ought to give us hope in the bad times, just as God cared for us before, so he will again. We must trust him and be faithful to him. Those things are easier said than done, I know. But has never let us down yet.

Father, thank you for always protecting me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 14:29, But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

Can you even begin to imagine this? You know how my mind works. How tall was the wall of water? What did they see on the bottom of the sea? Could they see fish in the water? Really, none of those things matter, I know that. But I just wonder about so many things, and yes most of the time those things a irrelevant.

But think about it this way. Have you ever passed through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on your right and left? If you take that question literally, the answer is a solid no. But think about the times you were in an impossible position, as far as you could tell there was no good choice; an ocean of trouble was ahead of you and a destroying army of problems were behind you. Maybe it was a sickness and bills, maybe it was broken relationships and job troubles, maybe it was legal trouble and hurt feelings. Maybe it was a different combination of those thing or something entirely different. But you knew there was really no way out, you knew you were doomed, you knew everything was about to come to a crashing end.

And yet God stepped in and made a way. You still had to walk through the waters and you could still hear the approaching army, but you knew at that moment, if you followed the Lord, he would take care of you. Maybe those situations didn’t change; you still had the disease or the addiction or the relationship was broken beyond repair. But you knew God would carry you through to the other side. The situations might not have changed, but you did. Because you saw God do mighty things in your life.

Father, thank you for being bigger than my problems. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 14:30-31, That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

There are a couple of things to notice here. And if we not careful, we can get so caught up in the one, we forget the other. First, there is the death of the entire Egyptian army. There are many times we read in the Bible about massive deaths: God causes the deaths of many, like here and the firstborn in Egypt. There are times when armies are slaughtered or told to slaughter their enemies. The Israelites will later be commanded to kill all the inhabitants of the promised land. We read about plagues that kill thousands, famines that bring about death, and so forth. And maybe that causes us to wonder about God.

But there is something else to notice here, when the Israelites saw what had happened to their enemies, they had two responses. First they feared the Lord. That word for fear does not simply mean they were scared of God, it means they respected God. They realized the power and authority God had. It means they knew God could do things, miraculous things, that there was no way they could do. It means they recognized that God was indeed God and that they were not. It seems that many today do not fear the Lord, they do not recognize the authority that God has. They think they can do whatever they want, they make the rules, they decide what is right and what is wrong. They believe, or act as if they believe, they are the ultimate authority. We need to learn to respect God again.

And they put their trust in the Lord and in Moses his servant. It is one thing to realize someone has authority, but it is another to submit to that authority. That is what the people are doing here. They are willing to come under that power that God has and they are willing to trust and follow the leader God selected. Many folks are not willing to do that. Maybe we let our personality get in the way, maybe it is pride, maybe just don’t like the person or they don’t do things my way. But we must remember, God selected that person for that job. And I know leaders in the church are not perfect, but neither was Moses. He has already killed a man, doubted God and tried to weasel out of going back to Egypt and we will see still more of his failings as we continue through this book. But that does not change the fact that God chose him to be the leader.

This is really about submission. It is about recognizing God and his leaders. And it is about following them.

Father, help me be a good follower of you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
No devotions tomorrow, I’ll be off the grid. Have a Merry Christmas!

Exodus 15:1, Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.

There was a cute little song we used to sing in children’s church with words very similar to these. But where did Moses and the Israelites learn this song? As a general rule, songs were different in those days than in our day. I’m sure they had silly songs, things to make them laugh or simply to pass the time. But they used songs as a way to preserve and remember their history. They would write these songs and sing them not only as a means to praise and honor the Lord, but also to remind them of the things that had happened to them, as a way for them to pass this bit of history down to their children and grandchildren.

What if we did the same thing today? I know there are many little Bible songs we teach, or at least we used to teach, our children. And as we are at Christmas right now, there are an abundance of songs we can and do teach the kids; away in a manger, o little town of Bethlehem, silent night, and so forth. Songs are excellent ways for us to remember and pass on truths. I’m sure you can remember songs you used in school to remember different things, starting with learning the alphabet.

Maybe we need to rethink this, maybe we need to learn to set more information to some easy to remember and sing tune. Who knows, it might turn into an ear-worm, get stuck in your head and you can remember it for ever. You know, the means we use to learn these Bible truths is not nearly as important as the fact that we learn them. And we need to use whatever works the best for us, so that we can remember to honor the Lord for the things he has done, so that we can pass it on to others.

Father, help me remember and share the good news. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:2, “The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Those Israelites had seen a miracle and been rescued from Pharaoh for the last time. And what they do is sing a song of praise. How often are we rescued by God? There is no doubt that it is more times than we realize. Things happen to us and no matter how careful we are, no matter how alert we try to be, no matter what preparations we might make, there is always the unexpected that can happen. And in the same breath, how often does God protect us and keep us safe. Maybe we look back on the events and realize God stepped in. Or maybe we never even know about the disaster we came to so close too.

But like the Israelites, we need to realize God is our strength and defense. This certainly does not mean God will protect us from every single tragedy that comes our way. We know plenty of tough times and people going through them. Sometimes we are tempted to ask where God is and why he has not protected us. But we too often fail to realize he has. How much worse could the situation be? And regardless of how bad it is, God is still there with us, we never have to go through anything alone. And not only is God protecting us now, but he has protected us in the past. Those times ought to give us hope for today and tomorrow.

And our response should be to praise him. I know everything does not always work out the way we might like it. And in this life, there are things that get us down. But we need to learn to look on the bright side, on the God side. And if we can do that, and we can, we will see many reasons to praise the Lord. This needs to be our response every day. Every day there is something to thank God for. Every day we need to offer our praise to him. Because every day he is good to us.

Father, help me praise you every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:3, The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.

I don’t know that we really think about the Lord as a warrior. Maybe we think of God more as an old grandfather. He looks at us as many grandparents look at their own grandchildren; the smartest, cutest, funniest, most innocent, never do anything wrong people that have ever been born. It seems it is often a grandparent’s job to spoil the little guys and girls. Many think of God that way, looking at us and laughing at our antics. They cannot imagine God really doing anything to us.

And many look at Jesus as meek and mild, the lamb led to the slaughter. He went around telling good stories, teaching good lessons, but he was always kind of bullied by the religious leaders. When they arrested him, he simply went along with their plans, not standing up for himself. To be honest, they see Jesus as weak, not really able to do anything either for himself (as he was killed), or for us.

But the truth is, God is a warrior! A gentle warrior, a loving warrior, but still a warrior. God fought for the Israelites many times in the Old Testament, and the results were much like what happened to the Egyptians here; they were slaughtered, wiped out, completely destroyed. Think about Sodom and Gomorrah, the nations in the promised land, and the others that God exterminated who were against the Jews. But God also is gentle and merciful, think about the way he cared for those Jews along the way. And think about the compassion Jesus showed the helpless and harassed people.

And one day, Jesus will return, not just as a warrior, but as a conquering king, he will come to judge the earth. To separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And there will simply be two sides; those who are for Jesus and those who are against him. And those who have been for him will the faithful, those who didn’t jut give him lip service, but those who committed themselves to him, those who served him and his people, those who were faithful. Really, this is a choice we need to make today. We need to choose to follow God.

Father, thank you for being the Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:4-5, Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea.The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.

It wasn’t the scrubs that God defeated here, not even the second team. These were the best of the entire Egyptian army. You remember, it was 600 of his best chariots Pharaoh sent, along with all the rest of his chariots and the officers. It wasn’t that Pharaoh thought these Israelites were going to put up much of a fight, they were slaves all of their lives. But Pharaoh wanted to make sure the army did a thorough and complete job in attacking and destroying them.

And yet, Egypt’s best were no match for God. The battle was really no battle at all. There were no tales to tell around the campfires later, no stories about one Israelites fighting 10 Egyptians, no one who captured a chariot and turned it into the face of the opposing forces, no one who single-handedly held a position while reinforcements came or other escaped with their lives. There was only one hero in this story. And that is God. He drowned all of the Egyptians who pursued the Israelites through the sea. God, and only God, saved the day here.

We need to realize how many times God saves our day as well. Sure, there are challenges that we face and we know we need God, and God comes through for us. But there are other times we didn’t realize we were in such a mess until we look back on it, and yet there was God, ready, willing, and able to save us. And there are countless times that we were relieved of our trouble, and we know God had a hand in it. You see, God is still in the business of saving his people. And we, his people, need to realize that and praise him for it.

Father, thank you for your deliverance in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:6-7, Your right hand, LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, LORD, shattered the enemy. “In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble.

This whole chapter is a song of praise to God, there are different aspects that Moses and the Israelites sang about, but the theme is how God rescued them from the Egyptians for one final time. I am not particularly a songwriter, and I don’t do very well writing poems. But how much can we find to praise the Lord about? And what if we tried, at least from time to time, to write some of those things down. I have tried journaling in the past; nothing fancy, and nothing I cared to share with anyone else, but just writing out some of my personal thoughts to the Lord. It was a good exercise for me. Maybe you could try it some time.

But regardless, we see some of the thoughts of Moses here as he led the people in this song. Notice it is all about God’s greatness, his majesty, his power. God used that power to keep his people safe, to deliver them from the ones who were coming to attack and destroy them. How often do we think about God’s right hand coming to our aid? How often do we recognize God’s majestic power? It is there, everyday for us to see, but how often do we fail to notice it, or more likely take it for granted. How often do we see our enemies shattered? Maybe we don’t have enemies like the Egyptians and maybe their downfall is not as dramatic as being drowned in the sea. But don’t we know and see that God takes care of us each and every day?

Maybe we need to pay more attention to what is actually going on around us. Maybe we need to look for God working in our lives. Maybe we need to credit God’s hand with the blessings, safety, protection, and other good things we see in our lives, instead of thinking we accomplished this or that it was just some happy accident. And why don’t we go around with a song of praise to God on our lips and in our heart?

Father, help me recognize your blessings and praise you for them. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:8, By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood up like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

Sometimes we want to know how things happened, we are not satisfied that they just did happen. So often we read about the miracles in the Bible and cannot help but wonder how. That is the case with the Israelites crossing the Red Sea and the Egyptians being drowned in the same water. There are various “scholars” that try to explain away the miracles. Some claim that the water here was extremely shallow, more like a marsh or swamp (but there are some deep holes in the swamps of eastern North Carolina!), and the Israelites just scampered across this. But how did the entire Egyptian army drown in a few inches of water?

Back in 14:21 we read that Moses, at God’s command stretched out his hand and a strong east wind blew so that the water piled up. But that gives me another thing to wonder about, why were their two walls of water and how could the Israelites go through it? If the wind was from the east, all of the water would have been blown the same direction. Here we see it was the blast of the Lord’s nostrils that caused the water to pile up. And the water was surging as it stood up into the walls.

The simple answer is, it was a miracle. A miracle is defined as an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs. The key here is manifesting divine intervention, in other words, it is God acting outside the boundaries of what we consider normal. It is God doing something that is impossible. It is God. I might not understand how this happened, but I know who made it happen. Does that take faith, believing something that you can’t see or explain? Sure it does, and that is what the writer of Hebrews tells us the ancients were commended for. They didn’t always understand, but they always trusted God. Someone has said, and I am paraphrasing, The things I do know and understand about God give me confidence for all the things I don’t know or understand.

Father, help our faith increase. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:9-10, The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.' But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Verse 9 here tells us what the Egyptians were thinking and planning. They were anticipating a slaughter of the Israelites. The Egyptians were trained soldier, the best of the best that Pharaoh had, the best chariots, the best drivers, the best trained troops, the best weapons, the best armor, and so forth. The Israelites were basically escaped slaves. I know Pharaoh had released them, but he has changed his mind. And those slaves were not trained for battle. It really wouldn’t be a battle at all. The Egyptians were going to pulverize them.

But then God blew out the breath of his mouth, God exhaled. And that is when everything changed. The waters of the Red Sea divided and stood up like two walls on each side, the Israelites were given dry ground to escape on. Can you imagine how long it took for all of those folks to go through the water? They had lived there 400 years, they had prospered in spite of their slavery and Pharaoh was worried because there was so many of them. Exodus 12:37 tells us there were about 600,000, yeah six hundred thousand men, besides women and children, and the next verses tells us that many other people went up with them. Some commentators suggest this might mean as many as 2 million people. That presents trouble to some folks, as they wonder how it would be possible for that many people to cross the Red Sea, to wander in the desert, to find food and water there, about the logistics of the trip and so forth. The answer to that is simple, we talked last time about the fact that God performed miracles. God parted the sea, how wide was the part? God provided them manna and quail in the desert, he provided them water along the way. God himself guided them in a pillar of cloud and fire. It would be no problem for God to take care of any number of folks in the desert.

And that is the point this morning. There is nothing too hard for God. When the Egyptians charged between the walls of water, God let them flow back, they all sank like lead and were drowned there. We tend to look at things from our perspective, which is the only one we have. We need to look at things from God’s perspective. Nothing is impossible with God, nothing is too hard for God, God can do anything! And he saved these Israelites by breathing out. How much can God do for us? What problem do you or I face that is too big for God? What do we deal with that God cannot handle? We need to learn to trust him more, to commit ourselves to him more, to rely on him more.

Father, help me trust you more every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:11, Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Moses asks a question in his song: Who is like the Lord? Among all the other gods in the world, that any of the people worship, which one is like the Lord? This is a particularly pointed question at this point. The Lord has just rescued his people from the hand of the Egyptians. Obviously, there is the miraculous escape through the Red Sea, but think too about all of the plagues that came on Egypt. Each of those plagues was also an attack on one of the Egyptian gods. It is as if God took on those gods and defeated in personal combat. There was nothing those Egyptian priests, wise men, counselors, and so forth could do, nor could those gods do anything.

And think about the attributes of God Moses mentions here. Who is like God in his holiness? We know there is none perfect, not even one. And that is true among the false gods that people worshiped both then and now. But there is nothing impure or off in God. Think about God’s glory. Sure, there are some powerful, praiseworthy people in the world. But none of them compare to God, and that is true of the false gods as well. And who can do the things God can do? We’ve mentioned the parting of the sea and the plagues, but think about creation, the universe we live in, the intricacies of the human body, the natural laws, and so forth. No one can do those things, except God.

And so, we need to give God our praise, worship and commitment. It is one thing to praise and honor God. He is no doubt worthy of both of those. We need to gather to worship him publicly as well as worship him privately. But we also owe God our commitment. We need to honor him in all of the times we are not gathered with others. We need to live in such a way that he is honored by all we do. Simply put, we need a relationship with the Lord, and that relationship must be clear in everything we do. We need to honor God with our words, our actions, out thoughts, our possessions and so forth. That is the commitment we are called to make to God.

Father, help me honor you every step of my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:12, “You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies.

God, in his power, is able to do far more than we are able to imagine or understand. In a sense, the earth did swallow up the Egyptians, as the water of the Red Sea came crashing back on them. There was really nothing they could do. There was no way of escape. But for those who follow God, there is always hope, always an escape, always a way out of whatever trouble we find ourselves in. And that is what Moses and the Israelites are praising God for today.

This reminds us of the time Moses and Aaron found themselves opposed by Korah, Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16. These men and their followers came to oppose Moses and Aaron. There was jealousy and grumbling about the things Moses was doing. And if you remember, God opened the earth there and swallowed up those men, their families, and their possessions. Then the earth closed back behind them. That had to be a sobering experience for those who saw it. But God always protects his people.

We’ve talked about our troubles before, we live in a fallen and sinful world. Troubles are going to come, there is no getting around it. But I have noticed, the older I get, that it seems more and more of our problems are self inflicted. As James says we know the good we ought to do, but we don’t do it. Paul says much the same thing in Romans 7. But regardless, God is always there for us.That is not to say God is always going to take us out of the bad situation, but he will be with us as we go through it. We need to learn to lean into him, to trust him, to depend on him. And our rescue might not be as dramatic as the earth opening up and swallowing our opponents or a flood drowning them, but we can be assured God is there for his people.

Father, thank you for your care. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:13, In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

Do we ever stop to think about God’s unfailing love? Anyone who has been a Christian for a while knows the Greek word for God’s love for us is agape. It is the unconditional kind of love, the love that says I will love you regardless, I will pursue the greatest good for you. And not only does God have it towards us, but we are to have it for one another. But this is the Old Testament, it was written in Hebrew. The Hebrew word for love here is chesed. Other translations use words like mercy, loving kindness, deeds of devotion, faithfulness, unchanging love. But just as with agape, there is no single English word that can adequately translate the thought about the love that God has for us.

The concept is not that hard to grasp, though it is a little difficult to explain. It is the kind of love that protects, provides, searches for and offers the best regardless of the cost. It is the love that truly desires the best for the other person. This word is used about 250 times in the Old Testament, and it describes the all consuming, powerful, gracious care that God has for his people. This is the kind of love that will never let you down.

Love has become a cheap and almost fickle commodity in our world. We hear the word so often and in such a frivolous manner, that the real ideal of love has often been lost. We love everything from TV shows to food items to pets to wild animals to a favorite chair to our spouse to the friend we are trying to manipulate. Who can ever know what it means to love someone or to be loved? Any yet God is the perfect example of this, in both the Old and New Testament. He tells his people that he loves them with that unending, all consuming, never failing desire for their absolute best.

We need to learn to trust and accept that love from God. And sometimes it is hard because we have been told we were loved by folks who really didn’t love us. And we also need to learn to share that kind of love with those folks who are around us. But in order to share that kind of love, we have to accept that kind of love from God.

Father, help me be loved and to love in return. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:14-17, The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone— until your people pass by, LORD, until the people you bought pass by. You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance—the place, LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.

As the song continues, Moses mentions people the Israelites may have only heard about. At this point, they have had no contact with these people. Maybe they haven’t even heard about them, they were slaves in Egypt after all. International affairs would be the last thing on their minds. And yet, they will soon have much contact and much strife and difficulties with these and several other groups of people. But for those folks who have just miraculously passed through the Red Sea and seen the Egyptians drowned, this must seem like a far away danger.

Maybe they have not given any thought as to what will happen when they show up in the promised land, or on the way there. But some of these groups will meet them along the way and oppose the people of God. Some of them will live in the land they are supposed to be moving into. And there is no way they are simply going to walk away and let the Israelites have their homes, fields, possessions, and so forth. I suspect the Israelites slaves are so keen on their freedom right now, they are not thinking about much of anything else.

And yet God is. God already has a plan for these people, he knows who they will encounter along the way, what those folks’ reactions will be, and God knows how he is going to deal with it. That is not to say the Israelites will have smooth sailing to the promised land. In fact, they will make choices that will prolong the trip for 40 years. They will grumble and complain all along the way. But hear this: God still has a plan. The people are making things tougher than they need to be, but that is their choice. How much better off would they be if they had committed themselves to God, trusted him, and followed God’s plan? And on that same line, how much better off would we be if we did the same thing? Maybe that is the lesson today, to trust God for the things that are ahead.

Father, help me learn to trust you more. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:18, “The LORD reigns for ever and ever.”

This song ends with a pretty simple phrase. But these are powerful words. God’s reign, his power, his kingdom, his plans never end. We live in, and those Hebrews did too, a world where things come and go, things change. Everything changes; styles, clothes, houses, culture, governments, rules, food, the list is endless. Everything changes, everything that is, except God.

Do you think those Israelites ever got discouraged in the land of Egypt? Do you think they wondered what happened to God? The had heard stories about God’s mighty power; creation, Noah’s flood, the tower of Babel, and so forth. They had heard about God calling Abraham and the promises to him. They had heard about Isaac and Jacob. They had heard about Joseph. But for the last 400 years they have been slaves in Egypt. And lately, they had been treated worse and worse. Had something happened to God? Had he forgotten them? Had someone replaced him? Had he gotten old and died? It makes sense something must have happened to him, for his people to be in such a bad situation.

But the point here is clear, God is still on the throne! He has not forgotten those Hebrews in their slavery. God has been waiting for the right time to act. In our minds, we have limited time, we know things will change for us; we will get older, our bodies won’t work like they used to, and eventually we will die. That is why we need to do what is important right now. Don’t put off the important stuff. But for God, who is not limited by time, chooses the best time to act. And that is what he has done here in Exodus, and repeatedly throughout the rest of the Bible and even in our own lives. God chooses the right time.

Remember that when you go through life, as you face trials, troubles, struggles, things that you cannot control. Maybe now is just not the right time to act, maybe there is a lesson to be learned, maybe things are not right, maybe there is something else that needs to fall into place. But never forget, God is still on the throne and still in control. We need to learn to trust him in the tough times. And we need to remember, when the time is right, he will act.

Father, thank you for still reigning. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:19-21, When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron's sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”

This is basically a repeat of the song Moses and the Israelites say in the beginning of this chapter. Obviously it is not as long, or maybe we are not told the whole thing. Verse 21 and verse 1 are basically the same. Maybe after Moses and everyone else had finished, Miriam got the girls together for an encore. Women tend to be more excitable than men, and possibly these women simply couldn’t contain themselves and their enthusiasm, they just wanted to continue to sing, dance, and praise the Lord. I suspect they, both the men and women, sang this song many times after this.

But why would Moses write this again here for us? Now remember, God inspired Moses to write what he did. 2 Peter 1:21 tells us, For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. This is just a reminder that what is written in the Bible is not of human origin, God revealed it to the men who wrote it. And so, we can be assured what is in the Bible is what God wants us to know.

But why write the same thing again? I suspect it has something to do with us humans being hard headed, quick to forget, slow to learn. Simply put, we need to be reminded of the things that are important. And honestly, we often need to be reminded quite a few times. But God knows that about us, and so he makes provisions for us. But we need to be careful not to use this as an excuse. I just can't remember, so there is no need to try. We need to recognize this as a trait we have, and we need to work to overcome it. We need to set up reminders for ourselves. Because if we forget the goodness of God, we have forgotten the most important thing in the world.

Father, thank you for reminders. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:22, Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.

With the Red Sea and the dead Egyptians behind them, God’s people can get onto the job of getting to the promised land. And to be honest, it is a big trip but not an impossible task. It ought to take them about two weeks to complete this journey. Really, two weeks is not that long for that many people to travel. Sure, there are going to be plenty of obstacles, no one said it was going to be easy. There are surely many logistical details that have to be worked out. Food, water, communication from the front of the line to the back of the line, camping locations, and who will be where in the camp. We certainly don’t want to make this trip seem too simple.

But remember, Moses might be walking in front, but God is the leader. He will lead them in the pillar of fire by night and cloud by day. God is going to make the decisions about where they are going to camp, God decides which direction they take, God has defeated the Egyptians and there ought to be no doubt he can provide for them along the way.

But we see here the first problem, they travel for three days without finding water. To be sure they brought water with them from Egypt, no one would begin a trip like this without making some preparations. And don’t forget, there were no Speedway gas stations along the way for them to stop at and no one had a Stanley cup to lug around. But they did have skins and other containers to carry water in. But you can only carry so much, they would need to find more along the way. And they haven’t, so far.

The answer will come in the next few verses, but think about it. What would you have done? What do you do when you need something, really need it, and see no way of getting it? We don’t worry too much about water today, like was mentioned earlier, we just stop at the gas station or somewhere and pick up a bottle. Or we turn on the spigot and get what we want. But what about when you have a financial need, and no prospects? What about when you really need someone to listen to you and no one is there? What about needing a ride or a place to stay, some folks don’t have the options other do. What do we do when there is a need, a real need and no prospects?

Father, thank you for always providing. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:23-24, When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”

After the people travelled three days in the desert, they have not found any water. Just a note about that word desert, when we think of a desert we think of a dry, sandy, hot, barren place. But in Bible days, the word just meant a wilderness, and that’s the way it is often translated in other versions. It is a place that is deserted, where they are no people. And when they came to Marah, they found water, but it was no good. There are many swamps and waterways here in Hyde County, but I’m not so sure I’d want to drink the water from many of those places. The water in the river is brackish, over in the swamps it is stagnant. So, there is plenty of water, but it’s not very appealing to drink.

The word for bitter is not really a taste word. Do you remember Ruth’s mother in law, she told folks to call her Marah, because her life was bitter or bad. Naomi had been forced into the land of Moab because of a famine, lost her husband, both sons, and then came back to Israel with nothing. The word has the idea of a terrible situation, something that is unbearable, the worst thing that could happen. There is nothing positive in this word at all. Maybe the water did taste bad, but maybe there was something else wrong with it. We have all drank water that was not very tasty, different chemicals, minerals, whatever was in it. This water might have been contaminated with some disease, maybe it was poisonous. The more we think about it, the more it seems this was not just a taste problem. This water was unfit to drink.

And so the people do exactly what people do, they grumbled and complained. Moses was the easiest target, since he was the leader, the man up front. He should have knows to take better care of them, right? Remember, these folks have been slaves for 400 years, they have no real concept of taking care of themselves. The Egyptians have provided, no doubt meagerly, but they have provided them with food and water. And now they are out of water. Next, they will talk about how well fed they were in Egypt. I’ve never known of slaves eating high on the hog.

And how often do we grumble and complain about our circumstances? And how often do we direct those complaints to some leader? Maybe what we really need to do is get busy ourselves and look for a solution. Maybe we need to learn to trust more, both our leaders and the Lord. Maybe we need to help bring about a resolution rather than simply complain. I know those things are not nearly as much fun. But we need to keep our faith in the Lord.

Father, help me not be a complainer. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:25a, Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

What do you do when folks are grumbling and complaining against you? Really, it wasn’t Moses’ fault they had not found any water, but he was the leader and therefore an easy target. Many times, we get upset and begin to grumble and complain right back to those folks. If we are the boss, we might even make things a little more difficult for them. You know the drill; and eye for an eye kind of thing, you mess with me and I’ll mess with you, tit for tat. But that rarely, if ever makes things any better.

Moses instead cried out to the Lord. And when you think about it, where else could he go? And God did something that doesn’t seem to make any sense. God showed Moses a piece of wood, and when Moses threw the wood into the water it became fit to drink. Hmm. I wonder what kind of wood that was? There would really be a market for wood like that today. But I don’t know of any wood that will do it. And I suspect the power there was not in the wood, but in the Lord. This was a miraculous event, something outside the natural realms. But since God created the universe and everything in it (including water), it would not be hard for him to make bad water good, and he can use a stick or a rock or anything else he wants. This is yet another reminder of the way God cares for his people.

And when we are in a bind, when we are out of water or people are complaining to us, where can we turn, except to the Lord. I cannot guarantee God will show you a stick that will make your problem go away, but I can promise God will be there with you through it. I can promise God has a solution of some sort, maybe not what you or I have in mind, but a solution. And often, when we really stop and think about it, God’s solution was better than ours anyway. But we need to cry out to him, call on him for peace, wisdom, strength, and so forth. And we need to trust that God will provide. And we need to do what he tells us to do. Until Moses threw the wood into the water, the water remained bad.

Father, help me call to you first. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:25b-26, There the LORD issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”

God gives a test to the Israelites. It might sound like he is making a deal with them, and in a way, I suppose he is. But really it is more of a promise, a covenant. And sure, both sides have requirements they are to fulfill. For the people, they are to listen carefully to God’s laws, commands, and decrees. Now remember, at this point, they really don’t have many of God’s laws, just the covenants with the patriarchs and what Moses has told them about the Passover. But it will not be long before God gives them, through Moses, the most complete set of laws that any nation has ever had. We think about the Ten Commandments, but those are really just the basics, the framework that all of the other laws God will reveal will hang on. So, God tells the people they are to listen to, learn, and obey his laws.

And God promises to protect them from the diseases of the Egyptians. First of all what are the diseases that God brought on the Egyptians? When we think back to the plagues, boils was the only one that we might classify as a disease. Maybe the frogs, lice and flies brought some on as well, but we are not told that. To be sure, there were other diseases that the Egyptians suffered from that we don’t know about. But God is going to protect his people from them. Some have suggested that the Hebrew diet was particularly healthy, and it was; it was mostly fruits and vegetables, only certain kinds of meat were to be eaten. And remember, for 40 years these folks walked through the desert, that exercise would no doubt do them good. But there is more to this promises than diet and exercise. God himself is going to protect his people.

What about us today? The fact is we live in a fallen and sinful world. And when sin entered, so did a lot of other bad things; sicknesses, diseases, and so forth. And we all know faithful Christians who have had to deal with the worst possible diseases here on this earth. But simply speaking, living a life that honors God is generally more healthy anyway. When we think about what Paul said later in I Corinthians 6:19 about our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit, and therefore we ought to treat our physical bodies well, that is simply good for our health. Think about the things that the Christian lifestyle ought to avoid and their consequences; sexual immorality, drunkenness, avoiding excesses, smoking, drugs, gluttony and so forth. Being a Christian is no guarantee you won’t suffer from these diseases, or that you won’t suffer at all. In fact, Christians are often persecuted for their faith. But God does promise to be there with you throughout those trials. And as long as God goes with us, what more can we ask for?

Father, thank you for protecting me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 15:27, Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

As we go through the Bible, sometimes we come across verses like this one. Why did God think it important to include a note about where the Israelites camped along the way? Don’t you think there are more important things for God to tell us? Just a couple of thoughts.

Bible scholars and commentators point to verses like this and ask the same question. And they say verses like this speak to the authority and accuracy of the Bible. If someone were making this story up or if it was written years later, why would they include verses like this? Those little details add to the authenticity of the Biblical account and are evidences of Moses’ authorship. Moses was there, he saw the springs, the palm trees, he counted them, and he made a note of them.

Another thought is the context. What happened in the verses right ahead of these? The people grumbled and complained because there was no water, or more specifically the water was not good. God used Moses to perform a miracle so they could drink the water. And here, God leads them to a place where there is plenty of water. Which is harder for God: to make bad water good or to lead them to water in a desert, and remember this just means a deserted place, a wilderness? Honestly, neither of them would be hard for God, after all he created water to begin with. And God can provide water, or whatever else his people need, in any way he wants.

I suppose this is just another reminder that God is in control.

Father, thank you for being in control. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:1-3, The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “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.”

A little more traveling and a lot more grumbling. Again, the travel details point us to the authenticity of the account. No one making up a story thinks about details like this. Sure, if you were writing a work of fiction, you might include some details like this. But if you are writing a book that you will claim to be the word of God, you are going to deal with more monumental details. And you are going to make the characters look good. The Old Testament is the story of God’s people, the Israelites. And these folks are not portrayed in the most positive light; we’ve already seen they are a doubtful, often selfish, grumbling, and complaining group of people.

And here they are grumbling again. Look back at what they are saying: the Lord ought to have killed us in Egypt. Things were so much better there. We sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted. Really? Is that the way the Egyptians treated their slaves? I wonder just how often those slaves were allowed to sit around anything. Slaves are workers, commodities in the minds of their owners, and if they are not working they are costing you instead of making money for you. People in ancient times had a far different menu that we have today. Many people, including myself, think a meal without some sort of meat is not quite a meal. But meat was a real treat in ancient days, reserved for feasts and times of celebrations. And there were very few people in those days who ate all they wanted. It seems like these folks have a distorted memory.

But aren’t most of us like that? We remember what we want to remember, and so often that means that things were much better than they are now. Sure, the Israelites were in a deserted place, no doubt provisions were short. But were they really better off as slaves in Egypt? And even though things might not be great at the moment, they are on their way to a homeland, to freedom, to independence. We often have to go through tough times to get to better places. But grumbling and complaining never makes anything better. In fact, it usually makes things worse. We need to think about the attitude we have, how we speak and act towards others, and how we think about the Lord’s provisions for us.

Father, help me not become negative and bitter. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:4-5, Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for 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 bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

God has a solution for the people. I don’t believe the Lord is rewarding the people for grumbling. But the Lord does know the need the people have. Simply put, they need food. There is no human way they can provide all the food they need there in the wilderness. But grumbling and complaining is certainly not going to make the situation better. But all of this is beginning to sound familiar to me.

How often do we grumble and complain about some circumstance in our life? And how often is the circumstance, whatever it is, completely our fault. Think hard about that one, we have become a society of victims here, or so we think. But regardless of the circumstance, God has the solution. God always has the solution! Here, God is going to rain down on them bread from heaven. All they have to do is go out each morning and pick it up. There is no hard work involved on their part, they don’t have to plant, to tend a crop, to harvest; they just go out and get it. God has already done all the work. Think about that in terms of our problems today.

Our biggest problem is sin. It has been since right after the creation. Not only has mankind’s sin marred the world in which we live, but our sin has marred our world, our lives. But God offers us the perfect solution: the Savior has come on our behalf, he has paid the debt we could not pay. And like those Israelites and the manna, all we have to do is accept that gift, God has done all the work. Sure, this gift will change us, just as the Israelites were strengthened when they ate the manna. Our lives ought to be different as well, we ought to be living lives that honor the Lord, that show our gratitude for what he as done for us. All we have to do is accept the gift, but we must accept it.

Father, thank you for always providing what I need. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:4-5, Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for 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 bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

God said he was going to test the people, we didn’t talk about it yesterday, but it is here in verse 5. Each day they are to go out and gather as much of the bread from heaven, the manna, as they need for the day. Everyone is different and every family is different. If they had teenagers, they would need more! But on the sixth day, they were to gather twice as much as they needed for the day. Why are they to gather twice as much on the sixth day? Oh, because of the Sabbath you say. But Moses has not received the Ten Commandments yet, God has not told them to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.

But go all the way back to the very beginning. God created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. It was then that God established the principle of the day of rest. This is for all of mankind, we think of this as simply one of Moses’ laws, and God did reiterate it then. But it was in effect long before that. Had the Israelites been used to resting in Egypt as slaves? I seriously doubt it. But God created us with a need to rest, to recharge, to recover. One day a week, we need a change of pace, we need to take a day off.

We will see later that some of the Israelites didn’t obey God, they failed this test. But before we slam them too hard, let’s ask ourselves if we don’t fail the same test? Do we take time off, to rest, to focus on God, to recover from the week we just had? Far too many of us wear our busyness like a badge of honor, we never take any time off. And honestly, it shows. We are worn our, frazzled, depressed, tired all the time, and so forth. God didn’t design us to go wide open all the time, just like an engine, we will blow ourselves up. There is nothing wrong with taking a day off, with going fishing, with taking a nap, with simply stopping sometimes. In Psalm 46:10, God says, Be still, and know that I am God.

Father, help me rest and pass the test. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:6-8, So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” Moses also said, “You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.”

Who were the Israelites really grumbling against? If you look back in verses 2, the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Three times in this passage Moses makes the point they are not grumbling against him and his brother. The reality is, they are grumbling against the Lord. Do they think it was Moses’ idea for them to leave Israel? Do they think Moses performed the plagues against the Egyptians by his own power? Do they think Moses was able to part the Red Sea? Do they think it was Moses’ power that made the bitter water sweet? To be sure not. And so, why are they grumbling against him?

It is because Moses is an easy target. He is the leader; he is the leader God selected, and he is the leader they decided to follow. But when things are not going like they think they ought to, when things are tough, when they are not happy, the old grumbling bug kicks in. And hey, Moses is the easy target. But is it really Moses’ fault? As they are following Moses, so Moses is following God. No doubt, Moses is not perfect, we have already seen that and will see it again. In fact, Moses will not be allowed into the promised land because of his sin. But Moses is leading the people where God tells him to lead them, and the manna and quail these people will eat will come from God, not Moses. God is the one who provides, he is the only one who can.

But don’t you know this grumbling and complaining takes a toll on Moses as well. In just a few chapters, Moses will tell the Lord he has had enough of these people and their grumbling and complaining. Moses will tell the Lord to just go ahead and take his life, he has had enough! But the Lord will speak to Moses and encourage him there.

I suppose there are a couple of lessons here for us to learn this morning. One, don’t be a grumbler and a complainer. Instead of grumbling, come up with some solution that will make things better. Take a look at yourself and see if you need to do better instead of whining about what someone else did or didn’t do. And second, if you are the target of the complaint; examine yourself you just might have done something wrong. And if so, admit it and seek forgiveness. But otherwise keep serving the Lord to the best of your ability. And just know that grumblers and complainers are nothing new.

Father, help me always look to the positive side. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:9, Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.' ”

This little verse gives us a lot to think about. First, when or maybe where, do you do most of your grumbling? I suppose most of it is done under out breath, where we think no one important will hear it. Oh sure, we grumble to our friends, but we never really intend for our target to hear it. We really just want to complain and stir the pot a little.

And two, how do you feel when you get called to give an account? We can remember back to our school days, when they called us over the intercom to come to the principal’s office, that was usually a scary thing. Maybe now we get called to the boss’ office or somewhere like that. We usually think if they wanted something good, they just go ahead and tell us. And how long would it take for the word to get from the front of the line to the back of the Israelite line, that they were to appear before the Lord? The ones up front would have a long time to think about it and the ones in the back would have a long walk to the front. I cannot imagine this was a good feeling.

But most important is the fact that God heard their grumbling. We all know there is no where and no way we can hide from God. He is all knowing, all seeing, all hearing, nothing escapes his notice. God knows when a sparrow falls to earth. He knows when you loose a hair on your head. Of course he hears the grumbling and complaining we do. We cannot hide anything from God, he already knows all we do, say, and think. So, instead of trying to hide if from him, why not just go ahead and tell him right out. Are you scared? Depressed? Worried? Confused? Angry? Hurt? Go ahead and have a talk with God about it. Tell him what is truly on your heart. God already knows and it will do you good to get it off your chest. Remember, God loves you, he loves that great big mess that is you. And God wants to help you sort it out, no matter the circumstance.

Father, thank you for caring for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:10, While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.

Sometimes when I read the Bible I wish I could get a little more information. I wish I could hear the tone something is said in, I wish I could see the person’s body language, and so forth. This is one of those times, I would love to see what the Israelites saw as they looked toward the desert. We’ve already talked about the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night that guided them. But what did that actually look like, we can imagine, but wouldn’t it be cool to actually know, to actually see that!

And what did the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud look like? Was it something different than usual? These folks had been grumbling and complaining, they should have known they were doing wrong, and suddenly there is the glory of God! That would have to be a scary feeling. Maybe they wondered if God was about to zap them or something. They had seen the plagues in Egypt, the death of the firstborn, the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea, maybe God was going to do something like that to them. We are not told of their reaction.

But doesn’t God’s glory appear to us as well today? There are many ways we can see God’s glory all around us, if we are looking. We often talk about the majesty of God in his creation. But what about some of the other ways. Have you ever spent any time watching children play? Have you ever witnessed an act of kindness to a stranger? Have you ever seen anyone’s life really changed for the better? Has a situation ever worked out for you when you knew things were going to crash and burn? God and his glory are all around us. But we need to be looking for it, we need to recognize it. And we need to thank God for those glimpses he gives us of himself.

Father, thank you for your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:11-12, The LORD 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. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.' ”

God gives Moses some simple instructions on what to tell the Israelites. At night, you will eat meat and in the morning you will be full of bread. That sounds simple enough, right? But where is this food going to come from?

Numbers 11 has some interesting information about how the Lord fed the Israelites, but let’s not get too far ahead at this point. God has made the promise here that he will feed these people. Notice there is no question here, God doesn’t say he might feed the people or that he will try to find them something to eat. God simply says they will eat meat in the evening and be full of bread in the morning. He doesn’t go into any details about where this will come from, what they will have to do to get it, and so forth. God just says it will happen.

We need to learn to simply take God at his word. If God says it, that ought to be good enough for us. We need to learn to trust him more, to trust him completely. We need to grow our faith, and faith grows like any other muscle, by using it. It is not always easy to put our faith completely in the Lord. This is especially true when we don’t understand, when we can’t see the next step, when the way makes no sense to us. But those are the times we need faith the most.

Father, help me trust you completely. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:13, That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.

Numbers 11 tells us the quail were three feet deep for a day’s walk all around the camp. That is a lot of quail! We are not given any more details here, other than the quail came and covered the camp. Many times, we want all the explanation possible. We want to know the hows and the whys. We want to know where these quail came from. What happened to them that made them simply come into the camp? Could the people catch them with their hands or did they have to do something else to get them? We are simply not told.

And that is the way things work in our lives so many times. God does something, and we would be much better off to simply accept it, to thank God, and to move on. Sometimes there are really no explanations for what is going on, other than God. You know, so often we want to figure things out for ourselves. We want to diagnose the problem, we want to come up with the solution, we want to administer the remedy, and we want to make things better. And sometimes that might work out, but many more times it doesn’t. And we need to simply and completely turn to God. We need to admit we are broken, we need to admit we are helpless, we need to admit we are in far over our heads. And we need help.

So, why can’t we just accept the quail that come into our camp, the good things, the things that give us life and hope. And why can’t we just look up and say, “Thank you God!”

Thank you God! In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:14-15, When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.

The quail came in the evening and in the morning there was a dew like layer all around the camp. When the dew dried up, these flakes like frost appeared. In my mind’s eye, I see the ground covered with Tony the Tiger’s Frosted Flakes! I’m not sure that is completely accurate, but it seems like a good description. The Israelites have never seen anything like this, and wonder what it is.

And Moses explains it is the bread the Lord has given them to eat. Numbers 11 gives us a few more details. The people gathered it, and crushed it in a mortar and pestle. They could either cook it in a pot, maybe like oatmeal or something. Or they could bake it into bread. And I’m sure some of them tried to eat it raw, there is no doubt I would have. But regardless of the cooking method, bread from heaven sounds mighty good to me.

Do you know the Hebrew word for manna really means, what is it? They had never seen anything like this before. And Moses has to explain what it is and what to do with it. Sometimes isn’t that the way God’s blessings come to us? Unexpected, maybe even misunderstood. It is no secret God works in ways and on a schedule that is far beyond us. We sometimes fret because things are not going our way or happening in our time. Maybe we wonder if God is going to do anything at all. And sometimes God is working things out on our behalf at that very moment. We simply need to learn to trust him more. To depend on him more. To have the faith and confidence that he is taking care of things.

Father, thank you for taking care of me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:16-18, This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.' ” The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

The people were to go out and gather as much of the manna, or frosted flakes, as they needed. And Moses specifies how much that is, an omer for each person. It is hard to come up with an exact comparison to some of the units of measure in the Bible. One commentator said an omer was equal to 43.2 chicken eggs, that is very helpful. If you only buy chicken eggs in the grocery store, you might think they are all the same size, but that is not the case. Eggs come in all different sizes, so are these big eggs or little eggs? And how are we going to get .2 of an egg? The word comes from an unused word for a sheaf, a bundle of grain, but how big are the bundles? And does that count just the wheat itself or the straw as well? The consensus was an omer was a little more than half a gallon.

But at the end of the day, everyone had as much as they needed, an omer each. We are told some gathered much and some gathered little, but isn’t that about what we would expect. If everyone went out to gather the manna, there would be quite a difference in the people. Old folks, young folks, men, woman, children, and so forth. Parents would feel responsible to make sure their children got what they needed. Adults might have elderly parents to look out for. But everyone got what they needed.

There are three quick lessons we can see in these verses. One, God is going to provide what we need. Granted it might not be what we want, nor what we expect. Those folks had no idea what this bread from heaven was. But God made sure they got it. Second, we need to help each other out. Some gathered much and some little, but at the end of the day, everyone had enough. There are no doubt folks in our circles who need a little extra help. It might be physical, financial, emotional, spiritual, or something else, but there is someone you can help. Probably today. And third, we need to do our part. I’m sure no one who was able sat in camp and thought, someone else will get me some. We need to work hard and do out best. All three of these things are important.

Father, help me do my part while you do yours. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:19-20, Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

Why not keep some of it until morning? You know, there are some things that are just better when they are fresh. But there is more than just the taste and quality of the food here. This command is a test from God. Simply put, will they trust God enough to believe there will be some more in the morning? God has already told them, promised them, they would eat this in the morning.

But the question is, do they have that much faith? Do they trust God that much? This is a question for each of us as well. How much faith do we really have in God? Sure, we trust the promises he has given. We believe he will answer out prayers. We know that he loves us. But when things get tough, we too often want to take matters in our own hands. We feel like we have to do something, make something happen, be in control. That control is a hard thing for many people to let go of.

And so, like some of those Israelites, we want to hang onto a little bit of the manna, a bit of our control and independence, until tomorrow. And guess what happens, it is rotten! Spoiled and full of maggots! Disgusting! But don’t we make the same kind of disgusting messes when we don’t, or won’t trust, the Lord. And then we are so often worse off than we were to begin with. We must truly believe, and live, that God knows best.

Father, help me remember you know better than I do. In Jesus’ name,
 
Exodus 16:21, Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

Look at the first part of that verse. Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed. If we are not careful, we might miss an important lesson here. Think about it. The people complained about not having food to eat. They remembered how they “sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted” while they were slaves in Egypt. Somehow I doubt that is an accurate memory, but anyway. God heard their grumbling and promised to provide them with food. And each morning, there was this manna, this frosty-flaky looking stuff on the ground. And all they had to do was go get it. That sounds simple enough, right. They could boil it or bake it into bread.

But God didn’t just provide them with these bowls of porridge or loaves of bread. They had to get up every morning and go gather this stuff. And then they had to grind it and mix it up and cook it. God provided, but he didn’t spoon feed them. They had to go and gather the bread of heaven themselves. In my mind, I see men and women, young and old, boys and girls out there getting their daily bread. Hmm, that is an interesting phrase, do you remember that is what Jesus instructed us to pray for, Matthew 6. Just enough for today, that’s really all we need. God has promised, over and over in his word, and proved it time and time again by example, that he will care for our needs.

But we also have to do our part. You couldn’t sleep all day and then go gather the manna, it melted away when the sun grew hot. There was a time to act, to go, to do. You see, they could not make the manna themselves, but they had to gather it for themselves. God still works that way today. There are parts that only God can do, and he does them. And there are parts he expects us to do, and we need to do them.

Father, thank you for doing your part and help me do mine. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
 
Exodus 16:22-23, On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.' ”

On the sixth day, the folks went out to gather the manna, just like they had been. Only this time they gathered twice as much. I wonder why this concerned the leaders so much. We read before that those who tried to save some until the next day didn’t have a good outcome. The manna started to stink and was full of maggots. But I’d guess that would just be the problem of those who did it. Maybe their tent was stunk up, but no one else would have to go in there.

Maybe they have learned a lesson about their grumbling before God and want to do things right from here on out. Knowing the rest of the story, we know they will go off the tracks again. And again. And again. But maybe they are trying. Moses responds by telling them this is what the Lord has commanded. That is in the past tense, meaning God has already told them this. It is not recorded for us here, but there were certainly many things that happened on this trip that we are not told about. And if this is the case, it is the leaders who are not paying attention. They should have remembered this command to prepare on the sixth day so they could rest on the seventh.

We need to pay attention to what God has told us, and we need to be doing those things. It is amazing how folks get so concerned about what others are doing and fail to pay attention what they are doing themselves. I can see your faults and failures so much clearer than mine. Do you remember the parable Jesus told about the man trying to help get a speck out of his brother’s eye while he had a plank in his own eye? There is no doubt both irritants needed to be removed. But we need to make sure we are seeing clearly when we try to help another. And maybe we need to worry more about our own faults than the faults of others.

Father, help me examine my own heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:24-26, So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”

What was the difference between the manna they gathered on the sixth day and what they gathered the other five days? I doubt there was any. God could have had a special recipe for that day, maybe added some preservatives in it, but I somehow doubt it. And the difference was not what Moses commanded, it was what God commanded through Moses. And the manna they saved overnight on the sixth day, was fine on the seventh, no maggots or stink.

The real difference here is in what God commanded and the people’s willingness to obey God. This is a super simple image for us here. If we do things like God said, everything will be fine. If we don’t do what God has told us, things will be rotten. And in this case, it happened fast, overnight. Sometimes we see things go bad that fast, a person getting addicted to drugs after their first hit. Someone overdosing the first time they try drugs. But often, it takes time for those things to catch up with us, and the real results might not be seen clearly until many years later; broken relationships, diseases, handicaps, financial problems, and so forth. But be sure of this, your sin will find you out. You will not escape the judgment of God.

The simple solution to all of this is to be like Noah. It says twice, Noah did everything just as the Lord commanded him. Noah no doubt had to wonder about building the ark, just like we might wonder about some of the things God tells us to do. But we need to have enough faith and trust in God to do those things, even if they don’t make sense to us or we don’t understand them. Because ultimately, God is always right.

Father, help me to do everything just as you command. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
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Exodus 16:27, Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.

Isn’t that so typical? Moses had given the people the clear instructions from the Lord and some folks still didn’t listen or obey. I can almost see Moses looking out at those folks, standing there with his head in his hand. You know he has to be disappointed, and frustrated. He has just given them the word from God, and these folks are doing exactly what God told them not to do.

Maybe we can understand his frustration. We’ve all been in Moses’ sandals, haven’t we? Maybe in dealing with our children, maybe dealing with coworkers, maybe with friends who simply refuse to do the right thing, if you are a preacher I know you have had this feeling. But what are you going to do? We all know we cannot make folks do anything.

And how do you think it makes God feel when he looks down at us and sees us doing the same things. And when I say us, I am not simply referring to mankind in general, but me and you specifically. We know we fall short, and don’t listen to God or do what he has told us to do. We all need to pay closer attention, we need to be more faithful to God’s commands. We might try to justify it or explain it or excuse it and we probably have a list of reasons that it is OK. But the bottom line is, we are not doing what God has told us to do. And we need to change, to repent.

Father, help me not be a hard head. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
Exodus 16:28-30, Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” So the people rested on the seventh day.

The Lord has some hard words for the Israelites here. How long will you refuse to keep my commands? Just for the record, the word for you here is plural. The Lord has already given the Israelites the commands about the manna. He has already told them they are to gather enough on the sixth day for the seventh day as well. No one is to go out on the seventh day, they are to rest.

But I suppose this is a new idea to these folks. All the way back in the beginning, when God created the universe he did it in six days and commanded man to rest on the seventh. There is no record of man doing that, however. The word Sabbath is not used until his chapter of Exodus. And if you remember in the story of Noah, the world was simply getting more and more wicked. To be sure the Egyptians had not allowed the Israelites to take the seventh day off. So, this is really a new concept to them, something they need to learn, understand, accept and obey.

But what if the Lord were to ask us that same question, How long will you refuse to accept my commands and instructions? We all know we fail to do this in our lives. We know there are things the Lord has commanded us that we do not do. And we also know there are things the Lord has commanded us not to do that we do. So, how would you answer the Lord if he asked you this question? We all know, there is no good answer here. What this calls for is sorrow and repentance.

Father, help me do what pleases you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 
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