Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends on this Friday after September 11th,
Do you remember the day after “9.11”… 24 years ago? The massive pile of wreckage in NYC was still smoldering and air travel around the world was nearly at a standstill as our world struggled to wrap our minds around the terrorism of the previous day.
Yesterday we reviewed one of the greatest historical events of all time, the Exodus of about 1 million Israelite slaves from Egypt, as recorded for us in Exodus 12-14. If you had been a news reporter or photographer or maybe, to use a modern term… a ‘podcaster’ when the Exodus happened, I wonder what your reporting would focus on the day after the Exodus?
The Bible tells us in Exodus 15 there was a celebration as Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron, was evidently a musician and she along with others led these 1 million people in singing a great praise and thanksgiving worship song to the God who had rescued them!
My eye is caught by these words in this song: “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. He is a warrior; the LORD is His name.” (Exodus 15:2,3)
I try to imagine the sight… bodies of Pharaoh’s soldiers and horses, debris of chariots and weapons… floating on the surface of the Red Sea like debris from an airplane crash. The most powerful military force on planet earth at that time, Egypt, was decimated as the walls of water collapsed on them. (Exodus 14:27,28)
The 10 God sent plagues had humiliated the man-made statues and idols which were worshiped as ‘gods’ by the Egyptians; thus, these words of this victory song were very appropriate: “Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders.” (Exodus 15:11) That declaration is TRUE, and finally the Egyptians and Pharaoh had to agree, the God of the Israelites was superior.
And finally, as the Israelites celebrated, they turned away from looking out over the Red Sea and they looked out into the desert anticipating their victorious God would also lead them forward into a new life of freedom. The song rang out: “In Your unfailing love You will lead the people You have redeemed. In Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling…” (Ex. 15:13)
And the last line of this celebration song must have been repeated over and over: “The LORD reigns for ever and ever.” (Ex. 15:18) Maybe even as they sang, they began their new journey. It was time to set out into their future as a freed people, following the cloud of God’s presence.
But it didn’t take long for the euphoria of liberation to wear off as this huge migration of people were engulfed by the heat and thirst of the desert. Their water pouches were rung dry. Now what? As they came up over a sand dune, they saw a lake and I’m sure many rushed forward, fell to their knees and started splashing water into their faces and mouths.
But then a great cry rose up for the water was rancid, bitter water, undrinkable and leaving them even thirstier for pure water… but nothing but sand was visible in all directions. As Moses cried out the LORD, God showed Moses a piece of wood in the sand which he threw into the lake and suddenly it was miraculously transformed into pure, sparkling, fresh water! (Exodus 15:22-25)
As the people and animals rushed forward for this miraculously changed water, Moses received a powerful message from God which Moses came to understand as a new name for the LORD. “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... Jehovah Rapha.” (Ex. 15:26)
Oh, how well they remembered the plague of boils and other diseases which had ravaged Egypt. (Ex. 9:8-11) God was both a punishing and a healing God and this promise from God would be one Moses and the Israelites would cling to many times as they traveled the desert over the next several years. But we notice the big word IF don’t we?
This was a conditional promise of God. God’s provision of health was dependent upon their appetite for God’s voice, God’s morals and ethics, God’s commands and decrees. This bitter lake ‘Marah’ was a place of decision. God invited these 1 million people to decide right there to trust Him and follow Him carefully. Would they?
As though to prove God’s ability to care for them in the desert, the record says that God’s cloud by day and pillar of fire by night led the people next to a wonderful oasis called Elim, a place of twelve freshwater springs and palm trees. What a refreshing place to camp for a few days. What a blessing of God for these weary wanderers.
Let’s pause with them for a few seconds. All of us have had bitter Marah type experiences in our lives. Times filled with great disappointment or deeply wounding relationships or broken promises. Think back… how did God meet you in your bitterness, in your frustration and how did God help heal your broken heart giving you the courage to get up and keep moving forward in life?
With their water problem relieved, at least temporarily, this huge throng of people was getting hungry as the food supplies they had brought out of Egypt dwindled to nothing. Their hunger stirred up grumbling against Moses: 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 us to death!” (Ex. 16:2,3)
Have you noticed that misery distorts reality, especially the reality of our memories. Somehow we remember things to be so much better than they actually were. Slaves do not sit around pots filled with delicacies, gorging themselves, do they? But now this desert hunger was very real and neither Moses nor the people had anywhere else to go, so they cried out to the God who had delivered them from slavery. But what could God do to feed 1 million people in the desert?
Moses received this word from God: “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 to see if they will follow My instructions…” (Ex. 16:4,5) What? A daily bread delivery dropped from heaven right to these 1 million people. Yes! No, it wasn’t French baguettes nor Greek pitas nor Italian pizza crust dough, rather it was flakes which the people could gather and cook in various ways.
They called it “Manna”, and it fell like dew in the early morning and melted away as the sun rose and grew hot. (Ex. 16:14-21) God told the people they were to collect only what they would need for each day trusting that God would deliver it again the next morning. Does that remind you of the Lord’s prayer: “…give us this day our daily bread…” (Matt. 6:11) As you may know many of the people failed that test because they tried to collect extra and by morning it had maggots! I suppose they only made that mistake once!
But then on the sixth day Moses told the people to collect enough for two days, because the next day would be a Sabbath day and God would not be providing any manna on the Sabbath! The record says: “Nevertheless, some people went out on the seventh day to gather manna but found none!” (Ex. 16:27) These Israelite slaves were learning some very hard but important lessons…
1. No longer would human slave masters either provide them with work or food. God was their provider of everything they would need for life and God wanted them to learn to trust Him.
2. With freedom comes responsibility and accountability. While these Israelites were no longer enslaved, and God would provide what they needed to survive in the desert, they needed to learn to follow God’s instructions.
3. God had no limitations, He can do anything at any time in any place. The 10 plagues; the Red Sea water tunnel; bitter lake Marah turned sweet and pure; a daily bread delivery from heaven…there was nothing God could NOT do, nothing!
God instructed Moses to collect a jar of this manna and set it aside as a memorial, as something for the succeeding generations to see and remember how God provided bread in the desert…and not only for week or two, but for 40 years, day after day! (Ex. 16:31-35)
Let’s pause right here friends and consider the size and scope of your trust in God. Do you trust God for EVERYTHING? Is there anything you doubt God can do? Does God know your need better than you do and can He meet it better than you ever could?
I urge us all to pray right now, each of us thanking God for His provision, and here’s a wonderful now song of praise to help us thank God. And as always, “Lessons Learned” are available to you at the “Grand Narrative” link just below, and I’ll meet you here again tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture: Exodus 15-16.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Exodus 16
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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