Chapter 8.

Please read Exodus, chapters 15 and 16.

While still in Egypt, where God demonstrated His power over earth’s nature, Israel did not have a song. Delivery was not yet completely real to them. While they were walking between two walls of seawater, and again God exhibited His power over nature, there still was no song. But once they were safely on the opposite side of the Red Sea it dawned on them. Once again God had shown them His power over nature. Is there anything too hard for the Lord God to do? Never! He Himself will manifest His glory. In Egypt people may be crying and cursing under the yoke of His judgment. But Israel has been set free and now they burst out in song.

The first half of chapter 15 gives us the whole of Israel’s jubilant victory-song to the Lord. It was the Lord Who had stepped into a near impossible situation. His love for His people brought His power and wisdom into play. It all happened at His chosen time and all of it to gain glory for His great Name.

Many long years, before Israel suffered slavery in Egypt, God knew about that and told Abraham (Genesis 15:13,14). While we are in our world today there will be times of trial and tears. Long before they came into our lives God knew about those times. He knew why dark and difficult days should come. Let us trust His eternal WISDOM. Let us sing a song to His glory, when singing becomes the most difficult thing to do. Whatever is happening to us, let us learn it is not about us. It is about His glory!

The Israelites now stood totally free of their defeated enemy. When you are a Christian your faith may still fall short of your God-given condition. That will be so when you do not yet fully realize that on the Cross Jesus Christ died, not merely for you, but in your place! He died, to set you free. Free from what? Free from the burden and guilt of slavery to (master) sin. Free from death in eternity! The most holy God sees the believing and repentant sinner no longer as a miserable sinner but as a saint who did not sin.

Dear reader. A question. Apart from being religious, are you a Christian? Millions of people are religious but certainly not Christians. Do you consciously know that Christ not only died for you but that He died in your place? He took the guilt of my sinfulness and yours too, and took in Himself the punishment that was due to you and me. There is only one answer for sinfulness. The death of Christ on a Cross. With all my heart, I do believe that. Do you? This is what the God of the Bible is saying:

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that, in Him, we might become the righteousness of God.”

Are you standing in the righteousness of God? Only, and only, when you stand forgiven, in His righteousness, can your song truly be to the glory of God. When that song springs from your heart and lips, take care. Satan, the enemy of God, will check your human emotions. God will allow for that, to test and grow the strength of your faith in Him.

Exodus 15:22 “Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the desert of Shur. For three days they travelled in the desert without finding water.”

Were they still singing to the glory of God? He, Who had done such marvellous things for them. Would they still place their trust in Him? Will they still have confidence in His unfailing power and wisdom?

Exodus 15:23,24 “When they came to Marah, They could not drink its water, because it was bitter. That’s why the place is called Marah. So the people grumbled against Moses, saying ‘What are we to drink?’ “

They should have been more careful. Grumbling against their God-given leader meant grumbling against God. Today that is also true for Christians. If the church leadership has not been democratically chosen, but was ordained by God, according to His written Word, whether we agree or not, that leadership needs to be recognized and obeyed.

When they grumbled, did God then finish with His people? No! No! The time came when they totally rejected and then crucified the Son of God. That fitted in quite well with God’s eternal plan. The Lord Jesus, apart from being Israel’s Messiah, became the Savior of every one in this world who believes Him. That is Jew and non-Jew alike.

First the Church of the Lord Jesus will become full and complete. After that the King of Israel will certainly claim His throne over His nation.

Exodus 15:25 “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 sweet.”

Nature, in every shape or form, all of it, and at all times, is subject to the God of creation, the God of Israel, the God of the Bible.

Exodus 15:25(cont’d) “There the Lord made a decree and a law for them.”

Was that to make trouble for them? No, it was meant to help them remember they were in the hands of mercy-full grace and loving power, power without limit. Twice we read in verse 26 ‘If you’, if you’ and then three times ‘ I ‘, ‘I am the Lord, Who heals you’.

Exodus 15:27 “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees and they camped there near the water.”

God gave them a decree and a law. He led them to Elim for rest and refreshment. But Israel would not remember.

Exodus 16:2,3 “In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them ‘If only, by the Lord’s hand, we had died in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into the desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

Sad! Very sad! Showing off their spiritual blindness. The marvellous miracles by their mighty God, they forgot. All His powerful provisions in their recent past, they did not remember. With songs of praises they had worshipped Him and did acknowledge His grace and power in their delivery. Now ‘if only by the Lord’s hand, we had died in Egypt’.

Moses and Aaron copped the blame, but what was the Lord’s response? More patience, more grace!

Exodus 16:4 “Then the Lord said to Moses ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you’.

We need to see the divine support for true and obedient servants of God.

“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.”

‘Gather enough for that (one) day’. That was a very serious test. Imagine, tomorrow the bread may not be here. What will we do then? We may as well do a bit of hoarding. After all, perhaps God is not as good as His words.

I am thinking about the words of the Lord Jesus:

Matthew 6:31-34 But first seek His kingdom “So do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Well, in their days the Israelites did not have the words of the Lord Jesus. But repeatedly, before their eyes, they had seen the power and loving wisdom of their God. His faithfulness should have over powered them. But . . . they grumbled. Not Moses, not Aaron, not their Lord God, they themselves were to be blamed.

Exodus 16: 9 “Then Moses told Aaron, ‘Say to the entire Israelite community’ ‘come before the Lord, for He has heard your grumbling’ “

v.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.”

Would they ever learn it? It was not about meat and bread in the desert. Not about bitter or sweet water. It was not about Israel in the desert; all was about

the glory of God. So that their worship of Him may continue while they were in difficulty in the desert.

Are we learning something?

Exodus 15:11 “The Lord said to Moses v.12 ‘I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.’

‘And because of that I will let them starve.’ That would have been the god of human fabrications and imaginations. But it was not like that with the God of Israel, the God of the Bible, my God!

“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.’ “

‘At twilight’. It may have seemed to be a long day. I can just imagine questions. ‘Will we, or won’t we have meat by tonight?’ To be truthful, our human hearts are exactly the same as theirs. But we also have the same loving and patient God. Glory to His Name! He still has powerful control over all global nature. Annually flocks of birds fly from Siberia to Australia and on that evening a flock of birds came to rest, on their camp. Why not five or ten kilometres away?

Exodus 16:13 “That evening quail came and covered the camp . . . ”

What the Lord was asking of the Israelites that day, He is asking of you and me this day. He is asking for faith in what He is saying. Not for faith in what mankind are telling each other. Not for faith in my human imaginations. But faith in His reliable and powerful ability..

“ In the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.”

Exodus 16:15,16 “.. Moses said to them ‘It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat’. This is what the Lord has commanded ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer (about 2 litres) for each person you have in your tent.’

v.19 “Then Moses said to them ‘No one is to keep any of it until morning.’ “.

Can you hear any arguments? ‘Moses, why? We have a dishful to spare for tomorrow! Why can’t we eat that in the morning?’ Why could not they? Because they still were in the long learning-process of trusting a faithful God.

Exodus 16:31 “The people of Israel called the bread Manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.”

v.35 “The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.”

Forty years their God proved His worth! Cared for His disobedient, rebellious people. In the end He still brought them to the land He had promised. Day after day, forty years long, they had sufficient food on the table! Because their God, my God, is a faithful God! He is the God of the Bible!

GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS, OH GOD MY FATHER, EVERY MORNING NEW MERCIES I SEE; ALL I HAVE NEEDED YOUR HAND HAS PROVIDED,

GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS, LORD, UNTO ME!

Will that also be your song, to the glory of the God of the Bible?