Written by: Howard Dobson - www.thegoodnews.co.uk
Exodus 16 v 11-16
The LORD said to Moses, “I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel.
So tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and every morning you will
eat all the bread you want. Then you will know I am the LORD your God.’”
That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around
the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost were on the desert ground.
When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is it?” because
they did not know what it was.
So Moses told them, “This is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. The
LORD has commanded, ‘Each one of you must gather what he needs, about two
quarts for every person in your family.’”
Notes
We are all on a journey in life, moving from one set of circumstances to another,
as we progress in education or jobs. For some, the journey is literally from
one country to another as they seek asylum and/or a better life.
It is inevitable that life will sometimes be hard and make us unhappy - and it is important that we learn what to do with that unhappiness.
If we allow it to undermine our self-worth, it can lead us to a lifestyle that we don’t really want, full of, for example, debt, drugs, crime or large amounts of alcohol.
If instead we take our unhappiness to the Lord, we are recognising that our Father in heaven loves us and takes care of our needs.
Of course, we may not always recognise the way the Lord has answered prayer, which is why it makes sense to stay in touch with God through prayer and sound Christian counsel from trustworthy leaders, priests, chaplains and elders.
That is not to imply that God will give you exactly what you want - but He will examine your heart, listen to your words and provide you with everything you need for the next stage of your journey.
Prayer points
Ask God for forgiveness if you have let yourself be led into a lifestyle that,
in some way, falls short of biblical values.
Thank the Lord Jesus, the Bread of Life, for listening to your prayer and ask Him to look after you as you learn how to live your life to the glory of God.
Exodus 16 v 17-21
So the people of Israel did this; some people gathered much, and some
gathered little. Then they measured it. The person who gathered more did not
have too much, nor did the person who gathered less have too little. Each person
gathered just as much as he needed.
Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it to eat the next day.” But
some of the people did not listen to Moses and kept part of it to eat the next
morning. It became full of worms and began to stink, so Moses was angry with
those people.
Every morning each person gathered as much food as he needed, but when the
sun became hot, it melted away.
Notes
We are all familiar with the wording on adverts for financial products that
say we may not get out what we put in. Perhaps in today’s Bible verses
we see the very first example of the principle in action.
In this case, of course, the Israelites were using a basic instinct for survival to store away their provisions so they had enough for tomorrow. It is quite understandable that on a route lacking regular service stations and roadside cafés, they were concerned about how to feed their families.
Their attempt to beat the system did not pay off, as the Lord was teaching them to trust in Him, not in earthly wisdom. In trying to save for the future they were disobeying God - a strategy that never got anyone anywhere.
This passage is not saying we cannot have pensions and saving schemes; it is simply saying we need to realise it is God who gives us everything we have, and the more we trust in Him, the more we learn to live our lives God’s way through acts of obedience.
It is also, let us not forget, reminding us to remember those who have little - so that they are given more and do not have too little.
Prayer points
“Compose” your own simple melody to sing these words over and over: “Teach
me your ways, O God of grace.”
Thank God for all that has been achieved this year through Make Poverty History - and ask for the focus on poor countries to continue not to fade away.
Exodus 16 v 22-26
On the sixth day the people gathered twice as much food - four quarts for
every person. When all the leaders of the community came and told this to
Moses,
he said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded, because tomorrow
is the Sabbath, the LORD’s holy day of rest. Bake what you want to
bake, and boil what you want to boil today. Save the rest of the food until
tomorrow morning.”
So the people saved it until the next morning, as Moses had commanded, and
none of it began to stink or have worms in it. Moses told the people, “Eat
the food you gathered yesterday. Today is a Sabbath, the LORD’s day of
rest; you will not find any out in the field today. You should gather the food
for six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day. On that day there will
not be any food on the ground.”
Notes
Various organisations over the years have campaigned to keep Sunday special,
encouraging us to “down tools” on Sundays and focus on faith
and family.
Doing so reminds us of how God “rested” on the seventh day, having created the heavens and the earth in six days. Not that God needed to have a rest; He simply modelled to us, by ceasing His work of creation, how important it was to focus on God as the centre of our worlds.
For the Israelites it was important to take God’s instructions seriously as they would otherwise go without food on the seventh day.
In the 21st century we do not get obvious reminders to treat Sunday - or whichever day we choose as our rest day - as a special day, and it is tempting for all of us to work, shop and go out on a day that really belongs to the Lord.
Whether or not that is an unavoidable part of modern living is a question we all have to examine, but we can conclude that God is a God who desires to be worshipped by creation - which is why we should be faithful to Him in the regular reading of Scripture, the singing of songs, prayer and giving.
Prayer points
Give thanks to the Lord for caring about us and wanting to be part of our lives
and everything we do.
Ask God to bring you into contact with more Christians who want to worship and pray together so you can have your own time of devotion.
Exodus 16 v 27-31
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they couldn’t
find any. Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you people refuse
to obey my commands and teachings? Look, the LORD has made the Sabbath a day
of rest for you. So on the sixth day he will give you enough food for two days,
but on the seventh day each of you must stay where you are. Do not go anywhere.”So
the people rested on the seventh day.
The people of Israel called the food manna. It was like small white seeds and
tasted like wafers made with honey.
Notes
Listening to the Lord and doing what He says are two different things. We can
all get things wrong for whatever reason - by misinterpreting what God is
saying, by not asking in the first place, or by deliberately choosing to
take a path that leads us away from God’s values.
Our God, thankfully, is a God who allows us to say sorry to Him for things we have done wrong. No matter how far we have gone off course, He welcomes us back into His arms of love, having disciplined us through the realisation that attempting to do things differently leads to heartache and pain, or perhaps emptiness and confusion.
By learning to seek God’s wisdom and living by it, we can make better decisions and lead a life that worships Him in every way. Whatever it is we need guidance on - work, family, relationships, church, or any combinations of these things - He is able to lead us in the right direction as a life coach whilst encouraging us by showing us that we are never alone and always have someone to turn to.
Who can afford not to invite such a wise friend and counsellor into their life - for free advice around the clock?
Prayer points
Thank God for all He does to help people mend their broken lives.
Ask God to come into an area of your life where you are facing a difficult decision - talking it through with Him as you would with a close friend.
Exodus 16 v 32-36
Then Moses said, “The LORD said, ‘Save two quarts of this food
for your descendants. Then they can see the food I gave you to eat in the desert
when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then
place it before the LORD, and save it for your descendants.” So Aaron
did what the LORD had commanded Moses. He put the jar of manna in front of
the Agreement to keep it safe. The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until
they came to the land where they settled - the edge of the land of Canaan.
The measure they used for the manna was two quarts, or one-tenth of an ephah.
Notes
Not everything the Lord commands us to do makes perfect sense. Yet God knows
what He is doing and why He is doing it. Our role is not to question what
He is doing, but to serve Him faithfully no matter how much pressure is on
to use our own earthly wisdom.
In this day and age we are constantly challenged by modern thinking on various issues, which tends to try and tell us that the Bible and Christianity itself is old-fashioned or out of touch.
Not so. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and is on a much higher level than us in terms of intellect and theological thought.
It is important to have theologians studying the Bible and related topics to look at God from various angles, and we need to be able to respect other religions and people’s human rights - but we must not allow ourselves to be pressured into diluting what we believe simply because there is no logical explanation for it.
There is no perfectly clear reason why we should give a tenth (as opposed to say a twentieth) of our income to the church, for example, but God tells us to in Scripture and it is our duty to obey.
Prayer points
Say thank you to God for being the one true constant in our lives in whom we
can trust with all of our problems and cares.
Make time for a special time of worship so you can to sing along to a worship CD and praise God for all that He is and all that He does.
Exodus 17 v 1-7
The whole Israelite community left the Desert of Sin and travelled from place
to place, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no
water there for the people to drink. So they quarrelled with Moses and said, “Give
us water to drink.”
Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why are you testing
the LORD?”
But the people were very thirsty for water, so they grumbled against Moses.
They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to kill us, our
children, and our farm animals with thirst?”
So Moses cried to the LORD, “What can I do with these people? They are
almost ready to stone me to death.”
The LORD said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people, and take some of the
older leaders of Israel with you. Carry with you the walking stick that you
used to strike the Nile River. Now go! I will stand in front of you on a rock
at Mount Sinai. Hit that rock with the stick, and water will come out of it
so that the people can drink.” Moses did these things as the older leaders
of Israel watched. He named that place Massah, because the Israelites tested
the LORD when they asked, “Is the LORD with us or not?” He also
named it Meribah, because they quarrelled.
Notes
Jesus Christ is the Son of God - pure and simple. Yet we sometimes forget what
that means for our lives. When the going gets tough, we start to grumble
and quarrel and in our own ways test the Lord, perhaps by asking for a sign
or a quick fix to an ongoing problem.
It is easy to see why the Israelites needed water - but their collective doubt left the realms of asking for a simple need to be met and headed into sin.
It is an easy mistake to make and the important thing is to regularly ask for forgiveness for our failings.
Interestingly, this passage also contains an important lesson on leadership. Instead of trying to employ a “one size fits all” solution, Moses realised it was time to take the feedback to the Lord.
Taking responsibility for large numbers of people is not easy, and when divisive factions start to have too much influence, we need to drink from the Living Water of Jesus Christ - who inspires us and is a well of wisdom.
Churches, youth groups, house groups and outreach projects all need sound leadership, and this section of Scripture provides a positive model of how to go about turning lack of faith into a moment where God reveals himself as the Lord of Lords.
Prayer points
Thank the Lord for His gift of love - that surpasses all understanding and
fills our lives with support, sound counsel and forgiveness.
Ask God to teach you about trust so that you can deepen your relationship with Him.
Exodus 17 v 8-16
At Rephidim the Amalekites came and fought the Israelites. So Moses said
to Joshua, “Choose some men and go and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow
I will stand on the top of the hill, holding the walking stick of God in
my hands.”
Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron
and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held his hands up,
the Israelites
would win the fight, but when Moses put his hands down, the Amalekites would
win. Later, when Moses’ arms became tired, the men put a large rock under
him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands - Aaron
on one side and Hur on the other. They kept his hands steady until the sun
went down. So Joshua defeated the Amalekites in this battle.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write about this battle in a book so people
will remember. And be sure to tell Joshua, because I will completely destroy
the Amalekites from the earth.”
Then Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is my Banner. Moses said, “I
lifted my hands toward the LORD’s throne. The LORD will fight against
the Amalekites for ever.”
Notes
It is difficult to see things from the Israelites’ point of view - particularly
on the controversial issue of war versus peace. One thing that is for certain,
though, is that there will always be evil in the world until the coming of
the Lord - and there will be times when spiritual warfare surfaces as a physical
war with armies and weapons.
Whatever our views on war, it is important to look beyond the setting of this section of Scripture so we can look at what the passage is teaching us about God.
Without doubt, the most interesting thing is that Moses’ physical actions had some spiritual significance - which is completely unexplained and beyond the realms of scientific interpretation.
Despite the countless ways that science, technology and medicine have improved our lives, there is another dimension - that of the Holy Spirit - which is always at work in the world, yet its workings and methods remain a mystery.
It is important to accept that God is God and Lord of all - without needing proof, evidence or complicated theories.
With the world we quite often have problems and no answers - but with God it is the opposite. We have all the answers we need and do not necessarily need to work out how we got there.
Prayer points
Thank God that the battle against evil was won on the cross.
For more examples of the mysterious workings of the Holy Spirit, take a look at other brief sections of Scripture that focus on healing and miracles.
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text
taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright
1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes