Daily Scripture Reading Exodus 15:22 - 16:14
The Bible tells us without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is hard. Faith means believing God will provide, even when we have no idea how He will provide. Many modern Christians think we have faith and are pleasing to God. However, we are surrounded by plenty of food and water. Would we have any faith if our life of plenty was disrupted?
When Israel left Egypt, they entered the wilderness. By definition, a wilderness has little food and water, meaning Israel had to have faith that Yahweh would provide. Their response to being in the wilderness is a warning to us that perhaps our faith is not nearly as strong as we like to think.
Ex. 15:22 ¶ Then Moses had Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
Ex. 15:23 And they came to Marah, but they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah.
“Marah” is the Hebrew word for bitter. When Israel found water that was too bitter to drink, they named the place “Bitter”. This illustrates how people in Bible times thought about names. They did not choose a name based on how it sounded. They chose names to communicate truth.
Ex. 15:24 So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
Look at the word “grumbled”. This was mere days after Yahweh parted the waters of the Red Sea. The Israelites should have had faith that Yahweh could provide water in the midst of a waterless desert.
Ex. 15:25 Then he cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. ¶ There He set for them a statute and a judgment, and there He tested them.
Ex. 15:26 And He said, “If you will earnestly listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, Yahweh, am your healer.”
Ex. 15:27 ¶ Then they came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.
Notice the word “camped”. Verse 27 is the only verse devoted to their time at Elim, but the fact that Israel camped at Elim indicates they spent at least some time there.
Ex. 16:1 ¶ Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.
Look at the words “second month”. The Bible tells us the month Israel left Egypt was to be their first month of the year (see Exodus 12:2,18). I am not sure if second month refers to the second month of their year, which means they had now been out of Egypt for one month, or if it means they had now been out of Egypt for two months.
Ex. 16:2 And the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
Notice the word “grumbled”. Again, this was mere weeks after Yahweh had demonstrated His overwhelming power and ability to provide anything, even in the most dire circumstances.
Ex. 16:3 And the sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to put this whole assembly to death with hunger.”
If you look back at Exodus 2:23, you will see that Israel cried out for release from their slavery. Their situation in Egypt had been dire. And yet, after only a few weeks in the wilderness, their hunger made them forget the pain of slavery and they wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt just so they would not be hungry anymore.
This illustrates the power of hunger, thirst, and pleasure. It also illustrates the difficulty of having faith. When Israel could not see food all around them, they had trouble believing they would have something to eat each day. They were willing to go back to slavery simply to have the comfort of being surrounded by food.
Many modern Christians think we have faith and are pleasing to God. However, we are surrounded by plenty of food and water. Would we have any faith if our life of plenty was disrupted? Or would we be like Israel and grumble and complain, despite being eyewitnesses of God’s ability to overcome any obstacle?
Ex. 16:4 ¶ Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My law.
Notice the word “test”. Yahweh was going to test Israel. He wanted to see if Israel would obey Him.
Ex. 16:5 Now it will be on the sixth day, they shall prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
Ex. 16:6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening you will know that Yahweh has brought you out of the land of Egypt;
Ponder the words “at evening you will know” By this time Israel should have already known that Yahweh was the One who had brought them out of Egypt. Yahweh was being very patient with Israel.
Ex. 16:7 and in the morning you will see the glory of Yahweh, for He hears your grumblings against Yahweh; and what are we, that you grumble against us?”
Ex. 16:8 ¶ And Moses said, “This will happen when Yahweh gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread to the full in the morning; for Yahweh hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against Yahweh.”
Look at the last sentence. When Israel complained about Moses, they were actually complaining about Yahweh because Moses was merely doing what Yahweh told him to do.
If you ever confront someone with Biblical truth, and they grumble against you, remember that if you are accurately representing the Bible, then they are not grumbling against you, they are grumbling against God.
Ex. 16:9 ¶ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘Come near before Yahweh, for He has heard your grumblings.’”
Ex. 16:10 Now it happened as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they turned toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud.
Ex. 16:11 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Ex. 16:12 “I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread, so that you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.’”
Ex. 16:13 ¶ So it happened at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
Ex. 16:14 Then the layer of dew evaporated, and behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground.
If you look back at Exodus 2:23, you will see that Israel cried out for release from their slavery. And yet, after only a few weeks in the wilderness, their hunger made them forget the pain of slavery and they wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt just so they would not be hungry anymore.
This illustrates the difficulty of having faith. When Israel could not see food all around them, they had trouble believing they would have something to eat each day. They were willing to go back to slavery simply to have the comfort of being surrounded by food.
Many modern Christians think we have faith and are pleasing to God. However, we are surrounded by plenty of food and water.
What would happen if our life of plenty was disrupted?
Would we have any faith?
Thanks for visiting Bible Mountain. If you have already joined my email list, thank you and please tell others about Bible Mountain. If you have not joined my email list yet, please do so now. In order to join, go to Bible Mountain dotcom, click on subscribe, and that will take you to a page where you can sign up. Your email address will not be sold nor given away. Once again, thanks for visiting Bible Mountain.
“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”