Saturday, February 6, 2016

Food, water, and victory – Exodus 16-17

After reading these two chapters, check this out!

Everyone knows that for a long road trip, you need to pack supplies, all kinds of supplies; and if you have little children your supplies list can and will multiply very quickly.  Otherwise you’ll have to plan to stop by a store to buy whatever you might need when you needed, and this will make the trip even longer, and most likely will cost you more as well.

Back in Bible times, they HAD to pack enough supplies for any trip for there were NO chances to find a “Food-Mart” down the road.  And just imagine a caravan of restless people young and old, tired, not able to sleep well, shower or eat much, and with exasperated hungry kids? How about with animals who can get violent? And then having to deal with their daily affairs, on an empty stomach for days? We all know that we can get “moody” when we’re hungry! Like the TV commercial shows, cause “you are not you, when you’re hungry!” This must have been a very difficult thing for their leader, Moses!

Sometimes we can supply some of the demands of our people, but there are other times, that the demands are impossible to meet?! But as a leader, what to do but PRAY? Sometimes we have an idea they are murmuring about us, but really, we do not even want to find out, especially if the reason for the murmuring is too greater and impossible for us to meet.  But for The LORD who sees everything that’s happening, and for whom NOTHING is impossible, HE responded immediately; even before Moses made the first appeal to Him about what was going on.

A few things of this point that we can take…  The first thing The Lord wants us to realize and understand that for even today is, that when we complaint about someone, we are complaining to GOD, because that someone, believe it or not, had been sent by GOD with a purpose for our lives.  (Have you already started wandering what’s the purpose [of that one   you might have called a “bloodsucker”] and what can he/she add to my life?) Yeah, God send him/her! Ouch!!!

Second, because that person is God sent, God’s answer is secured; back then and as well as today’s! So God spoke to that leader, telling him what to tell the people and how to do it.  The response was meat to eat in the evening, and bread in the morning. If we were Moses we would be thinking “I wonder how He’ll do that?! Maybe a beautiful dish with a piece of quail and some mashed potatoes and some salad…”  Funny ha?!  But the answer, I’m sure, surprised everyone because that evening quail flew in, and covered the camp. (Folks, hunting season had been established!)

The Lord also established some rules that would accompany that, what HE would supply. So obedience was also a must, for these rules were to be as follow:
·         Hunting is necessary
·         Portion control is necessary
·         Leftovers on the sixth day were a MUST! (the “doggie bag” was established, and “Glad” patented it)

It’s funny, and you might be laughing but, did you realize that the established portion is the same as the leftover bags or containers that we buy today, two quarts? Hum…. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new! But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new[1], and this, my friends is Biblical!!!

And did you get that Moses was to save in a “jar” (a mason jar, could be?) two quarts of manna to be placed in a sacred place before the LORD to preserve it for FUTURE GENERATIONS!? That’s NOT a few days or even months, is talking about YEARS!!! That’s REALLY a l e f t o v e r!

And then, providing water was another story…. Is one thing to be thirsty because you don’t like to drink water, but is another thing to be thirsty due to lack of water. About forty years after feeding their tummies with quail and manna, they lacked water, and got thirsty, but this time besides complaining among each other, they demanded water from Moses. But as a great leader do, he went straight to the source, and cried out to God.  Immediately, God gave him the needed answer, and lead him to show the people God’s power.  By striking a rock at Mount Sinai, water gushed out, and everyone stood in awe; wouldn’t you?!

And last but NOT least… when the Amalekites came and attacked them, they weren’t ready; so Moses commanded their men to go out to fight while he’ll be standing at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in his hand. I’m sure the people would question, just like us, and that would do what???! But truly that was no shorter than another miracle, because as you read whenever he dropped his hands the Amalekites gained advantage, but then when Moses held up the staff he Israelites had the advantage. So God’s people stepped out in faith, Aaron and Hur, one on each side of Moses, held his hands steady until sunset. The result, the Amalekites got overwhelmed and defeated!  The VICTORY belongs to Moses and the people of God.  GLORY, GLORY, ALLELUIA!!!

I pray you got a good laugh out of all these details which comes straight from God’s Word and are totally valid and relevant for our lives today.  I also pray you understand that discovering the messages of God’s Word is no boring thing but an exciting exploration mission; and I pray you get a hold of it, and RUN to yours.  For the glory of God, I pray in JESUS name, AMEN!





[1] Ecclesiastes 1:10

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