# 44 2024 Dev. Ex.16. God Provides! “Read all of chapter sixteen first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s Story. Do you believe that this may also be part of our story, in our time? All passages are taken from the NIV.
Ex.16:9 “Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
Ex.16: Dissatisfaction. “The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.” By this time they had run out of whatever food they had brought with them. But God had planned to provide for them. He planned to send quail and manna from heaven. This chapter is about trusting God.
It reminds me of Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
Note:[a] “Or that all things work together for good to those who love God, who; or that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who…”
Vs.1-12 “In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, ‘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 this entire assembly to death.”’ This sets the tone for the entire journey to the promised land. Whenever there was a problem, or things did not go to their liking, the people rebelled. Not much different today is it? Yes, God tests our faith, but all that is for our good and for the good of the work God has given us, that is to serve God by worship, promoting goodness and peace though the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That also was the work of the Israelites beginning with God choosing Abraham. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. 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.’” The Lord our God is in control.
Vs.13-30 God brought quail that evening and manna in the morning. They were to gather an omer, about three pounds, for each person in the tent. “The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.” This was God’s provision. They were to gather just enough for everyday. Of course some people lacked the faith to follow the instruction, do not keep any for the next day. Those who did found it full of worms and putrid in the morning. But on the sixth day they were to gather double for the Sabbath and that did not spoil overnight. They rested on the Sabbath. God set the tone for many of us, the weekend is for rest and worship, to prepare for the next week. Also, this is a lesson for us, we all have earned less than what we thought we needed, and sometimes more than what we thought we needed but it has been enough, God is faithful. Like the Israelites we must be diligent and follow the rules. God provides but we must work for it. Amen.
Vs.31-36 “The people of Israel called the bread manna.[d] It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.” God told Moses to preserve an omer for generations to come as a remembrance of His faithfulness. “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.” It took forty years to root out the rebellion, only two men of the generation that left Egypt, Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who trusted God, were allowed to enter the Promised Land. Praise the Lord
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