Exodus part 4

 When we ended the last post, we were discussing how the Israelites were in awe of God after he helped Moses part the Red Sea. Before we move on to the book of Leviticus, I want to spend some time looking at some of the ways that the Israelites struggled with faith or just following God. Chapter 14 of Exodus was the parting of the Red Sea, chapter 15 starts with the Israelites singing a song of deliverance. But, by the end of chapter 15 we already have an issue, let's look at verses 22-27

Bitter Water at Marah

22 Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. 23 When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”). 

24 Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. 25 So Moses cried out to the LORD for help, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink. 

It was there at Marah that the LORD set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. 26 He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you.” 

27 After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water. 

Am I reading that correctly? Did it really just take 3 days before they started to lack faith? The Lord uses this as a learning opportunity, in verse 26 he says to carefully listen and do what is right in his sight, then he will not make you suffer any diseases that the Egyptians had. Then even though they didn't have faith, he led them to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. The Lord showed great parenting skills here, the kids were misbehaving, he used it as an opportunity for a lesson and then when he believed that they had listened, he rewarded them. Now, everyone who has even done any babysitting knows that you do something like this hoping that the behavior has been fixed. But, let's look at the start of chapter 16.

Manna and Quail from Heaven

Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt. 2 There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron. 

3 “If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” 

One month after being in awe they moan that it would have been better to die in Egypt. This is why I love the book of Exodus. I want to argue and complain about how crazy the Israelites are, but I know that this is a reflection of my life. I wonder how many times I have been in awe of something that the Lord did for me only so that less than a month later I would complain that it would be better if my life was over. Maybe I don't go to that extreme, but I am sure that instead I said something about wishing that I could be in completely different circumstances. Why do we not trust God? So, after God fixed the food situation, let's move on to chapter 17.

Water from the Rock

At the LORD’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. 2 So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded. 

I can't imagine what this was like for Moses. No matter what he did, or what God did, the people complained. Moses shows some frustration after their complaining this time.

“Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the LORD?” 

3 But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?” 

4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!” 

I'm glad that Moses went to the Lord with their complaining. Maybe that is something we should do more. When the world around us is complaining, instead of going to someone else and complaining about the complainers, take to the Lord. Here is how the Lord responds.

5 The LORD said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. 6 I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on. 

7 Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD here with us or not?” 

When I read this, I have a few thoughts. First of all, The Lord provided for them AGAIN! Second, I wish that I knew enough about other languages to give fancy names to certain places. When I go to the store, instead of calling it the store, maybe I could call it " The Place of Impulsive Purchases". Then every time I went there, I would have to think about the times that I wasted money on impulsive purchases. All throughout the Old Testament are stories of people complaining about the situation they are in. I think it's so important to read those stories and realize that we are the same way. When we focus so much time complaining about the situation we are in, we can't focus on the lesson we need to take from the situation. Next time we find ourselves in a situation we aren't happy about, we need to stop and pray and ask God what we can learn.