Exodus 15:1-16:3

Exodus 15:1-16:3

After their escape from the Egyptians, the Israelites (led by Moses) praised the Lord. Exodus 15 is a perfect picture of how our response to God should be in life. There are so many times that He provides exactly what we need and we miss it. Of course there are also those times where it is obvious, such as the parting of the Red Sea for the Israelites. But how many times do we praise God for what He has done? Maybe you do, and that is great! However, I know there are times in my life that I have neglected to give Him the praise that He deserves. He loves us and protects us daily. He gives us exactly what we need when we need it. He withholds from us what we do not need and protects us from harm. Sure trials come, and there are times when it seems as if we are going to be overtaken (which the Israelites probably felt prior to crossing the Red Sea), yet God takes care of His children. We must always live in a spirit of praise and thanksgiving before the Lord, for He alone deserves our praise.

The end of Exodus 15 shows another one of these instances of provision. The Israelites had gone for 3 days without water. When they finally found some water, it was bitter and not drinkable. God gave them clear instructions on what to do to make the water sweet. Because of their obedience to God, He not only met their needs in that one instance, but He also led them to a place where they could have plenty of water for however long they stayed, a place with 12 springs of water. Many times we ask God to meet a specific need in our life, but we are surprised to find that He goes above and beyond what we expected. This is because He loves us, and He takes care of His children. We return that love and prove that we love Him when we remain obedient to His commands. How can we disobey and fall away from the One who loves us so much?

At the start of Exodus 16, the Israelites are grumbling once more. This time, they have no food and do not know where they are going to get any. They wish that they were back in Egypt, for they would have rather died in Egypt than the wilderness. Does that sound as ridiculous to you as it does to me? But when I think about this request, it reminds me of how I am sometimes. Have you ever thought, “It looks like those nonbelievers are having so much fun, and this Christian life is just too hard. Why can’t I just do what I feel like doing and not have to worry about all these strict rules?” Now that sounds just as ridiculous as well, but when we feel that way, we are doing exactly what the Israelites did on numerous occasions. We are telling God that we give up, that we do not trust Him anymore, and that we want to do things our way. Yet God continues to provide and show us who He is. How can we forget what He has already done in our lives? How can we think that He will not continue to help us? He tells us that He will never leave us, so when those moments come up in life, we must turn back to Him for help all the more. God was about to help the Israelites as well, they just did not know it yet.

Matt