Exodus Chapter 15:22 - Chapter 18
The bulk of today's reading focuses on the physiological (food and
water) and spiritual needs of the Israelites as they travel from the
Red Sea to Mount Sinai (where in tomorrow's reading, Moses will give
the Ten Commandments). Certainly meeting the physiological needs for
180,000 people in the middle of the desert seems impossible, but not
with God.
The Israelites in their humanism doubted God's ability to sustain
them in the desert. Early in our reading, we see this doubt quickly
turn into "grumbling" on behalf of the Israelites towards Moses and
ultimately towards God. In their hunger, the Israelites said to Moses,
"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." It's
amazing how quick the Israelites forget about the miracles God had
already performed in their lives. He had just delivered them from 400
years of slavery and divided a sea in two for their escape from the
Egyptians. Surely He can supply food!! In the midst of trials, do you
have faith in God's ability to provide just what you need?
In Matthew 6:31-33, Jesus says, "So do not worry, saying, 'What
shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For
the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows
that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well." God knows exactly
what we need. He just wants us to believe in his ability to provide.
This was perhaps the Israelites greatest battle in the desert; their
fight for belief in God's promises. Nonetheless, God remained
faithful. God endowed quail and manna (bread) to appease the hunger of
His people. God supplied water from a rock to quench their thirst.
Physically, their needs felt met. God's greater plan however, was for
his people to know he could provide no matter the circumstances. Every
morning (six out of seven days a week) for forty years, God
miraculously made Manna appear on the ground. Bread provided in this
fashion was meant to increase the faith of the Israelites. Water
brought forth through a rock was another sign meant to build the trust
of the Israelites.
Both the "Manna" and the "water from the rock" portray Christ as
we know from the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 10:3-4, the apostle
Paul says, "They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same
spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that
accompanied them, and that rock was Christ." It was Christ that kept
the Israelites alive in the desert. If God had the Israelites drink
from the rock of Christ to sustain them, then shouldn't we drink from
that same rock?
In John 6:35, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to
me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be
thirsty." Those that are in Jesus Christ are forever blessed. For in
Christ, we have the bread from heaven and the water that will always
quench our thirsts. Let's seek spiritual nourishment today by faith in
Jesus Christ.
You're Blessed,
Anthony
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