GOOD MORNING!
Today’s readings are Exodus 16-18
Click here to read today’s passages on BibleGateway.
Rabbit Trails
Interesting fact alert! In Exodus 16:15 when the Israelites asked “what is it?” with regards to the name of manna, in Hebrew the transliterated words for “what is it?” are pronounced “Man-hu”. Neat, huh?
Test it here: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/exodus/16-15.htm
Exodus 16:16 They were told to gather an omer of bread, which translates to about half a gallon. I like to know these things.
Exodus 16:4-5 There are so many incidents of grace when it comes to the Father. He is truly a God of grace and mercy. I specifically noted the two incidents of grace in these verses. First of all, the Israelites, after all that He had done for them, began grumbling against Him. As a parent, we know that it was with a great deal of Grace that He didn’t smite them then and there! Secondly, he rained down Manna to feed them. By His very hand, He fed these people who had grumbled against Him.
How tragic that we have people who teach that Grace began in the “New” Testament. In Malachi 3:6, YHWH says “I am YHWH, I do not change.” However, there was a woefully errant teaching that permeated the body of believers centuries ago which teaches that there are actually two “Gods” in the Bible, the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. This theology also teaches that the old God was angry and vengeful and the new God is loving and shows Grace. This teaching stands in direct contradiction to the word of YHWH, the words of our Messiah, and the Bible as a whole. But it is only when we read it for ourselves that we can see the truth. If you’d like to learn more of this, the start to this rabbit trail is the name “Marcion”. Marcionism is good to know about in order to recognize the influence over doctrine today. I just wanted you to know that the whole idea of “Grace began in the New Testament.” is a statement that stems from the continuing influence of Marcion. Moving on…
Exodus 16:19-21 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
Exodus 16:27 On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather but they found none. And YHWH said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?”
Each time I’ve read these passages I find myself answering out loud, “Centuries, at least.”
Sidenote: Remember, never accept a single verse from anyone. When someone gives you a verse, go put it back where it came from and read the entire context to make sure it means what you think it means.
Do you see it? The Father is teaching them to trust in Him. After all that they have been through He is still sensitive to the fact that they are not used to a God who will be faithful to them and so, bit by bit, He is training them to learn to trust in Him. He does the same thing with us, each day. We step out in what faith we have and He, in His compassion and lovingkindness, helps us to grow that faith.
Do you see yourself in the Israelites? I sure do! We are being told these stories so that we will know and understand our own propensities as people. The Father, in His wisdom and kindness, not only gives us guidelines (commandments) on how to live our lives successfully, but He also gives us examples of what happens when we turn from Him and what happens when we turn TO Him. What a loving Father He is!
Remember, the Bible is not meant to be used as a microscope to examine others with but as a mirror in which to see ourselves. Each of these stories have direct application in our own lives today.
Exodus 17:8 – The Amalekites are descendants of Esau. In Deuteronomy 25:17-18 we find out that when they attacked here, they actually attacked the rear of the Israelites group, which is where the weakest members (children, elderly, etc) would have been positioned. The Father despised this action. Even today, those who target after our elderly and our young are deemed the most despicable. These groups represent our most treasured and our most revered.
Exodus 17:5 Water from the rock – Notice that the father has Moses take elders from Israel with him to witness the miracle YHWH was going to perform. This is another way the tribal structure helped them as these elders could then get the word to every single person beneath them in the structure tree as to what the Father did to bring this miracle about. Also, pay attention to the fact that the Father specifically told Moses to strike the rock to bring forth water. We’ll come back to that information later on in Exodus.
Exodus 18:9-11 I loved seeing Jethro come to know the Father!
“And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.” Exodus 18:9-11
When Moses goes up to lift up his arms so that the Israelites will win the battle, we see that Aaron and a man named Hur went with him. Who is Hur? He is mentioned again in Exodus 24:14 and is clearly very important. We aren’t given the information on who he is but many believe he was Miriam’s husband. This is speculation and nothing to get hung up on, just an interesting tidbit.
~Soapbox~
OH MY GOODNESS the grumbling of the Israelites! The grumbling always frustrates me to read about – and then I am immediately reminded to look in the mirror and make sure my own attitude is where it should be with regards to awareness and appreciation of all that YHWH has done for us.
However, there is a lot to love in today’s reading! For me, I am enamored with the description of the Manna. How beautiful must that have looked glistening on the ground with the first light of the sun’s rays.
In these precious verses, YHWH is teaching Israel to trust in Him to sustain them.
With this in mind, so many things in my life that I may have looked differently upon begin to look like Manna. So many opportunities to learn to trust in Him more, rely on Him, and have faith that He will provide.
Did you notice the respect and honor given to Moses’s father in law when he arrived? Did you see how easily Moses followed Jethro’s instruction? He was truly a humble, humble man who had no issue accepting wisdom and advice from someone else. We will see this humility time and again as a pattern among God’s chosen leaders.
It’s SO EXCITING to be here with you all today!
For the past several days I’ve been keeping an eye on my clock and going out on the back porch with a blanket and a cup of coffee to watch the sunrise. ☀️ These minutes of silence outside, surrounded by our Father’s creation, watching the sun rise on the earth again, have brought me a great deal of needed peace at the start of the day.
If you are reading this in the wee hours of the morning, I encourage you to grab a blanket and head on out to your own porch. If you are reading this later, perhaps you could catch a sunset. Our Father sure does give us a lot of beauty each day – and how blessed we are when we make time to take it in!
Test everything, hold tight to what is good – and HE is the source of good!
May YHWH bless the reading of His Word!