Exodus 15-18

Exodus 12:13

The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”

GOD MAKES BITTER WATERS SWEET (Exodus 15:22-15:27)

It took only 3 days before the Israelites started grumbling and complaining. Moses, like all good men of prayer, took his prayer to God and sought help.

As long as the Israelites followed the following commandments, the Israelites will remain favorable in God’s sight (Exodus 15:26):

1. Diligenetly heed the voice of God

2. Do what is right in His sight

3. Listen to His commandments

4. Keep all His statues

This event was a picture of how Jesus (represented by the tree) could make anything bitter within us sweet. We can choose to be bitter in life because of all the wrongs that have happened. But compared to all the things we have wronged God, God still chose to love us and leave that bitterness. When we are in Christ, we, too, should allow Christ to sweeten the bitterness of our lives.

GOD PROVIDES MANNA (Exodus 16)

The Israelites would rather trade in eternal life and freedom for comfort in the flesh for a short period of time. No pain, no gain. Do we really think we can obtain perfection without first fighting through all the imperfections? The Israelites did not see the ultimate goal of their salvation. Instead, they were so focused on how much more they were suffering that they just kept complaining, wanting to go back to their old lives. Were their old lives that much better? They were under horrible slavery and were horribly abused – sure, they had food – and isn’t it sad that for just the food (and it’s not even good food!), they would much rather give up the freedom to go right back into slavery? Instead of figuring out how to gather food in the wilderness – They didn’t want to do any of that work – they just wanted Moses to figure it out and do it for them. In other words, they behaved like babies who didn’t want to help, who just wanted to be served.

In sum, the Israelites whined and were unappreciative of all that God had done for them. Like the new Jewish Christians who wanted to go back to their old ways described in the Book of Hebrew, so, too, did these Israelites who wanted to go back to their old ways when they hit hard times.

Complaining despite of evidence of God’s provision, grace, and love is a great disservice to God. When we complain under these circumstances, we are misrepresenting God. Non-Christians would see that our God can't even keep us happy, and why would anyone who want a god like that? Do not misrepresent God. Do not be ungrateful. Do not complain selfishly. Pray for guidance and insight as to why we might be going through a trial and how we might walk through it with the support and love of God.

There is a bigger point to be made here: We are NEVER to go back to our ways of sin! It is of course much easier to live in sin than to walk in the light. As Christ’s followers, we need to continue to head in the direction of light, not shrink back into the shadows of evil!

Exodus 16:3

And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 16:7

He hears your complaints against the LORD.

Exodus 16:8

Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.

Every complaint we make, we make against God—and He hears it all. The Israelites hated their lives in the Wilderness so bad, they wished that God would have killed them in Egypt instead of rescuing them out of Egypt! They weren’t just complaining. They were selfishly ungrateful! Let us not follow in such footsteps.

Exodus 16:13-15

So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”

“Manna” is the Hebrew word for “What is it?” And to this day, the bread that rained from Heaven, provided by God, is called Manna. Manna was provided everyday for the entire 40 years the Israelites spent in the Wilderness.

God teaches us obedience in faith through His provisions

Exodus 16:16

This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: “Let every man gather it according to each one’s need… He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

Each person was responsible for gathering his own portion. Each man had a choice. If they chose to not believe and refused to eat, they could. They would starve because of their hardened hearts. Similarly, we could starve ourselves spiritually by refusing Jesus, and be condemned to Hell.

Additionally, God is teaching us to rely on him EVERY day, EVERY meal. We are here because of the miracles of God. These are all daily blessings from God.

On the sixth day, twice the amount of bread will be provided. On the seventh day, there would be no raining of bread. The Israelites must trust the Lord on this day, that God’s provision is ENOUGH.

Exodus 16:20

Some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank.”

Moses told the Israelites to gather according to each one’s needs and to not leave any until morning. However, some people still tried to “save” some, “just in case” God’s provision wasn’t enough.

We all do this, don’t we? We are reluctant to let go of control, and when we’re asked to put 100% of our faith in God, we’re still looking for ways to make sure we can hold on to even the tiniest bit of control. This is a faith issue. This is us saying, “God, I know you provide, but I just don’t trust You enough to continue to provide, so I must take some control of the situation. You know, just in case.”

Through the provision of Manna, God teaches us two things:

1. Our faith in Him and in His provision is a day-by-day commitment. God will always give us enough for the day. And the next day, He will renew us and again, provide enough for us to live through that day.

2. We cannot live off of yesterday's fellowship with Jesus! When the Israelites tried to save the Manna from the previous day, the Manna started to rot and stink. Similarly, we cannot think that our fellowship with God today will be enough to last us through the week or whenever the next time we have the time to fellowship with God. God renews us daily, and our souls need to be renewed daily to stay strong in the corrupted world that we reside in. The longer we wait until our next fellowship with God, the more our rotten and wormy souls start to stink, the more the sins of our flesh become apparent.

Exodus 16:26

Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”

Through this, God was teaching the Israelites about the Sabbath. On the day of the Sabbath, no work was to be done, because it was to be a day where we focus 100% on God, to remember how He has blessed us and rescued us out of the bondage of sin. And although no work was to be done, we need not to work about food or shelter, because God will provide – God will ALWAYS provide. And so here, God is teaching us that as long as we place our trust in Him and to rely completely on Him, He will provide.

Jesus is the Bread of Life

John 6:35

Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Manna is a type of Jesus, as He referred to himself as the Bread of Life. Jesus, too, is the Bread from Heaven--Jesus is our daily provision for our spiritual sustenance! Manna went out to a group of rebellious people, just as Jesus was sent out to a rebellious world.

GOD PROVIDES WATER (Exodus 17:1-7)

It didn’t take long before the Israelites complained again to Moses—This time, they accused him of bringing them out of Egypt to kill them with thirst.

This was a very ungrateful group of people. The Israelites thought nothing of the grace that God had shown them, the amount of work Moses and Aaron had to endure to take them out of cruel bondage. All the could see was luxury of their lives, and when things didn’t go their way, they complained, showing no gratitude at all for the miracles that had been done to provide them with a better life.

As we walk through this life, we need to recognize that we live in a fallen and corrupted world. Things will not go our way, especially if we are determined to walk as God’s people. Why? Because Satan is the ruler of this world, and he will do what he can to discourage our walk in Christ (1 John 5:19)! We therefore will be thrown into tribulations, and we will have tears of sorrow and pain. However, Jesus has come and restored our relationship in God, and we have a future where God will wipe away all our tears (Revelation 21:4). Before this future becomes a reality, God must first take care of Satan. This plan of redemption – not just of the human kind but of the whole world – has been in motion for thousands of years (Genesis, Daniel, Revelation) and will one day be complete. Until then, the pain and struggle we are experiencing are the result of living righteously in a dark world of evil. When we face hardship, understand the above so that we can be encouraged and look forward to our eternity with God. God is NOT the cause of our hardship. He loves us as the greatest Father of all and wants nothing but happiness and joy for us!

Jesus is our Rock

God instructed Moses to strike to the water, so that water would flow out of it for the people to drink.

The Rock is a picture of Jesus (1 Corinthians 10).  As Moses struck the Rock for water, so, too, was Jesus struck dead on the Cross for us, his blood (and water) flowing out, cleansing us of our sins.

The stricken rock therefore represents our stricken Messiah. Moses striking the rock is a picture of Jesus' crucifixion. Upon striking the rock, water flowed out, representing the out flow of the Holy Spirit, just as the Holy Spirit is our thirst quencher in the desert of life!

At a later time point, the Israelites would need water again, and God would instruct Moses to speak to the rock (instead of striking it). However, Moses, because he was angry with the Israelites for their disobedience, would strike it instead, ruining the picture God had intended (Number 20:7-11).

Why did God instruct Moses to speak to the rock instead of striking the second time? By speaking to the rock for water, it was a picture showing Jesus only had to die once on the Cross for us. After His death, we only have to ask (speak), and we shall receive. Jesus did not need to die again and again to redeem us. His death was complete once and for all.

GOD DEFEATS AMALEKITES (Exodus 17:8-16)

Up to now, God had fought on their behalf. Next, God will fight through them, guiding them through the battles. This represents growth, that they are now mature enough to start taking on things themselves. Similarly, when we take that next step and choose to be baptized in the Lord (receiving the Holy Spirit), we are then prepared to receive battle.

Exodus 17:9

Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amlekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

Holding up the staff symbolizes our complete faith in God – It shows that we know when we enter any battle, it is God who fights for us, not us fighting by our might. Holding up our hands represents prayer – Even though Moses didn’t physically fight the Amlekites, Moses was interceding for his people through prayer. Prayer is our best offensive weapon against the enemies of God!

Despite knowing the above, we still must also physically fight the battle – to show that our actions reflect our faith. God will give us the power and the strength, but we still have to do the work. That is, we can’t just say, “We believe,” and then just sit on our butts expecting God to do everything else for us.

In sum, the battle of Amalekites represents our battle against the flesh. (The Amalekites were the descendants of Esau, and they represented people of the flesh. Esau was a man of the flesh, giving up his birthright for a mere bowl of stew.) In order for us in our walk conquer lust of the flesh, yes, we have to physically fight it, but we fight it through prayer!

What’s the takeaway? If we have accepted Jesus as our King, our LORD, and have chosen to follow Him, then ACT LIKE IT.

JETHRO OFFERS MOSES GREAT ADVICE (Exodus 18)

When Jethro heard of Moses’ journey to bring His people out of Egypt, he rejoiced and praised God (Exodus 18:9). Upon hearing of Moses’ responsibilities and workload, Jethro share his concerns:

1. Moses was doing too much by himself. The amount of work would wear him out.

2. A leader cannot be an effective leader if he is bogged down by administrative tasks.

Jethro thus advised Moses that he should teach people the way of God and appoint leaders to guide tens, hundreds, or thousands of people. This way, Moses could delegate administrative tasks to good leaders, which would free Moses up to focus on carrying out God’s vision. The men selected to be leaders should be able men who feared God, who were truthful and had no desire to covet worldly possessions for themselves (Exodus 18:21).

One of the greatest blessings in life is to have great men of God as friends and advisors! Jethro certainly was that kind of a man for Moses.