Tag Archives: Exodus 16-18

January 23, 2024 Bible Study — God Gives Us Tests Where Failure Is a Teaching Moment

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 16-18.

There are two things which strike me as noteworthy about today’s passage.  One of them concerns the way in which God fed the Israelites in the wilderness with manna.  The second concerns the advice which Moses’ father-in-law gave him.  I will start with my thoughts today about the manna.  We will see if I get to writing about the advice which Moses received.

When God provided food for the Israelites in the form of manna, He also included  a test on who would follow His instructions.  As I read this passage I believe that this test was a teaching test.  I am not sure if you are familiar with this concept, but when I was in school I had one or two teachers who administered tests which were designed as much to help us learn and master the material as to demonstrate how much of it we already knew.  He was testing how well the Israelites would listen to His instructions, but He was also providing them a lesson to help them understand that His instructions were for the best, even when our understanding made us think otherwise.  So, when the people went out to gather, God had told them to gather a “cup” of manna for each person in their tent (I am using “cup” to indicate a unit of measure).  Some people gathered a lot and others just a bit, but when they actually measured what they had gathered they discovered that they all had just a “cup” for each person in their tent.  Then God had told them not to keep any until the next morning, but some of them did anyway.  Those that did discovered that it had gone completely bad.  However, on the sixth day when they gathered manna, they all discovered they had twice the amount they usually collected.  God told them to keep the extra for the following day, the Sabbath.  On this day, the manna which they saved was still good in the morning.

So, let’s go over this more closely.  God told them to collect a specific amount.  Some of the Israelites were lackadaisical in their collection efforts and just grabbed a little bit.  Others were industrious and gathered lots.  However, once they returned from gathering it turned out they had the amount God told them to collect.  This was the first test.  God corrected their mistake in not following His instructions. Then God told them they should eat all that they had collected that day, but some of them saved a bit for the next day.  In the morning they discovered that it had gone disgustingly bad.  This was the second test.  Here God made the correction more obvious.  Then God gave them extra on the sixth day and told them not to go out to collect any on the seventh day.  Nevertheless, some went out to collect and found none.  God gave them a simple, easy primer on following His instructions.  Some understood it right from the start.  Others needed the first test to understand following God’s instructions.  Some needed the second test, a few more the third test.  And some still didn’t get it even after seeing all three examples of what it means to follow God’s instructions.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

January 23, 2022 Bible Study — God Will Provide For Our Needs

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 16-18.

Once again we have the people of Israel grumbling because of some hardship they faced, complaining that they would have been better off if they had stayed in Egypt.  And once again, God provided their need.  Throughout Exodus we learn the lesson that we should trust God to meet our needs.  We should not fall into the temptation to complain about the hardships we face.  Instead, we should just pray to God for resolution of our problems.  When we face difficulties, God has a plan to reveal His glory through the way in which He removes them for us.  There is another lesson for us in this passage.  When the people gathered manna, they gathered what they needed.  Five days a week, they gathered only enough for that one day, and if they put any aside for the following day, it went bad.  But on the sixth day, they gathered twice as much and the extra was still good the following day.  Then on the seventh day, there was none to be gathered.  If we put our trust in God, He will provide for our needs, but may not provide more than we need.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

January 23, 2021 Bible Study Have Faith That God Will Provide

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 16-18.

I want us to think about this passage a bit and how we do similar things.  The people of Israel left Elim, which was a rather pleasant place, but would not support their numbers for very long, especially not with their flocks.  As they travelled in the desert, they complained about the lack of food.  So, God provided them with manna.  Now, let’s think about how this worked.  Those who needed a lot because they had a lot of mouths to feed, found that they had enough.  Those who needed less found that they only had what they needed.  Those who put some aside for the next day found that it spoiled by the next day, but there was more to be gathered the next day…except on the sixth day, when there was two days’ worth and it did not spoil over night.  Get that: five days a week there was enough manna for one days’ meals and if you tried to put some aside for the next day it spoiled. On the sixth day, there was two days worth of manna, and it did not spoil if you kept it for the next day.  Finally, on the seventh day there was no manna to collect.  This continued until they entered the Promised Land.

Despite receiving this daily and weekly reminder of God’s miraculous providence, when they came to a place without water they complained that they were going to die of thirst.  They had complained that they were going to die of hunger, and God provided.  They were still experiencing that provision in a way which should have reminded them daily, or at least weekly, of God’s great power.  Yet, now they were complaining about the lack of water.  How often do we do something similar?  All too often, instead of recognizing how God has provided for our needs, we fail to have faith that He will do so again.  We worry, fret, and complain.  Let us strive to trust that God will provide for us, as He has done in the past (and is likely doing in other aspects while we are complaining about a new problem).

January 23, 2020 Bible Study — Manna, A Miracle That Science Cannot Fully Explain

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 16-18.

Generally, I believe that most miracles are about timing, not about something where natural laws are suspended.  That is, many times God’s providence is demonstrated by Him arranging for completely ordinary things to happen at just the right time.  However, the story of the Israelites collecting manna in the wilderness does not fit into that.  The account tells us that for six days of the week there was manna on the ground each morning, but on the seventh day there was none to be found.  Furthermore, for five days of the week if they kept any of the manna until the next morning it went bad overnight, but on the sixth day they could keep it for the seventh.  I know of no purely natural mechanism which works in such a manner.  It tells us a lot about human nature that despite this Divine provision for their needs, the Israelites still complained and worshiped other gods.

January 23, 2019 Bible Study — God Provides For Our Needs

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 16-18.

The story of manna and quail gives us a perfect example of how God provides for us.  For five days the people collected enough manna each morning for their needs for the day.  Any of the manna collected on those five days which was kept overnight went bad by morning.  On the sixth day, they collected twice as much, and what they collected was still good on the morning of the seventh day, when there was no manna to collect.  This teaches us the same lesson as what happened in Egypt in Joseph’s time.  In Joseph’s time there were seven years of plenty which provided enough surplus to see the people of Egypt through seven years of famine (with enough left over to help some people from elsewhere).  God provides for our needs, when He provides us extra it is because a lean time is coming, or so that we can aid those who have fallen on hard times.  We should keep this in mind when we experience a “windfall”.

Again today I noticed a verse which I had never noticed before, Exodus 18:11.   Here Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, tells Moses that the account Moses gave of their departure from Egypt caused him to know that God was greater than all other gods.  Previously we had been told that Jethro was a priest of Midian, and later in this passage he offers sacrifices which Aaron and the elders of Israel join.  What we learn from this statement from Jethro is that previous to this, while he had honored and worshiped God, he had also honored, and perhaps worshiped, other gods.  This reminds us of the importance of sharing what God has done in our lives with others so that their faith may be strengthened.

January 23, 2018 Bible Study– Lack of Gratitude and a Lesson On Leadership

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 16-18.

    At the beginning of today’s passage the people of Israel demonstrated an all too human failing. Rather than ask God for food and then later water, they complained about the lack. Rather than trust that the God who had miraculously brought them out of Egypt could provide their needs, they complained and regretted leaving Egypt in the first place. We all have a tendency to do such things, to have a “What have you done for me lately?” attitude. The people of Israel stopped being grateful for what God had done for them and began to resent Him for the troubles they now faced. Let us strive not to fall into the same error.

    I would ordinarily skip over this because I have talked about it just about every year when I have read this passage. However, I think the advice which Moses’ father-in-law gave him is important enough to be emphasized. When Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, arrived to visit, he witnessed Moses spend the entire day, from sunup to sundown, settling the disputes among the people. Jethro told Moses that he could not keep on doing this. He told him that he needed to delegate some of his authority to other people. Every leader of a group of more than five people needs to follow this advice to delegate some of the tasks of running the group to others. Even if the group is less than five, delegating some of the tasks is a good idea.

January 23, 2017 Bible Study

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 16-18.

    The Book of Exodus contains story after story about relying on God to meet our needs.The Israelites fretted and complained about their lack of food, convinced that they were going to starve in the wilderness. After seeing how God provided food for them, they still complained when they came to a place and found not water there. In both instances, God provided for their needs. Manna is in many ways the perfect example of how God provides for us. They received just enough manna for each day, except on the sixth day, when they received enough for the sixth and seventh day so that they would not need to gather manna on the Sabbath. This is how God provides for us. He provides just enough for today, unless He has something coming up where He does not want us to spend time gathering for our needs. Or, another way to look at it, when God provides us more than we need for our immediate needs, we had better put some of it aside for the future.

January 23, 2016 Bible Study — Godly Leaders Delegate

This year I switched from using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible reading to the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net”. I have now done this long enough to say that I am glad I made the change. I am firmly convinced that the One Year Bible Online is a great way to read through the Bible in a year. It breaks the parts of the Bible which can be a struggle to read into manageable portions. However, I think that the Daily Bible Reading Schedule I am using now is a better format for doing a daily Bible study.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 16-18.

    Despite the miraculous way the Children of Israel escaped the Egyptian army, they quickly began to complain about food. Then when God provided them with manna, they did not follow the instructions which Moses gave them. First, they tried to keep some for the next morning, when Moses told them not to. Then when Moses told them not to go out on the Sabbath to collect it, some of them did anyway (although I can sort of understand the second reaction after what happened to the manna which some kept over the first night. One interesting note I want to make here. I have heard it suggested that manna was a natural phenomena of the Sinai wilderness which Moses knew about from his time herding his father-in-law’s herds. The problem with that is how does a natural phenomena go bad overnight for five days a week and on the sixth day last through a second day?

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    After receiving the manna when they complained about no food to eat, the children of Israel began to complain when they came to a place where they did not find water when they arrived. It is worth noting that they were still collecting manna every morning except for on the Sabbath. And Moses did not turn to God until he got desperate. Nevertheless, God provided for the needs of the children of Israel once more. There is a lesson here for us. God will be faithful, even when our faith falls short. God will provide for us, even when we struggle to believe.

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    The advice which Moses’ father-in-law gave him was advice which every leader needs to hear. Every leader of a group that is larger than four needs to learn to delegate. Even when God speaks to you in a clear, unambiguous voice you cannot do everything yourself. More importantly, God will call others to various roles in the group and will speak to them. He will provide them with the wisdom and judgment to make the decisions for which that role calls. God intends for every leader to empower and encourage those they lead to use the gifts which God has given them so that those followers can in turn lead others to do God’s will. If those in subordinate positions must turn to the leader for every decision, the leader is not fulfilling God’s intentions. If you are a leader and feel that those whom God has called to follow you are unable to make Godly decisions about matters regarding the group, it is your job to teach them how to do so. If you feel that they are unwilling to make those decisions for themselves, you need to push them to do so (after teaching them to do so).