Read Exodus 16:2-15
2There in the desert they all complained
to Moses and Aaron 3and said to them, “We wish that the Lord had killed us in Egypt. There we
could at least sit down and eat meat and as much other food as we wanted. But
you have brought us out into this desert to starve us all to death.”
4 The
Lord said to Moses, “Now I am
going to make food rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go
out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way I can test them to
find out if they will follow my instructions. 5On the sixth day they
are to bring in twice as much as usual and prepare it.”
6 So
Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it
was the Lord who brought you out
of Egypt. 7In the morning you will see the dazzling light of the Lord’s presence. He has heard your
complaints against him—yes, against him, because we are only carrying out his
instructions.” 8Then Moses said, “It is the Lord who will give you meat to eat in the evening and as
much bread as you want in the morning, because he has heard how much you have
complained against him. When you complain against us, you are really
complaining against the Lord.”
9 Moses
said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community to come and stand before the Lord, because he has heard their
complaints.” 10As Aaron spoke to the whole community, they turned
towards the desert, and suddenly the dazzling light of the Lord appeared in a cloud. 11The
Lord said to Moses, 12“I
have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them that at twilight they
will have meat to eat, and in the morning they will have all the bread they
want. Then they will know that I, the Lord,
am their God.”
13 In
the evening a large flock of quails flew in, enough to cover the camp, and in
the morning there was dew all round the camp. 14When the dew
evaporated, there was something thin and flaky on the surface of the desert. It
was as delicate as frost. 15When the Israelites saw it, they didn’t
know what it was and asked each other, “What is it?”
Moses
said to them, “This is the food that the Lord
has given you to eat.
Think
The journey out of slavery is
not easy; and it is not impossible. When
the Israelites start to complain about the difficulty the Lord showers them
with blessings. Isn't that an
interesting way to respond?
But the blessing comes with a
test - will the Israelites trust God enough to provide for the seventh day
(Verse 4)?
Pray
Lord, as I learn to follow
you I discover that it is not always as easy as it looks. When I grumble, when I cry out to you -
please give me the provision I need to keep on walking towards you.
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