God Said: "Let There Be Bread"

Exodus 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

The giving of manna to the people of Israel is one of those "Bible Stories" many people have heard and move on.  But not so fast.  Why did God give it? Partially because they were hungry and complained that God only brought them out of Egypt to the wilderness to starve them there, but there is more to the story. He told Mose that it was a test of obedience and faith.  They were to collect daily, but twice the amount on the sixth day.  Why? He only provided what they needed daily so they would trust in Him as their Provider and that they would obey His law of the Sabbath: to rest and appreciate His provision, worship Him (which WAS the main reason for them leaving Egypt in the first place!), and be content in His plan for them.  God doesn't want us to be worried with worry or resistant to His will. Which are you?

This Lord Said: This Is NOT a Dead-end

 Exodus 14: 15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

Often, when we actually listen to the Lord and follow His lead, there will be times when we feel trapped - like there is nowhere to go, and we complain that we have been faithful and obedient, only to end up at a dead-end.  We definitely don't see as God can see.  The Lord was both showing Pharoah that He is God, and at the same time giving lessons in faith and obedience to His people. It's more than just His power; it is also His love, mercy, and trustworthy plan.  May we not lose heart today. 

The Lord Said: "Remember This..."

 Exodus 12:1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you...14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast... 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

Knowing that we have such a tendency to forget, when it came to the final judgment on Pharoah and the Passing Over of God's angel of His people who obeyed Him, God gave them not a day, but a whole week to remember the event.  Many times things we have been waiting for, which we have been praying for, and which we deep down think never could happen, do so just as God has said.  We thank Him for those, but we also quickly forget. He calls on us to establish memorials to His faithfulness. When we forget them, we tend to stray away from obeying Him. Israel did. So do we.  Take time to remember. 

God Speaks Till We Listen

Exodus 11:1 The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

In the final plague in Egypt, Pharoah became a broken man. Not only did he allow the people of Israel to go out and worship for a few days - all of them with all their stuff - he begged them to leave and paid them to do.  Everyone was glad to see them go and all their troubles with them: the people, the government offices, and grudgingly, Pharoah himself.  When God keeps speaking and we refuse to listen, He will speak so loudly and strongly we cannot ignore Him.  It's always best to listen initially and obey His voice.

God Says "All"

 Exodus 10:21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” 

There is a progression in the 10 plagues on Egypt not only is the power God demonstrates, but also the demands He makes upon Pharoah.  First it was "Let My People God" a few days into the wilderness. Pharoah was finally willing to let the men go, then the children, and now the demand was for the livestock as well.  God also demanded that they be allowed to wait until they got there to see how long and involved their time would be.  Pharaoh kept balking, unwilling to relent, unwilling to let the Lord have them all.  But that is exactly what God wants from each and every one of us: All.

God Speaks for the Next Generation

Exodus 10:1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”

With each increasing plague we find God speaking for the benefit of more and more people.  The things God was telling and showing Moses, Pharoah, and their respective nations was not just for their time. God was speaking history which was to be passed on. It is interesting that as we go further in the passage, God says to Pharoah of this plague of locusts: 6 "and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Past generations had not seen such things; this generation was to see them and pass them on.  Christ said the same thing when He walked on earth: His generation heard and saw things none before had - not only for their sakes, but for ours as well.  Are we listening to God speak not just for ourselves, but for coming generations as well?

God Speaks, Believers Take Action

 

Exodus 9:18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” 20 Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

By the time we get to the seventh plague on Egypt, some of the Egyptians were getting the picture. God spoke to Moses, who told Aaron what to say to Pharoah and his court, and what God say would happen did.  This time God warns those in the court that they could avoid the judgment, and some Egyptians did. God still spared the Israelites completely, not sending hail at all, but those Egyptians who took action had their livestock spared.  Once again, God reminded them (and all of us who have read this account since) that the main goal is that so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.