Exodus 15-19

 

When you read through the book of Psalms you can quickly learn that David was man who love to express himself through song. That’s exactly what the children of Israel of did after God delivered from the Bondage in Egypt. Putting you thoughts and praise to God in a song a wonderful way to remember those forever because they can be sung over and over again and be used to teach others about God.

 

Colossians 3:16   16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

 

We need to keep this in mind and to make sure that select songs that praise God or that teaches what he has done for us.

 

Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: "I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!  2 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.  3 The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name.  4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.  5 The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone.  6 "Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.  7 And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble.  8 And with the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.  9 The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.'  10 You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters.  11 "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?  12 You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them.  13 You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation.  14 "The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.  15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; The mighty men of Moab, Trembling will take hold of them; All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.  16 Fear and dread will fall on them; By the greatness of Your arm They will be as still as a stone, Till Your people pass over, O LORD, Till the people pass over Whom You have purchased.  17 You will bring them in and plant them In the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O LORD, which You have made For Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established.  18 "The LORD shall reign forever and ever."  19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. 

You notice in this song how they give God all the credit and the praise his for delivering them with his  mighty hand. They teach in this song about the crossing of the red sea and defeat of Pharaoh and his mighty army. In verse 14ff we learn that all of those who hear about this great event that God brought about will  make the other nations tremble with fear. These other nations knew how powerful Egypt was and to hear that they were wiped about by the hand of God would make the melt with fear if the children of Israel come their way. This event would help the children of Israel defeat their enemies because part of winning a battle comes from confidence in yourself and your people. If your people are full of fear just knowing in their mind that they don’t stand a chance then they will easily be defeated.

 

Think  about how  this  relates to us today. If we have negative mindset and we continually tell ourselves there is no way I can stand up against the devil. There no way I can ever build up the courage to lead prayer. There is no way that I could ever sit and teach  someone about God. If tell yourself things like this all the time guess what outlook is going to determine your outcome. As Christians we really to try to change our outlook on life. We must remember that God is on our side and knowing that should give us the same confidence that the children of Israel had at this time. If  you look at things positively then most of the time the outcome will be positive. So don’t say that  I cant ever do this or that say I a going to try to do this I am going to give it a shot and eventually you will accomplish what you could not do before. I can say this with all confidence because that it what I did. Most of you in have known me since I started going here it Lone Grove. When I first came here I did not have the courage or the will to lead a prayer or to lead singing. One time there meeting at Votech which I was a part of. There were only about 10 people in the room and they did the standard thing where you go  around the room and introduce yourself. When it came to me I was so nervous that I barely managed to get my name and almost at the point of tears. I finally had some sort of anxiety attack and left the room went into the bathroom with my heart racing and my head was faint. I felt like running away. Every time I would get into a small group after that I would get very nervous. As I was growing a Christian and had study the word so much I knew that should be using what I had learned to teach to others and so I made the decision that I was going to beat the nervousness and so I prayed for courage and strength and then I forced myself to start saying prayers and I worked my way through my problem and branched out into leading singing then  to doing devotionals then to full blown sermons. So I can personally attest to you that you can accomplish great things if you pray about it and just do it and work your through your problem.

 

20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.  21 And Miriam answered them: "Sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!"

 

Here Miriam takes  some ladies  out and  sing and  the dance all in honor for what God has done for them.        

 

Exodus 15:22 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.  23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.  24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"  25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them,  26 and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you."  27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters. 

 

The Children of Israel hadn’t had any water for 3 days and keep in mind in mind they were walking and they are in desert type region. They finally found some water but it was bitter. I can just imagine how glad they were to see this water I can even see them running toward it so they could drink but the water was so bitter they could  not drink it again I can see them  spiting it out as soon as they tasted. I can understand why they would complain to Moses at this time about what they were to drink because they were getting closer and closer to death but once God provides for them. Moses is to throw a tree into the bitter water  and its makes the water good. In verse 26 God wants his people to know that if they take his commandments seriously and obey them that he take care of them. This same is thing is true today. God has not changed he want his people to obey his commands and he will take care of us. The children of Israel in journey and will see that they will struggle with keeping Gods commands and they will struggle with faith in God that he will  provide.

 

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, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."  4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.  5 "And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."

 

One again the Children of Israel complain because their bellies are empty and start wishing they were back in Egypt again but once again God is going to provide for them but he is going to test them and see  if they follow his instructions about the gather and keeping of the food that he provides.

 

Exodus 16:11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  12 "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.' "  13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.  14 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.  15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.

 

First of all I don’t want you to forget that there were somewhere around 2 to 3 million people and just think about how much quail and bread it would take to feed such a number. When I read about events like this I like to use my imagination and try to see that saw. That would of have been an interesting site to see all those thin white wafers on the ground and not know what they were. Moses had to tell them what it was.

 

Exodus 16:31  And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

 

God had done his  part but he wants the children of Israel to do specific things in regards to this food.

 

Exodus 16:16  16 "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 'Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.' "

 

God wants these  men to gather only the necessary amount that they need no more no less.

 

Exodus 16:19-20   19 And Moses said, "Let no one leave any of it till morning."  20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.

 

Some of the people hadn’t learned to obeyed Gods commands. They might have been thinking we better get all the food we can today for tomorrow we may not have any. Could imagine the disgusted look on their face when the woke up the next morning and saw that horded food was stinking and worms in it. This concept is taught in the NT as well. In Mathew 6 Jesus tells his people not to worry about these things of this life. He gives an example of God takes care of the birds and so he will also take care of us but he concludes his talk about worry and says

 

Matthew 6:33 - "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

 

You see there is enough to deal with today without adding on tomorrow problems as well besides that tomorrow may never come.

 

 

Exodus 16: 22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.  23 Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD has said: 'Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.' "  24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.  25 Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.  26 "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none."  27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.  28 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?  29 "See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."  30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

 

The sixth day was  different because  now they were to gather enough bread for 2 days. Now remember the bread that was left to morning the last time stank and had worms in it but not this  time because God authorized it so the bread was fine on the Sabbath day. Moses told the people that there would not be any bread on the 7th day but some did not believe and look for some any way and  God was not pleased and stressed to Moses to teach people  that they are not to leave their place on the Sabbath because it is a day of rest.

 

Exodus 16: 33 And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations."  34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

 

This same pot of manna would eventually be one of those few items that were put into the Ark of the Covenant.

 

Hebrews 9:4  the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;

 

In Exodus 17:1-7 once again we find the children of Israel murmuring.

 

Exodus 17:3  3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, "Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" 4  4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!"

 

The children of Israel are thirsty once again and now according to Moses they are out to get him. Many messengers over of the course of history have lost their lives because they were the ones that delivered the message even though they were not the ones who wrote the message. Moses was the messenger for God and now they were wanting to take out their anger and frustration on him. God tells Moses to go strike a rock and water will flow out from it. Once again God provides.

 

Vrs 8-16 Amalek decides to fight against the children of Israel. Here is where first learn about Joshua will latter take Moses’ place. Joshua gather up some men to fight Amalek and Moses stands on top a hill with rod of God in his hand. Moses finds out as long as he keeps his hands up Joshua and his men would start winning but when he put arms down their enemies would start winning. Moses are got tired So Aaron and Hur helped Moses hold up his hand until the son went down and children of Israel won the fight and they built an alter and called  it the Lord is my banner.

 

Exodus 18 Moses talks to his father-in-law Jethro and tells him all about how God delivered  the children of Israel out Egyptian bondage. Jethro was happy to hear this and confirmed to his the Moses God was mighty and powerful and the only true God. Moses begins to judge the people. All of these people come with the varying problems and Moses alone was dealing with them. 

 

Exodus 18:14-27   14 So when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, "What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?"  15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.  16 "When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws."  17 So Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is not good.  18 "Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.  19 "Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.  20 "And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.  21 "Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.  22 "And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.  23 "If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace."  24 So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.  25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.  26 So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.  27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land. 

 

Part of being a good leader is learning how delegate responsibility. Moses was to train people in Gods ways and let them take care of the smaller problems but let Moses take care of big problems. This is good advice for the church today. The elders are the leaders of our congregation they are responsible for the people however they train people or put into place that can take care of different responsibilities while the major problems should be take care of by them. Deacons are qualified men that would be similar to the men that Moses picked out and they can help the Elders out. The rest of will find times when we to can help the Elders out and help each other. All the church work should not be laid upon one person or even 2 or 3 we should all work together doing what we can for God church. When we all get busy working together in unity we make Gods church strong.