“There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 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.” Exodus 15:25b-26
For years when I read this passage it just seemed to be another verbal interaction between God and His people and I never paid close attention to it. I had read Exodus so many times and over the years the words began to run together and I never gave them much thought. It was kind of like watching a movie that you have seen a dozen times and zoning out in the middle of it because your brain already knows how it is going to end; so you don’t pay much attention during it.
But when God gave me the revelation of grace and He began to undo all of the religious teaching I had been taught growing up this passage of Scripture jumped off the page when I went back and read it. The Holy Spirit told me to stop reading and to meditate on these verses. At first nothing came and I would read it again; waiting to hear from the Lord. But then one day it was as if this passage became a 3D image before my eyes and I was enlightened to a truth I had never seen, heard, or been taught before. In order to understand it I had to read the next verses of Scripture.
Exodus 15:27- 16:3 says, “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.” “And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 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.”
Why did God give the command of heeding His voice and why did He test them? And what is the significance of these in regards to the giving of the Law and God’s love and grace for His people? First of all remember that the Children of Israel had a mindset of captivity that knew and understood what it meant to heed their master’s voice. The verbiage that God used was very familiar to them and they could understand it. This is a beautiful picture of God’s love for His people and meeting His people where they were capable of understanding. In the midst of God showing His love for them He then makes them a promise of not bringing any diseases on them like He did on the Egyptians. Once again another image of His love because the Israelites knew that submission and commitment to their master plus diligent work equaled reward. This was their love language so to speak and God spoke to them in it.
Immediately His words were received and they journeyed on to Elim where there were 12 wells of water (an image of abundant provision) and they camped there. No grumbling or complaining is recorded in any of the text. They were content with the provision of their master (God). But then as they journeyed on to the Wilderness of Sin, “Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 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.” (Exodus 16:2-3) They lost their contentment but unlike their commitment to their earthly masters (the Egyptians) who they would never think of crossing and complaining against; they felt justified in crossing Moses and Aaron and complaining against God which is another image of a captive’s mindset when they do not know how to handle the freedom that has been given to them. All they would have had to do was to cry out to the Lord for provision and it would have been done for them. But they still could not grasp the reality that they were no longer slaves of a hardened task master, but instead the children of the most loving Father who was committed to providing for their every need.
So they did what came natural. They complained but this time the complaint was even greater! First they said, “Oh that we had died by the hand of the Lord” then they said, “when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” By the first statement it is obvious that they had accepted their position as children and isn’t the second statement a perfect example of how immature children react? They always blame the parent and over exaggerate the perceived result with an accusation of doom! Nothing’s ever good enough and it is always the parent’s fault! In an instant God went from provider and protector to murderer in their minds. But even with this great act of disobedience and rebellion how did God react to the Children of Israel? Did He strike them down and destroy them? No! He once again showed His love and responded to their rebellion with grace! As we end today let us meditate on God’s response as we prepare for tomorrow’s study.
“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. 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.” Exodus 16:4-5
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