The story so far...
God has brought the people out of Egypt. Pharaoh has been defeated, they’ve crossed the sea and are now in the wilderness. The journey, although already underway, is really only just beginning. And the people are complaining (15:24 So the people grumbled)
Dancing and singing had turned to worry and anxiety.
Now that’s understandable because three days without water is as long as anyone can last. But it doesn’t say that they were without water, it says that they didn’t find water. There’s a big difference between not having any water and not finding a fresh supply.
Isn’t it interesting how quickly we think God has forgotten us. If we miss a meal, has God forgotten us? If we miss the bus has God forgotten us? If we miss a deadline, has God forgotten us?
The problem for the Israelites is that all they had known for generations was slavery and they were still thinking like slaves. We all get stuck in our history, breaking out of those old patterns needs divine intervention.
They say we suffer in the 21st century from a short attention span, how short is our attention span when it comes to God? Mine can be perilously short.
What do we learn from the story?
#1 God provides
He does so naturally, through the 12 springs at Elim, and he does so supernaturally through the manna and quail, and he does so through a sign at Marah.
He is both the God of the extraordinary and the ordinary.
#2 People generally are rarely satisfied
If ever a people group could be described as high maintenance, it would the Israelites in the wilderness.
As far as the story goes so far they are two out of two for complaining about something. And as you read the story, you’ll soon discover that the very next time they face a challenge they complain again.
They were not yet predisposed to see the up side of what God had done or might do.
Maybe we are more like them than we came to think.
#God will continue to provide
This is not a story about stewardship. There are times when God says: Store up, and there are times when he says don’t so it. This is a “Don’t do it time”
This is a story of God’s continuing provision throughout the wilderness wanderings of Israel. No matter what they do, no matter how much they complain and grumble, God continues to love them, to care for them, to provide for them.
Yes, there are times when judgement comes, people die and God punishes the people. But grace is still the key. It is still there, being poured out day by day for those who will see.
The same is true for you and me. Every day God offers us his grace, everyday we must choose to see it and receive it, or to ignore it and reject it.
