Day 45
Exodus 15:1-16:36
(15 | 16)
It's amazing how quickly a crowd's opinion can change. At the start of chapter 15, the Israelites are singing praise to God. At first, it seems a bit odd; the Israelites seem to be rejoicing that their Egyptian pursuers had been drowned. But then the song goes on to glorify God for the way he saved the Israelites, and demonstrates the Israelites' confidence in him for the future.
Their joy at being delivered from the Egyptians doesn't last long, however. Travelling through the desert of Shur, the Israelites are unable to find water for three days. When the do eventually find water, at a place called Marah, they're unable to drink it. They grumble against Moses who cries out to the LORD. God shows Moses how to make the water drinkable, and everyone's fine again. God then promises the Israelites that if they obey his commands and follow his laws, he won't bring harm against them. The Israelites then come to Elim, a place with multiple springs and lots of palm-tree-shaped shade.
When they set out from there, it doesn't take them long to start moaning again. They bemoan the lack of food, specifically meat, and say they were better off in Egypt. The LORD hears their moaning, so he provides for them by raining down bread called manna. Every family is to go out everyday and collect enough of the substance for the family for the day. Every day except for the Sabbath, that is. They are to keep the Sabbath holy by collecting twice as much the day before. If they try to keep any food over night on any day except the day before the Sabbath, the bread will have gone off by the morning.
The LORD gets Moses and Aaron to explain this to the people on the day they all moan. The pair explain the plan to the people, while also chastising them for moaning about them; they may moan at Moses and Aaron for bringing them out of Egypt and landing them in this situation, but none of that was done by Moses or Aaron. It was all done by God. So if the Israelites moan, it is God they are moaning about. Anyway, that very evening, the LORD brings quail, and covers their entire camp with it. The LORD does this to prove that he is God. So the Israelites eat meat that night.
Manna is provided every day for the Israelites for forty years; they eat manna every day until they reach Canaan. This is where the line "Give us today our daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer comes from. Although of course it doesn't just mean "provide food for us". It means "provide for us everything we need for the day". The LORD did that for the Israelites for forty years before they entered the land he promised Abraham they would inherit.
Matthew 28:1-20
(28)
Mary and Mary Magdalene go to Jesus' tomb. An angel meets them there and tells them to go tell Jesus' disciples that he was risen from the dead, and that he will meet them in Galilee. Shortly afterwards, they see Jesus himself, and he reiterates the message. The message is conveyed, and the eleven go to Galilee to meet Jesus; some believed, some doubted, but all went. It was there that Jesus issued the Great Commission; to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." No small task, and one we are still tasked with fulfilling today and until the end of time. But at the same time, it is a beautifully simple task. Not easy to complete, but simple.
This all makes the Pharisees' reaction all the more difficult to understand. When they hear of the angel's coming and his reporting of Jesus' resurrection, they tell the guards they had placed there to tell everyone that the disciples stole Jesus' body while they were sleeping. Despite all the evidence before them, they still refuse to believe Jesus is the Christ. They still refuse to believe all he said. I imagine the fact they would give up authority by authenticating Jesus probably played a role, too.
Psalm 21:8-13
(21:8-13)
This passage is reminiscent of the earlier song in Exodus in that it takes joy in the destruction of the LORD's enemies - and the psalmist's by extension. This time, however, the psalmist is taking joy in the future destruction of enemies, showing a level of trust the psalmist built up over a while through a lot of deliverance. The passage also promises to continue to sing praise to God, demonstrating continued trust in the LORD. It's really easy to say you trust God. Almost too easy. But actually believing it? That's a different issue entirely. I know in my heart that I can trust God. I have personal testimonies that demonstrate that. But when it comes down to it, sometimes my head overrules my heart, and I don't trust as much as I should. I can learn so much from David, and I hope to one day be able to trust as implicitly as David does.
Exodus 15:1-16:36
(15 | 16)
It's amazing how quickly a crowd's opinion can change. At the start of chapter 15, the Israelites are singing praise to God. At first, it seems a bit odd; the Israelites seem to be rejoicing that their Egyptian pursuers had been drowned. But then the song goes on to glorify God for the way he saved the Israelites, and demonstrates the Israelites' confidence in him for the future.
Their joy at being delivered from the Egyptians doesn't last long, however. Travelling through the desert of Shur, the Israelites are unable to find water for three days. When the do eventually find water, at a place called Marah, they're unable to drink it. They grumble against Moses who cries out to the LORD. God shows Moses how to make the water drinkable, and everyone's fine again. God then promises the Israelites that if they obey his commands and follow his laws, he won't bring harm against them. The Israelites then come to Elim, a place with multiple springs and lots of palm-tree-shaped shade.
When they set out from there, it doesn't take them long to start moaning again. They bemoan the lack of food, specifically meat, and say they were better off in Egypt. The LORD hears their moaning, so he provides for them by raining down bread called manna. Every family is to go out everyday and collect enough of the substance for the family for the day. Every day except for the Sabbath, that is. They are to keep the Sabbath holy by collecting twice as much the day before. If they try to keep any food over night on any day except the day before the Sabbath, the bread will have gone off by the morning.
The LORD gets Moses and Aaron to explain this to the people on the day they all moan. The pair explain the plan to the people, while also chastising them for moaning about them; they may moan at Moses and Aaron for bringing them out of Egypt and landing them in this situation, but none of that was done by Moses or Aaron. It was all done by God. So if the Israelites moan, it is God they are moaning about. Anyway, that very evening, the LORD brings quail, and covers their entire camp with it. The LORD does this to prove that he is God. So the Israelites eat meat that night.
Manna is provided every day for the Israelites for forty years; they eat manna every day until they reach Canaan. This is where the line "Give us today our daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer comes from. Although of course it doesn't just mean "provide food for us". It means "provide for us everything we need for the day". The LORD did that for the Israelites for forty years before they entered the land he promised Abraham they would inherit.
Matthew 28:1-20
(28)
Mary and Mary Magdalene go to Jesus' tomb. An angel meets them there and tells them to go tell Jesus' disciples that he was risen from the dead, and that he will meet them in Galilee. Shortly afterwards, they see Jesus himself, and he reiterates the message. The message is conveyed, and the eleven go to Galilee to meet Jesus; some believed, some doubted, but all went. It was there that Jesus issued the Great Commission; to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." No small task, and one we are still tasked with fulfilling today and until the end of time. But at the same time, it is a beautifully simple task. Not easy to complete, but simple.
This all makes the Pharisees' reaction all the more difficult to understand. When they hear of the angel's coming and his reporting of Jesus' resurrection, they tell the guards they had placed there to tell everyone that the disciples stole Jesus' body while they were sleeping. Despite all the evidence before them, they still refuse to believe Jesus is the Christ. They still refuse to believe all he said. I imagine the fact they would give up authority by authenticating Jesus probably played a role, too.
Psalm 21:8-13
(21:8-13)
This passage is reminiscent of the earlier song in Exodus in that it takes joy in the destruction of the LORD's enemies - and the psalmist's by extension. This time, however, the psalmist is taking joy in the future destruction of enemies, showing a level of trust the psalmist built up over a while through a lot of deliverance. The passage also promises to continue to sing praise to God, demonstrating continued trust in the LORD. It's really easy to say you trust God. Almost too easy. But actually believing it? That's a different issue entirely. I know in my heart that I can trust God. I have personal testimonies that demonstrate that. But when it comes down to it, sometimes my head overrules my heart, and I don't trust as much as I should. I can learn so much from David, and I hope to one day be able to trust as implicitly as David does.
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