Week of Monday February 9 – February 15
Faith 101 – Man as Instructor
“And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’ And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them…” - Exodus 15:24-25 ESV
In Exodus 15-17, God presents a series of tests for the children of Israel to see if they would trust Him: 1) undrinkable water (chap. 15); 2) no food (chap. 16); then no water again (chap. 17). Apparently, they didn’t realize they were being tested. They didn’t get that message we get on TV, radio, and our phones: “This is a test from the Emergency Broadcasting System. This is only a test.” Followed by that an obnoxious BEEEEPPPP! Don't you wish God would announce His tests like that? Give you a loud beep from heaven and a voice: “This is a test, saith the Lord. For the next 30 days you are going to tested in your health, or finances, or family, on your job, etc., but this is only a test.” Unfortunately, God doesn't do it that way, does He?
In Exodus 15, the children of Israel came up victoriously from the Red Sea and then journeyed through the wilderness of Shur. They became thirsty but the only water they could find was bitter, noxious, undrinkable. Instead of asking the same God who divided the Red Sea three days before to provide them with some drinkable water, they grumbled and complained: “What shall we drink?” (15:24 ESV). Though they grumbled against Moses, they were really complaining about God. He led them there. God tells us why he did it in verse 25, “And he [Moses] cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them.” See, the bitter water was a test, but God bailed them out and even led them to an oasis called Elim.
They failed the first test, but God re-enrolled them into the same class we might call “Faith 101.” In chapter 16, they ran out of food. They had been out of Egypt for six weeks. Can you imagine the gnawing hunger they experienced out there in the wilderness? They start grumbling because they're hungry but instead of remembering what God had just done and trusting God to provide, they look longingly back to their time in Egypt (16:2-3). Apparently, it was easier to get Israel out of Egypt than get Egypt out of Israel. Once again, they thought they were grumbling against Moses, but they were really grumbling against God (v 6-8). When we complain about our circumstances we are in fact complaining about the God who in His Providence put us there. Yet again, God graciously bailed them out and gave them miraculous manna from heaven to satisfy their hunger. However, many could not keep God’s simple rules for collecting it. The result is that they failed both the first test and the second. Consequently, God re-enrolled them in the same “Faith 101” class. And He will do the same with us until we pass the test.
In Chapter 17, there was no water, so they became thirsty, tongues like sandpaper, saliva like glue, lips chapped, throats parched. They grumbled, quarreled, threatened, and demanded: “Give us water to drink” (17:2). Yet they demanded what Moses could not give them; only God could. Moses had to rely on God like everyone else. So, it is with us. Moses replied in verse 2, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” He wanted them to get their eyes on the Lord! Not on him as the leader, not on circumstances, but on the Lord. That is the purpose of the test. Of course, God came through with a miraculous provision of water from the rock (v. 5-7).
Looking back on this series of tests 40 years later, Moses told them: “And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not” (Deut. 8:2). God used those tests to discipline and prepare them for the next major assignment, which was taking the Promised Land. Moses was saying: "God put you in the wilderness as a time of testing designed to exercise your spiritual muscles, to discipline and develop you into a person of faith and obedience so that collectively you will be prepared to take on the assignment God is about to give you.”
That also applies to us. Take away the tests or fail the tests and you stay spiritually weak. Endure the test, learn to trust and obey God in it, and it is remarkable how we can grow more muscular and stronger in our faith. God brings us through these times of testing to see what is in our heart, to teach us dependence and obedience, and to build our character to match the next assignment. You may be coming out of one of those tests, you may be right in the middle of one, or you’re about to head into a test. The lesson for me is don’t complain about God’s Providence, rather humble yourself in dependence and obedience to the Lord, and God will graduate you to the next level of faith.
Faith 101 – Man as Instructor
“And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’ And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them…” - Exodus 15:24-25 ESV
In Exodus 15-17, God presents a series of tests for the children of Israel to see if they would trust Him: 1) undrinkable water (chap. 15); 2) no food (chap. 16); then no water again (chap. 17). Apparently, they didn’t realize they were being tested. They didn’t get that message we get on TV, radio, and our phones: “This is a test from the Emergency Broadcasting System. This is only a test.” Followed by that an obnoxious BEEEEPPPP! Don't you wish God would announce His tests like that? Give you a loud beep from heaven and a voice: “This is a test, saith the Lord. For the next 30 days you are going to tested in your health, or finances, or family, on your job, etc., but this is only a test.” Unfortunately, God doesn't do it that way, does He?
In Exodus 15, the children of Israel came up victoriously from the Red Sea and then journeyed through the wilderness of Shur. They became thirsty but the only water they could find was bitter, noxious, undrinkable. Instead of asking the same God who divided the Red Sea three days before to provide them with some drinkable water, they grumbled and complained: “What shall we drink?” (15:24 ESV). Though they grumbled against Moses, they were really complaining about God. He led them there. God tells us why he did it in verse 25, “And he [Moses] cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them.” See, the bitter water was a test, but God bailed them out and even led them to an oasis called Elim.
They failed the first test, but God re-enrolled them into the same class we might call “Faith 101.” In chapter 16, they ran out of food. They had been out of Egypt for six weeks. Can you imagine the gnawing hunger they experienced out there in the wilderness? They start grumbling because they're hungry but instead of remembering what God had just done and trusting God to provide, they look longingly back to their time in Egypt (16:2-3). Apparently, it was easier to get Israel out of Egypt than get Egypt out of Israel. Once again, they thought they were grumbling against Moses, but they were really grumbling against God (v 6-8). When we complain about our circumstances we are in fact complaining about the God who in His Providence put us there. Yet again, God graciously bailed them out and gave them miraculous manna from heaven to satisfy their hunger. However, many could not keep God’s simple rules for collecting it. The result is that they failed both the first test and the second. Consequently, God re-enrolled them in the same “Faith 101” class. And He will do the same with us until we pass the test.
In Chapter 17, there was no water, so they became thirsty, tongues like sandpaper, saliva like glue, lips chapped, throats parched. They grumbled, quarreled, threatened, and demanded: “Give us water to drink” (17:2). Yet they demanded what Moses could not give them; only God could. Moses had to rely on God like everyone else. So, it is with us. Moses replied in verse 2, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” He wanted them to get their eyes on the Lord! Not on him as the leader, not on circumstances, but on the Lord. That is the purpose of the test. Of course, God came through with a miraculous provision of water from the rock (v. 5-7).
Looking back on this series of tests 40 years later, Moses told them: “And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not” (Deut. 8:2). God used those tests to discipline and prepare them for the next major assignment, which was taking the Promised Land. Moses was saying: "God put you in the wilderness as a time of testing designed to exercise your spiritual muscles, to discipline and develop you into a person of faith and obedience so that collectively you will be prepared to take on the assignment God is about to give you.”
That also applies to us. Take away the tests or fail the tests and you stay spiritually weak. Endure the test, learn to trust and obey God in it, and it is remarkable how we can grow more muscular and stronger in our faith. God brings us through these times of testing to see what is in our heart, to teach us dependence and obedience, and to build our character to match the next assignment. You may be coming out of one of those tests, you may be right in the middle of one, or you’re about to head into a test. The lesson for me is don’t complain about God’s Providence, rather humble yourself in dependence and obedience to the Lord, and God will graduate you to the next level of faith.
- As you survey your life of faith, how have you done in times of testing? Think of those times when you failed and God had to “re-enroll” you in the same “class.” What did you learn from those times, so that you were eventually able to pass the test of faith?
- What can you pass on by way of instruction to help those you love and lead to learn from your experiences and grow in their own faith?
- Pray and ask the Lord to help you find ways and times to teach your family and friends about times of testing and how they present us with an opportunity to grow stronger in the Lord and prepare us for the next assignment.