Exodus: The Testing Time

Who Can Satisfy/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zh8qxCQ7HQ&list=PLvT1hEFyUaosKuq8R1CQVdtlXV9D9AgBR

Psalm 95 NIV

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, 8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

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Opening Hymn

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Deuteronomy 32:1–4 NIV

1 Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; hear, you earth, the words of my mouth. 2 Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. 3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! 4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

Deuteronomy 32:10–14 NIV

10 In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, 11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. 12 The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him. 13 He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him with the fruit of the fields. He nourished him with honey from the rock, and with oil from the flinty crag, 14 with curds and milk from herd and flock and with fattened lambs and goats, with choice rams of Bashan and the finest kernels of wheat. You drank the foaming blood of the grape.

Worship Set

1 Corinthians 10:1–13 NIV

1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Prayer Chorus

Prayer

Worship through the Word:

The Testing Time

Last week, Israel found themselves caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. They had nowhere to run when God did an amazing thing. He opened a pathway through the depths of the sea, and they crossed over to the other side on dry ground. Just like God did with the plagues, God made a distinction between His people and the Egyptians for when the Egyptians tried to follow, God closed the path drowning the army of Pharaoh.

All Israel cried out in song.

Exodus 15:1–2NIV

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. 2 “The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

It is easy to sing out in victory when all goes our way, but it is often a different story when our circumstances change. Israel is about to face three challenges that will test their true devotion. Please stand as we read Exodus 15:22-27.

Exodus 15:22–27NIV

22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) 24So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” 25Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.” 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

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The Testing Time

We often associate tests with school. A teacher or professor comes in and places a piece of paper in your hands with questions. Hopefully, you have studied and are able to answer the questions on that piece of paper. We are then graded based on how well we answer those questions. I do not know anyone who likes these kinds of tests. Even those who have studied are usually somewhat insecure wondering if they have studied the right things.

However, that is not the kind of testing that I am going to talk about today. I want you to think of this more like body building. Every time a body builder goes to the gym, he or she is testing their body to see what it can endure. They pump iron and see how heavy a weight they can pump or pull comfortably, then increase the weight some. As this new weight becomes easy once again, they increase the weight yet again to gain even more strength.

Gyms often see two kinds of weightlifters. There are those who are serious about it. They put in the time and persevere no matter how much their body aches from the challenges. Others are not as serious. They may enjoy and admire those who are serious. They may just enjoy hanging out with others. And many of these try, but never push to the point of pain. And as they say, “no pain, no gain.” These people are usually not serious enough to take the abuse to their body to get the gain. Their attendance at the gym is usually not as consistent.

It is the same with our faith. If our faith isn’t challenged, it doesn’t grow. This kind of testing also separates the true followers from the casual followers. True followers grow and persevere when the trials get tough, while the casual onlookers fall away.

God is about to put Israel to the test. They are following Him by way of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, but do they really trust Him? To learn to trust someone, you need to have moments when you need to depend on them. The trust builds as they come through. So, God is about to provide opportunities for Israel to learn to trust Him. Their circumstances will stretch their faith and give God opportunities to demonstrate for them, what He can do.

Follow me today as we find them in this journey of…

I. Learning to Trust God

There are three things God is teaching them during these days. He is presenting Himself as their provider, their protector, and the God who is ever-present.

They have left the seashore and traveled into the Desert of Shur. We can bet that as they traveled this wasteland, they are all keeping their eyes peeled for water. Finally, with great relief they spot some. You can imagine some running eagerly and gathering the water in their hands, lifting it to their mouths only to discover that it is brackish. It is so bitter it is totally undrinkable, perhaps even unhealthy to drink.

Now you would think after all they have been through that they would ask God to help them, but that is not what they do. Instead, they all complained against Moses.

This is one of the things that can make leadership so difficult. People always expect you to have all the answers and if you do not have a quick solution, they can often turn on you and blame you for their difficulties.

Moses, however, understands that he isn’t the answer, but that God is. So, Moses cries out to God and God showed him a piece of wood to throw into the water that would make it not only drinkable, but sweet to the taste. It is so like God to make something not just passable, but excellent!

It is here that God gives them the first of their laws and it was a test to see if they would trust and obey Him. He also reveals a new name for Himself to them.

Exodus 15:26NIV

26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”

He declares He is...

A. The God Who Heals Exodus 15:26

It is always good to take note of the “I Am” statements of God as they always reveal something new about Him. The Hebrew here is Jehovah Rapha, The God who heals you.

There is an important fact we need to understand here. When God saves us, we have been ravaged by sin. There are many unhealthy habits and attitudes that we have that God helps to cure us from.

For Israel, they still have bad habits learned from Egypt. If Israel will repent and obey God, He will not bring on the judgments that He did Egypt and He will protect them from harm and heal them of the unhealthy lifestyle they have grown up with. This healing is important if they are to be God’s true people eternally. Their obedience is also a pre-requisite for them to receive the healing they need.

I remember a time when my uncle, who was a big smoker of cigarettes, had just had heart surgery. The doctors told them they had brought healing for the moment, but they could only make this healing work if he quit smoking. Otherwise, all they had done was a waste of time.

That is the case with Israel. If they are obedient to God, He will lead them in a new lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle, and He will heal them of the unhealthy things of the past. However, He cannot help them if they are obedient and continue in the same old habits.

It is the same with us. When we place our trust in Jesus, we are not automatically righteous people. We have learned habits and attitudes that are unhealthy. As we follow God, He begins to reveal these to us and as we repent of these things, God works in us to heal us of them.

This healing from God comes in many forms. It can be mental, physical, or spiritual in nature. We are usually oblivious to these issues until some dry spell in our life reveals the bitter nature within us. Once it does, God can heal and turn those bitter parts of our life into something sweet.

However, for this healing to happen, God says we must do four things.

1. Listen carefully to God

We need to learn to listen and recognize when God is speaking to us. There were times God spoke to Israel from out of the cloud. However, for us it is through His Holy Spirit living within us. It may come as a thought, or comments from a friend. It may be something spoken to us by authorities in our life (parents, spiritual leaders, employers, etc…). Sometimes it does sound like a clear voice speaking. However it may come, it always needs to be tested against scripture. Satan can also use those same voices to speak to us, but by prayer and God’s word we can discern the truth. God will either confirm it as His truth or alert us to the falsehood being proclaimed to us. As we grow in our faith, we become better at recognizing if it is God or not. Church can also help us to learn and understand what things are from God or not from God. We have a great group of people that can speak God’s truth into our lives at church.

2. Do what is right in God’s eyes

The best way to accomplish this is by reading God’s word. For Israel, God said this just prior to His giving them the law, though God is already starting to give them some instruction even before they reach Sinai. God will lay some foundations for them before they even receive the Ten Commandments, but the Ten Commandments were only just a beginning. God established an entire set of laws to establish their nation while they were at Mt. Sinai.

We now have the Bible and by reading and studying it, we become aware of what God approves of and doesn’t approve of.

3. Pay attention to His commands

We should never make light of God’s commands. I once heard someone say, that to be slow to obey was to disobey. We need to take God’s commands very seriously. He has given us laws to abide by that help us to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

4. Keep all His decrees

Here again, God’s word is essential. God not only gives us laws to protect us, but he instructs us in the ways we should go. He may direct us to move to a certain place, or to take a certain job. He has instructed all of us to share the good news of the gospel with others.

As His followers we are to know what His decrees and commands are. We cannot know them if we do not study His word. Ignorance due to lack of study will never be an excuse. We will all stand and be accountable for the effort we made to know God’s Word.

After their experience with the brackish water, God leads them somewhere new where we learn another important revelation about God. God is...

B. The God Who Gives Rest Exodus 15:27

The Israelites had been traveling for some time at this point. It is interesting that God does not rebuke them for their grumbling over their lack of water. Instead, He quickly responds to Moses’ prayer. He reveals His desire to heal them, and then He moves them to a very special place of rest.

Exodus 15:27NIV

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

Can you imagine their delight! Remember, this was not a small group of people. When they needed water, they needed lots of water. God brings them to this beautiful place with twelve springs, one for each tribe and plenty of shade. It was a perfect time to wash their clothes, bathe themselves, and relax from the long journey, which for most was by foot. He would have felt like a holiday!

It has been my experience that after particularly difficult times, God gives us a time of rest. It is a place for us to catch our breath and relax from the difficulties. There will be various times throughout Israel’s wilderness wanderings that God will provide such times. His cloud would settle in for a time and they were able to take a break from the daily grind of moving on.

After their respite at Elim, they move on. They are about 6 weeks into their journey by this time and they begin grumbling again in the Desert of Sin (Zin).

Exodus 16:3NIV

3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

They still have not learned. Instead of asking God for help, they begin grumbling. Not only this, but they are accusing God of starving them to death.

The truth is there was nothing further from the truth. They had milk and meat from the livestock they brought with them. It is not that they are starving, though they probably didn’t have much of a variety or all the spices they were used to. It is more like, instead of stew they are hungry for Burger King Whoppers if you will.

Look at Psalm 78:18.

Psalm 78:18NIV

18 They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.

I think we can all identify with this. There are many foods that can sustain our health, but they are not always foods we crave. They were hungry for things that were considered delicacies in Egypt. Things which were probably not as readily available to them as they let on since they were mere slaves. However, hardships often make us look back and only see the good times forgetting the difficulties that accompanied those times.

Here is where we find that God is...

C. The God Who Provides Exodus 16

There is no indication that anyone prayed at this time. God heard their grumbles and responded to their desire. He brings them bread from heaven. This bread called “Manna” which literally means, “What is it?” is said to be sweet like honey. In the evenings quail came and covered the land providing meat. Quail were considered a delicacy in Egypt and with the honey tasting bread was a nice reprieve from the ordinary meals they had been having.

The Israelites did not deserve it, but God gave them what they wanted. He gave them something different, something more flavorful to eat.

We often think that God only provides what we need but God is a God who likes to give good gifts to His people. He sometimes provides our desires as well.

The important thing here is that we are not in any place to demand of God the things we desire. There is nothing wrong in asking things from God, but we need to have the right attitude. If He provides it, we humbly and graciously thank him. If He does not, we accept that He knows what is in our best interest.

The other thing that we see is that God is...

D. The God Who Establishes Sabbath Rest for People Exodus 16:23

Once again, God gives instruction, and this is a test to see if they will follow. He is setting up the foundations for the Sabbath. If you thought this came with the giving of the Ten Commandments, look again. The commandment says, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” They are to remember it as it was already established at the time of creation. Here in the wilderness, God is re-establishing it.

Exodus 16:4–5NIV

4 Then the Lordsaid to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

Exodus 16:23NIV

23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’ ”

The people were given very clear instructions. Only pick up enough bread and meat for one day. On the sixth day you are to pick up two days’ worth so you can rest on the Sabbath.

God created us and knew we need to rest every seven days to be our healthiest. So, God provided the Sabbath both as a day of rest and as a day where we have space to worship Him.

No culture in the ancient world celebrated a day of rest. Only God’s people had that benefit. God cares for His people. He is not a slave driver. He looks after us and all our needs if we will only place our trust in Him.

These instructions on the collection of food and the observance of the Sabbath were also another test. If the people would put their trust in God, their faith would grow as they experienced God’s faithfulness. If they didn’t, God created circumstances that helped them to learn this lesson. Many obeyed but some did not. They were to pick up an Omer of bread and quail for each member of the household. Some gathered more, probably fearful that it may not come again. Others gathered less, however, when it was measured, it all measured the right amount. God did not honor their greed. He was working to teach them to trust him.

They were also told to not hold any over until morning except for the sixth day, but here again, some tried to horde some for the next day. Maybe because they were too lazy to go gather again, or because they did not trust there would be enough the next day. Once again, God taught them through a negative outcome. The food rotted and the smell was terrible. It became clear to those around them who had obeyed and who had not.

God was teaching them and us that He will provide for each day’s needs. We need to be content with what we have and trust God for tomorrow. We need never horde for the future. He is always there to provide and meet our needs.

Matthew 6:25–27NIV

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

God knows that we are short on remembering such lessons. Throughout scripture, He always call us to remember. To help Israel to remember this lesson, God had them place some manna in a jar to set aside to remind them of how He provided for them. This they did and it was later placed in the Ark of the Covenant. God preserved this manna so they would see it and remember how He had provided. Keeping a prayer journal is a great way for us to keep in our remembrances what God has done for us. When we are struggling or discouraged, it can give us encouragement to read from our journals.

Now Israel will experience one more test before reaching Mount Sinai and here we find that God is…

E. The God Who is Ever Present Exodus 17:1-7

They come to another resting place. This place was called Rephidim, which literally means, “resting place.” However, there was no water. Perhaps they are thinking back to Elim and the 12 springs and 70 trees. They are not happy with the lack of such amenities here and they become quarrelsome. Once again, they blame Moses and they become so contentious that Moses cries to God fearing they will stone him. Moses and Aaron are in the middle here. Each time these people get irritable, they blame Moses and Aaron, but Moses and Aaron are God’s representatives. They are just following God’s direction. They are quick to tell these quarrelsome people that their complaints are accusations against God, not them. They caution these people about such actions to no avail.

The language used here is that these people are accusing God of not fulfilling His covenant promise to them. They are calling for court action of which they are placing God’s representative in the defendant’s seat.

In such cases, the leaders of the people were to come for the resolution and that is exactly what God declares. He tells Moses to bring the leaders and He will prove His ability to fulfill their need. Keep in mind that these people have not prayed for God to show them how to get water. They are just complaining. Look at God’s response.

Exodus 17:5–7NIV

5 The Lordanswered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

It is difficult to know how God revealed Himself there before the rock. Was He in the appearance of a cloud? Was He in the form of Jesus who appeared to so many as the angel of God that stood before others in the physical form of a man? We do not know, but God stood to give an account of Himself on that day before Israel. What occurred was massive amounts of water poured forth from the rock. Enough to provide for the couple million people that were camped in this place. Instead of thanking God for all that He had done for them, they were like whining children.

Conclusion:

As we read through these accounts, it is easy to make fun of them and think how petty and ungrateful they were, but we often do the same things.

This past year, I have been noticing more and more how much I complain about things. Sometimes as Christians, I think we do so even more. We tend to have higher expectations. As Christians, justice matters to us. So, we often have greater expectations. It seems like the more God did for Israel, the greater their expectations were. Instead of appreciating God for what He provided and presenting their needs to Him, they just expected Him to act before they needed it. However, if He had done so, their faith would never grow.

Think of it like a child who grows up in a wealthy home and is given everything they ever want. They become spoiled. They have no appreciation for anything and value things even less because they are come by so easily.

James addresses this issue.

James 4:1–3NIV

1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Israel was focused on their physical needs. God was able to provide for those needs, but what He wanted most was to address their spiritual need. For God to help their spiritual need, they needed to put their trust in Him.

In 1 Cor 10, Paul uses this time in Israel’s history to address the same problems in His day.

1 Corinthians 10:1–4 NIV

1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:9–10 NIV

9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

God was patient with them these first few times, but as time went on and they continued to disobey and complain, God began to take more drastic actions against them.

We need to understand that everything we have comes from God. He provides what He sees fit. This is a lesson we all need to learn, me included. Our material needs may make us comfortable for today, but they will not give us eternal life. God knows and will provide for our physical needs, but He knows is most important is our eternal life.

Water may sustain my life today, but only Jesus is the living water for my eternal life. Bread may keep me from hunger today, but only Jesus is the bread that will keep me from hunger in the hereafter.

There are many declaring that costs will continue to rise. Many are saying this winter, heating costs will be more difficult. If they are correct, we can know that we need not worry about those things. Instead of complaining about them, we just need to turn our eyes on God and pray. We can trust that He has the resources to provide for us in our needs if we will just ask and trust in Him. What is most important is our spiritual life and during the difficulties of life, if we trust God, our faith will be built up and our spiritual life will soar. We need not worry about tomorrow because God is before us on the rock ready to pour out what we need in abundance.

I often recall a missionary I heard on the radio once. She was sharing about a particularly difficult time for her family. She was heading home from work. She had no money until payday. She asked for God’s help to think of something for dinner. She began to recount in her mind what food items she had on hand. She quickly realized that she had enough stuff to make a soup if only she had an onion. She prayed to God, if only you could provide an onion, I can make this soup for my family tonight.

As she finished her prayer, a truck loaded with onions turned onto the road in front of her. As it did, an onion rolled off the truck and fell alongside the road. She thanked God, pulled over and retrieved the onion.

We serve a very capable God. He is our protection! He is our provider! He is also ever-present and aware of every need we have. All we need to is ask and He will provide.

Celebrate with me this morning, this wonderful God we serve. Stand as we sing this closing hymn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKHZRMN1E0M I Know Who Holds Tomorrow