Exodus 15-18

This is a Test!

Chapter 15:

v.1-21) The Song of Praise

This was good and right for them to sing and praise God for what He had done. There is some really good stuff in here: v.2, v.6, v.11, v.18,

v.22) In THREE days time, they had forgotten what the Lord had done for them in their deliverance and the Red Sea!

Q - How often do we forget what the Lord has done for us when we get into a tight spot?

v.24) They grumbled. They were good grumblers. They showed a consistent pattern of compaint their whole journey. (Am I a grumbler??)

Q - Did they believe any of that stuff that they sang and praised God for in the first 21 verses of this chapter? What about me?

v.25) The Lord was testing His people

Chapter 16:

v.2) Here we go again… the grumblers are at it again.

v.3) Can you believe they are even saying this? Their comfort was more important to them than their faith.

I can promise you this: Your obedience to is WAY more important to God than your comfort. He will force you out of your comfort zone so that you will trust him.

Q - Ever been there before? Ever been in a situation where God forced you out of your “normal” so that you woud trust Him more?

v.4) If we weren’t convinced this was about their obedience rather than comfort - read this verse -

“I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, THAT I MAY TEST THEM, WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL WALK IN MY INSTRUCTION!

Again, we see this word “test”. Concidence? No, I don’t think so.

v.6-8) The Lord hears their grumblings

v.9) Principals office!

v.12-18) God provides meat & manna to prove himself again to them. “You shall know that I am the Lord”

v.19) The command not to hoard

Why do you think God gave them this guideline?

v.20) Surprise, surprise!

v.22-26) They are told to gather enough for 2 days and keep it over for the Lord’s Day. It didn’t turn foul on them when they obeyed the command this time and kept it overnite.

v.27-28) Again, unbelief gets the best of them.

Do you think these folks that went out to gather on the seventh day didn’t get the memo, or just didn’t believe God, or what??

v.32-34) This is important. The history of past generations show God’s faithfulness to remind us in the present that HE is GOD and HE WILL be faithful to his children. This was a reminder to them.

Chapter 17

v.1-7) Another test to see if the Israelites will trust God.

v.2-3) They were pros at this!

v.4) Don’t you know that Moses got tired of this?!?!

Q - Don’t you get fed up with your kids when they whine and complain all the time?!?!

v.5-7) How can they deny that the Lord is God after all of this that He has done to take care of them and deliver them?

v.8-16) “It was important that the Israelites understand unmistakably that the only reason they could win against the Amalekites was that God was fighting for them, giving them the victory. The staff functioned in the case of this battle just as it had in the case of the plagues. As long as the staff of God was raised high, just as in the miraculous plagues and the miracle of the water from the rock immediately preceding, God’s decisive role was properly acknowledged symbolically and the army prevailed. When the staff was lowered (because Moses grew tired, as v. 12 makes explicit), “the Amalekites were winning.” Thus the staff portrayed God’s sovereignty in the consequences of battle.”

Stuart, D. K. (2006). Exodus (Vol. 2, p. 398). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.