Exodus14-16

Pharaoh is destroyed!!  When we get to the end of the book next December, we will read again that God promises his people that Pharaoh and all that Pharaoh represents will not stand, but will be cast into a great lake of fire and will no longer afflict the people of God.

Lots of folks much smarter than me try to explain the Miracle of the Red Sea by talking about winds that dry up the shallows and how Moses crossed over a portion of the Red Sea that was quite shallow....I am content to know that God can do anything that God desires and I am content to believe in miracles.  Having said that, it is hard for me to get the image of Charlton Heston out of my mind when I read this story.

The Song of Moses and Miriam found in the 15th chapter is very much like a psalm.  Wouldn't it be fun if we could be so confident of our faith that we could break out in song every time we see God at work around us.  The Hebrew scripture names Yaweh as God in this poem of deliverance.  "who is like you, O Lord...majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?"  The answer, of course, for Jew and Gentile is no one is like our God.  In this Hymn of celebration, Moses foretells of their conquest of the wilderness that lies before them and of the people who occupy that land that has been promised to them since the time of Abraham.

How interesting that within 72 hours of this awesome display of God's power, Israel is already grumbling in the desert....but God is even able to make bitter water sweet.  How like the Israelites are we when things don't go our way all the time.....we grumble and complain....."where is God....is he with me or not?" 

The story of the Manna and quail introduces us to the law of the Sabbath which will be formally handed down in the 10 commandments.  It also tells us that Manna will not always be available.  When we have the capacity to earn our own way, we are to do so.....God does not intend that we would be lazy, we were created to practice dominion over the creation and that means we are to work.  Manna was for a special time.  Manna was one of the objects that was placed in the Ark of the Covenant later in the story as a reminder for this special time in the life of Israel.

One of the lessons of the Exodus is that God does provide.....not always as we want, but always in a way that accomplishes his purpose.  Are we among those who grumble or are we among those who sing his praise and await his continued movement upon the face of the earth and in the hearts of his people.