Tag: Exodus 16-18
Leaders and those who follow!
Scripture reading for January 24th: Exodus 16-18
For some reason, I’ve been in leadership positions all my life! I’ve always felt inadequate and usually haven’t sought a leadership position; others always seemed to volunteer me. As I’ve worked leading in various secular and church positions, I’ve become acutely aware of my inability to please everyone. Moses soon learned this same truth! There are as many opinions as there are people under you and Moses had over a million “followers”!
God’s people were delivered from Egypt by a mighty act of power by the Lord, and then from Pharaoh’s pursuing army! Led by Miriam, Moses’ sister, they danced in joy and sang a song of deliverance! A few days after the victory celebration, the Israelites faced hunger and began to grumble. They blamed Moses for his poor leadership and for bringing them out into the desert to die. (Exodus 16:3) A little farther into the walk, they ran out of water and began to grumble again, quarreling with Moses. Their hearts were angry and hard and they blamed their leader, actually blaming God! (Exodus 16:8)
Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, came for a visit to bring back Moses’ wife and two sons. Jethro was thrilled to hear the stories of God’s deliverance through his son-in-law. He observed Moses sitting in judgment with all the people coming to him with their complaints. His advice to Moses was to raise up some helpers to share the load of leadership.
If you are a follower, pray and obey before you complain! When you grumble about your leader, you are grumbling about God! Listen to your leadership and support them by prayer and encouragement! Don’t test or blame God; He is never at fault! If you are a leader, raise up those who can help you with the work. It blesses you and them to use the gifts God has given them to serve. Leadership is a joy when you take these tips and your followers do, too! The main one to please in all of this is God. May His face be smiling on your leadership!
The joys of leadership!
Scripture reading for January 24: Exodus 16-18
For some reason, I’ve been in leadership positions all my life! I’ve always felt inadequate. As I’ve worked leading in various secular and church positions, I’ve become acutely aware of my inability to please everyone. Moses soon learned this same truth!
In the passages of the last few days, God’s redeemed people were delivered from Egypt by a mighty act of power by the Lord, and then from Pharaoh’s pursuing army! Led by Miriam, Moses’ sister, they danced in joy and sang a song of deliverance! People sometimes expect everything to be handed to them and they will live happily ever after. This picture is soon readjusted as troubles cause us to face reality.
A few days after the victory celebration, the Israelites faced hunger and began to grumble, blaming their leader Moses. (Exodus 16:3) In spite of this, God met their need! Next, they ran out of water and began to grumble again. Their hearts were angry and hard and in blaming their leader, they actually blaming God! (Exodus 16:8)
Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, came for a visit to bring back Moses’ wife and two sons. Jethro was thrilled to hear the stories of God’s deliverance through his son-in-law. He observed Moses sitting in judgment with all the people coming to him with their complaints. His advice to Moses was to raise up some helpers. Moses should just handle the ‘hard’ cases and let the others do the rest!
Lessons for today are plain. First, pray and obey before you complain! When you grumble about your leader, you are grumbling about God! Listen to your leadership and support them by prayer and encouragement! Don’t test or blame God; He is never at fault! (He makes no mistakes) If you are a leader, raise up those who can help you with the work. Leadership can be a joy when you listen to advice. The main one to please in all of this is God.
” For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”
Strike the Rock!
Scripture reading for January 25th: Exodus 16-18
You would think that God’s people would not grumble against Him! The Israelites had seen the miracles of the plagues in Egypt and been protected from their effects. They had been miraculously delivered from the death angel by the blood of the Passover lamb. They had seen the Lord lead them with a cloud of glory by day and fire by night. They experienced deliverance through the Red Sea and saw how Pharaoh and his army were drowned. They had been given loads of silver and gold before they left Egypt and saw God bring manna to feed them in the desert. Their clothes and shoes did not wear out and not one of them was sick or disabled! What they experienced of God’s presence and miraculous power would make most of us stand in awe!
Yet, after being fed with manna and traveling on to Rephidim, they found no water to drink. They first quarreled with Moses. (Exodus 17: 1-3) God’s leadership always takes flack when things don’t go as the people think it should. The people easily turn on leaders, but God looks at this differently. They are actually turning on Him! (Exodus 16:8) Moses asked them why they were putting the Lord to the test by quarreling with Him. They responded by blaming Moses for bringing them out into the desert to die of thirst! It is amazing how short-sighted and forgetful people can become. Miracles don’t instantly transform people into faith giants!
To help Mose through this situation, God gave him specific instructions. He told Moses to walk on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with him. He was to go to the rock at Horeb and God would stand before him there. Moses was to strike the rock and God would supply water for the people to drink! (Exodus 17:5-6) When Moses obeyed, water gushed out to satisfy the 2-3 million people, and their flocks and herds, as well!
The New Testament gives insight into this event. Paul taught that the spiritual rock that the Israelites drank from was Christ. (1st Corinthians 10:1-6) He was smitten for us to give us “Living Water”. He has walked ahead of us and taken God’s rod of judgment on sin! Drink today from the smitten Rock! The living water is flowing freely for all to drink!