Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 16:35-36

35 And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.

36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

Verse 35 pulls back from the linear narrative and provides commentary on the broader journey of Israel. We learn that the manna was not a temporary solution for the Israelites’ hunger, but that it would go on to sustain Israel through all their forty year sojourn in the wilderness.

Being in the wilderness represents a state of limbo for Israel. They had been evicted from Egypt’s womb, but they wouldn’t emerge fully reborn in the land of Canaan for decades. They were a people with a name, but without a home. This was therefore a time of great uncertainty and hardship, and the murmuring of the Israelites suggests that they saw this as an even lower low than their former captivity. How meaningful, then, that in this lowest of places God gave them a consistent, miraculous staple. The manna from heaven was a central pillar, supporting the people while they could not support themselves.

It is worth noting that after Israel leaves the wilderness we will never hear of the manna again. Today’s verse seems to confirm that the manna ceased just as soon as Israel came into fields where they could grow and harvest their own grain. God supported the people with just what they needed for as long as they needed it, then required them to let go of that crutch as soon as they were able to walk on their own.

Verse 36 is an interesting reminder that the books of Moses existed for many different audiences throughout history before us. It is assumed that it is a parenthetical statement meant to explain something to an ancient Israelite audience. The audience at that time presumably did not know what an “omer” was, as they had long since abandoned that unit of measurement, so the clerk explained that it was a tenth of an “ephah,” which was a more familiar unit of measurement at that time. It would be similar to me telling you that an “omer” was a little less than one US gallon.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 16:27-30

27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.

28 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

29 See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

When God commanded the Israelites to only gather one omer per person each day, some of the Israelites had disobeyed and gathered extra. Then He had given them a specific exception: they could gather two omers on the morning before the sabbath, and some Israelites disobeyed yet again, trying to gather one portion on both days.

Some people sinned by relying on God too little and overexerting themselves against His will, and some sinned by relying on God too much and trying to do the minimal effort each day. Both approaches were wrong.

We are meant to have a nuanced relationship with God, relying on Him where He is meant to be relied on, and not where He is not. We are supposed to seek His will and do it, but also follow our own judgment where He has not expressed His will. Sometimes one of His laws supersedes or places a boundary on another of His laws, and we are meant to recognize when we cross that threshold and adjust our behavior accordingly.

The life of the disciple is meant to be active and observant. We are expected to actually pay attention and adapt to God’s movements, not just sit in the same place, applying the same rules to situations that are not applicable. We must also be careful not to carve out our own exceptions, pretending all the while that it is really God’s exception. We may fool others with such a claim, and maybe even our own selves, but there is one who will not be fooled, and He will require an answer of us sooner or later.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 16:22-26

22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

23 And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.

25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field.

26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.

God had given two points of instruction thus far:

1. Every household was to gather one omer per person, which would be just the right amount for the day.

2. No one was to keep leftovers for the next day.

Certain Israelites had already tried defying the second rule, gathering extra rather than trusting the Lord to provide again in the morning, and all the extra had spoiled. It just wasn’t going to work for the people not to follow God’s directions in this matter, they needed to not make exceptions to His rules.

But then, as an interesting twist, God, Himself, presented a third rule that carved out an exception to his first two:

3. On the day before the sabbath they were permitted to gather two omers per person, one for the day before the sabbath and one for the sabbath.

The purpose of this rule being, of course, to keep the Israelites from having to labor on the sabbath. Thus, God was providing a valid way to do the exact thing that had been invalid when done by the disobedient Israelites just prior.

The lesson here is clear. When God gives us His commandments, He can also provide special limitations or exceptions to them, but we cannot. Some things are wrong inherently, and some things are wrong because they have been forbidden for that time. In either case, one is only right when applying the commandment of God that is relevant to that situation, and wrong when doing anything other than God’s commandment for that situation.

Some people may balk at the idea of God creating set times when a behavior is right and set times when it is wrong, but any collection of laws has this sort of nuance. For example, one may drive down the road at the posted speed limit, except at a red light they must stop until it turns green, except when that red light is flashing and they should treat it like a stop sign, except when there is a police officer directing traffic at that intersection. Are the rules ambiguous or arbitrary because they change what behavior is correct based on the circumstance? No. In each instance there is one right behavior, and there is a good reason for it. So it is with God’s laws.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 16:6-8

6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:

7 And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

8 And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.

Moses points out to the Israelites that when the manna appears it will be yet another evidence that the Lord is real and that He is the one guiding them. Though He cannot be seen in the flesh, when the manna appears His presence will be manifest and they will know that He truly walks among them.

What a great gift to see that the Lord listens to you and responds directly. Most of us seem to spend the majority of our time feeling that God is inscrutable and imperceptible, so moments where the veil grows thin are sacred and profound.

But this great gift is also a condemnation to the Israelites. Moses lays out very clearly in verse 8 that the Lord’s presence means He is actively listening to them and knows everything they said in their complaints. And if God really is present in Israel’s affairs, if He really is the one calling the shots, then any criticism directed at Moses has actually been a criticism of the Almighty! As Moses tells the people, “the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him… Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.” A word to the wise, any time you choose to make a complaint, be sure you know who it is you’re really criticizing!

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 16:4-5

4 Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

After Israel’s grumbling the Lord gave Moses His answer, and note how He returns faithfulness for faithlessness. The Israelites had suddenly abandoned their trust in God, certain that He had brought them to ruin. They had become utterly hopeless and despondent. But though they had abandoned their faith in Him, God was still faithful in helping and preserving them. By a miracle He would rain bread down, literally a blessing from heaven. A reward in place of punishment.

There was going to be a catch to all this, though. God said that with this blessing would also come a test, to “prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” And so He listed out some requirements for how the Israelites were to respond to this manna from heaven. There would be a virtually unlimited source available to them, but they were only to gather the necessary portion day-by-day, except on the sixth day they could gather twice as much, so that they could eat on the sabbath. These instructions would later be reiterated in more explicit detail, so that there could be no misunderstanding among the Jews.

It seems to me that God was making a point with this test. Did the Israelites complain and lose faith simply because they didn’t feel provided for, or because of some pull towards infidelity that lived deep inside of them? Would they keep His commandments once He had provided for them, or would they still feel compelled to hold something back? Was their faithlessness really about a problem with God, or was it a problem in themselves? We will see for ourselves as we read on.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 16:1-3

1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

After a time at the oasis that the Lord had provided for them, the Israelites continued further into the wilderness. At this point, Israel had not been consigned to wander for 40 years, so they were still on the route to the Promised Land. We did hear earlier that it wasn’t the most direct route, which passed by the Philistines, but a more roundabout way. Scholars identify the Wilderness of Sin from verse 1 as being to the east of both the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba, two bodies of water that extend out of the north shoreline of the Red Sea. This would mean that the Israelites were in what is now the North-Western corner of Saudi Arabia.

And this would mean that Israel was already half the distance to the Promised Land, at least as the crow flies. They were well on their way, but now we will see things starting to go backwards. In verse 3, the Israelites start a pattern of faithless murmuring, which will ultimately lead to serious repercussions. We did already hear how they complained for the lack of water in the last chapter, but today’s verse is the first time they go so far as to say that they preferred things in Egypt as slaves.

This is also the first time that the Israelites say that Moses is going to get the entire company killed. Often I hear the Israelite’s criticized for not approaching Moses in a more cooperative manner, for not expressing their distress with a faithful expectation that God would have a solution. Personally, I don’t feel that we have enough information to judge them so certainly. We do not know just how dire the situation was, perhaps the old and the feeble really were on the brink of death. We do not know what prior conversations they had had, perhaps they had been patient for a while but felt at their wits’ end now. Or perhaps they really were faithless, over-reacting, and demanding from the slightest of hardships. We just don’t know.

None of which is to say that the Israelites might have been justified in turning against the Lord, but simply to appreciate the fact that many of us might not have fared much better in the same situation. Hardship brings out the most base instincts in a people, and most of us probably don’t know who we really are on that level. The Israelites were finding out exactly that, and the revelation was not good.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 15:26-27

26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.

27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Along with the tree that healed the bitter waters, God gave the Israelites a covenant that He would heal them and keep them from the plagues of Egypt, so long as they obeyed His commandments. This making of covenants out in the wilderness brings to mind a similar scene with their namesake, Jacob/Israel, after he had fled the home of his birth and was on his way to a new land. It seems being out in the wild, untethered from all prior patterns and support is an ideal place to establish new commitments with God. When an individual or a people are at their lowest and barest is when God can finally pour a new foundation in their heart.

I also want to draw attention to the different ways that Israel is commanded to follow God. They are to “hearken to the voice of the Lord,” then “do that which is right in his sight.” This is then repeated in another way as, “give ear to his commandments,” and then “keep all his statues.” Twice we are shown that the pattern for obeying is both listening/hearkening, as well as doing/keeping. There is an element of discovering God’s will, and an element of doing it. And make no mistake, it is His will. “Do that which is right in his sight,” was the command, not what is right in our sight, or according to our own biased interpretation of His will. None of us can do any good if it isn’t God’s good.

Then, after offering this covenant to Israel, God then gave them a great gift: twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees. A literal oasis in the desert, a flowing refuge from the thirst that had troubled them, a sign that God was more than equipped to care for their every need. If Israel would bring the faithful obedience, God would bring all the healing, life-sustaining waters.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 15:20-21

20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

We have not heard of Miriam since she followed baby Moses floating down the river as a baby (the common assumption being that Miriam was the unnamed sister in that story). Now we hear that she had grown to be a prophetess in her own right, and apparently a leader of women. At her example, all of the women joined in music and song and dance. I would assume the song that they sang was the same one we were given over the last nineteen verses.

I find something very appropriate in it being the voices of women that sang praises for the miraculous avoidance of war. War is antithetical to the female instinct to put down roots and build a home. War undoes the miracle of life that emerges from the body of the woman. War and womanhood are completely at odds to one another, so it is very fitting that it was the voices of women praising that war, itself, had been defeated that day.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 15:18-19

18 The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.

19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

Today we reach the end of the song. Israel observes that “the Lord shall reign forever,” and their justification for that claim is that He has already proved Himself stronger than the chariots of Pharaoh, and also able to preserve His people, Israel. In essence the argument is that God is mightier than the greatest power in the world, so He shall reign, and He has even shown power over life and death, so that reign will never die.

Verse 19 once again contrasts the differences in experience that befell the Egyptians and the Israelites. They each tried to walk the same path, the passage through the sea, but they came to two completely opposite outcomes. The Egyptians ventured forth with ill purpose of heart, and so were destroyed by that path. The Israelites moved forward in obedience to God’s commands, and so they were saved by that path. We learn from this that God’s way is both a way of salvation and damnation, depending on the state of the soul that walks along it.

Israel’s song is either a song of hope or warning, depending on the sincerity of your heart. By all means, come and join the throng of believers and see the miracles of God lift and preserve you, but only if you are sincerely turning your life over to Him, otherwise you will come to a terrible end!

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 15:14-16

14 The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.

16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

Sandwiched between two verses that speak of God’s salvation of Israel, we have the contrasting description of fear being invoked in the hearts of every pagan nation. This structure seems to convey a message that Israel would have peace, but it would come by the destruction of their enemies at the hand of the Lord. The dissolution of evil is the core of peace for the righteous.

Throughout these verses we hear that Palestine, Edom, Moab, and all the other inhabitants of Canaan would be made to feel afraid, sorrowful, amazed, trembling, and dread. In other words, every enemy of the Lord would be given to every negative emotion. Bold words from the Israelites, a people not known for any military prowess since Abraham rescued Lot hundreds of years earlier! But having a military mismatch and being outnumbered didn’t really matter. This song was not saying that these pagan nations would be put to fright by Israel, but “by the greatness of thine arm, O Lord.”

I wonder whether the Israelites understood yet that they would be the tool in the Lord’s hands for this particular work. They had just witnessed what things He could do by commanding the winds, the heavens, and the sea, but did they realize that He would be commanding them, too? It would, even as they say here in this song, be God’s work, and by His hand, but it would be done by His arm becoming flesh through them.