PM Jan 27th Ex 16

January 27^th       Exodus 16        Manna from heaven

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. 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. 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. 9: And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. 10: And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 12: I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. 13: And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 14: And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15: And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. 16: This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. 17: And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 18: And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. 19: And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 20: Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. 21: And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. 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. 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. 31: And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32: And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 33: And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. 34: As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 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.

Exodus 17        Water from the rock

1: And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2: Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? 3: And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 4: And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5: And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6: Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7: And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

The first battle – Amalek

8: Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9: And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10: So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11: And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12: But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13: And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14: And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 15: And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: 16: For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Exodus 18        The first judges

1: When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt; 2: Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, 3: And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: 4: And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh: 5: And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God: 6: And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. 7: And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent. 8: And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them. 9: And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10: And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11: Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. 12: And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God. 13: And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. 14: And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? 15: And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: 16: When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. 17: And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. 18: Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. 19: Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: 20: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. 21: Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: 22: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. 23: If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. 24: So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. 25: And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26: And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. 27: And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.

Now that Israel was secure in the wilderness and had found a water supply they now needed food in very large quantities. Then they face an attack by the Amalekites and lastly Moses appoints the first judges. When the children of Israel travelled from Elim they came to the wilderness of sin. It’s very difficult to imagine the absolute desolation of this area. The people grumbled at Moses from bringing them to this terrible place. They said if only we could have died in Egypt. Then we had meat stews and bread enough and now you want us to die of hunger. Then the LORD said l am going to rain bread from heaven. This will be a test to see if Israel will keep my laws. They were to only collect bread for six days on the seventh day they were to rest. On the sixth day the Lord would provide twice as much. They had bread in the morning and flesh in the evening. In the evening quails came up and covered the ground. In the morning a dew came up out of the ground and when the sun rose the moisture evaporated and what was left was a very small thing like hoar frost. It was round and white. When they saw it the people said ‘what is it?’ This was the name that they gave it - Manna. Moses explained what it was an omer per person. (3.64 litres) The magnitude of this provision is amazing. Every day there was as much as 3.600.000 litres of manna provided for Israel. Those that gathered a lot had nothing over and those that gathered a little found that they had no lack. They could not leave the manna till the next day because it bread worms. They gathered every morning. The Manna tasted like wafers with honey. Moses took an omer put it in a pot and keep it as a souvenir. It was put in the ark of the covenant. This provision of the Lord lasted for forty years – Incredible. When the children of Israel pitched in Rephadim there was no water. The people asked Moses what they were going to drink. Moses gathered the people at Horeb and when he hit the rock water came out of it a pure stream. Next Israel faced an enemy the Amelikies. Moses told Joshua to appoint the army and he went up a mountain to pray. Aaron and Hur held up his hands and while they prayed they had victory. There Moses built an altar and called it Jehovah-nissi which means ‘The Lord our Banner’. Jethro Moses father in law came to see him. This must have been a wonderful reunion. He brought his wife and two sons. Great things had happened since they last met. Jethro and found him over burdened with dealing with the multiplicity of day the day issues. He told him frankly that he would wear himself out if he didn’t delegate some of his work. He said train and appoint a group of reliable men who would rule the people. There were four levels of responsibility there were leaders of ten, fifties, hundreds and thousands. The particular qualifications for these men were that they feared God, they were men of truth and they hated covetousness.