December 3, 2004

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Deuteronomy 23-25

Weekly Memory Verse: Proverbs 27:17

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

I would encourage all of you to also look at the webpage at www.emailbiblestudy.com under the archive at the comments from last year on this passage.  Great stuff.

Exodus 16 (The Message)
¹ On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt, the whole company of Israel moved on from Elim to the Wilderness of Sin which is between Elim and Sinai. ² The whole company of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron there in the wilderness. ³ The Israelites said, “Why didn’t God let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat? You’ve brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!” ⁴ God said to Moses, “I’m going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day’s ration. I’m going to test them to see if they’ll live according to my Teaching or not. ⁵ On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration.” ⁶ Moses and Aaron told the People of Israel, “This evening you will know that it is God who brought you out of Egypt; ⁷ and in the morning you will see the Glory of God. Yes, he’s listened to your complaints against him. You haven’t been complaining against us, you know, but against God.” ⁸ Moses said, “Since it will be God who gives you meat for your meal in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, it’s God who will have listened to your complaints against him. Who are we in all this? You haven’t been complaining to us—you’ve been complaining to God!” ⁹ Moses instructed Aaron: “Tell the whole company of Israel: ‘Come near to God. He’s heard your complaints.’ ” ¹⁰ When Aaron gave out the instructions to the whole company of Israel, they turned to face the wilderness. And there it was: the Glory of God visible in the Cloud. ¹¹ God spoke to Moses, ¹² “I’ve listened to the complaints of the Israelites. Now tell them: ‘At dusk you will eat meat and at dawn you’ll eat your fill of bread; and you’ll realize that I am God, your God.’ ” ¹³ That evening quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew all over the camp. ¹⁴ When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the wilderness ground was a fine flaky something, fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was. So Moses told them, “It’s the bread God has given you to eat. ¹⁶ And these are God’s instructions: ‘Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent.’ ” ¹⁷ The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, ¹⁸ but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren’t short—each person had gathered as much as was needed. ¹⁹ Moses said to them, “Don’t leave any of it until morning.” ²⁰ But they didn’t listen to Moses. A few of the men kept back some of it until morning. It got wormy and smelled bad. And Moses lost his temper with them. ²¹ They gathered it every morning, each person according to need. Then the sun heated up and it melted. ²² On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, about four quarts per person. Then the leaders of the company came to Moses and reported. ²³ Moses said, “This is what God was talking about: Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to God. Whatever you plan to bake, bake today; and whatever you plan to boil, boil today. Then set aside the leftovers until morning.” ²⁴ They set aside what was left until morning, as Moses had commanded. It didn’t smell bad and there were no worms in it. ²⁵ Moses said, “Now eat it; this is the day, a Sabbath for God. You won’t find any of it on the ground today. ²⁶ Gather it every day for six days, but the seventh day is Sabbath; there won’t be any of it on the ground.” ²⁷ On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather anyway but they didn’t find anything. ²⁸ God said to Moses, “How long are you going to disobey my commands and not follow my instructions? ²⁹ Don’t you see that God has given you the Sabbath? So on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. So, each of you, stay home. Don’t leave home on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people quit working on the seventh day. ³¹ The Israelites named it manna (What is it?). It looked like coriander seed, whitish. And it tasted like a cracker with honey. ³² Moses said, “This is God’s command: ‘Keep a two-quart jar of it, an omer, for future generations so they can see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness after I brought you out of Egypt.’ ” ³³ Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Place it before God, keeping it safe for future generations.” ³⁴ Aaron did what God commanded Moses. He set it aside before The Testimony to preserve it. ³⁵ The Israelites ate the manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle down. They ate manna until they reached the border into Canaan. ³⁶ According to ancient measurements, an omer is one-tenth of an ephah. ^[1]

Consider the situation that was at hand, in the last chapter, we studied where Israel had forgotten the lessons regarding the way that God had provided for them.   In this chapter, it wasn't a matter of bitter water, or a matter of an impossible trap of the Red Sea.  This chapter concerned food, God may be able to split the sea, provide sweet water from bitter water, but not possibly provide food.  Doesn't it make you wonder, what did they think would happen when they ran out of the food that they had carried by hand out of Egypt?  You can only carry so much food, eventually it had to run out.  It took two and one half months for the food to run out according to verse 1.  One of the comical things in this is the way that the "good old days" are remembered by the people.  They forgot that they were in slavery, they forgot that they were living in misery, all they could remember was the full pots of food.   God promised that they would indeed have bread and meat, verse 12 is interesting, the way it could be translated is "Between dusk and dawn, you are to eat meat, and in the morning you are to be stuffed with bread; then you will know by experience that I am Yahweh your God", (Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 3: Exodus.)  The belly-aching that they were doing was promised to be literally satisfied by God.

God provided just enough Manna so that they were taken care of for one day, except on the Sabbath, then they were allowed enough for two days.  There were those who gathered more, only to find out that it stank and was filled with worms the next day.  The point of this is that the Hebrews had to trust God for their sustenance each day.  They were totally dependent upon the provision of the Lord.  Those who did not follow instructions went hungry.  I'll bet it didn't take too long before everyone complied with the rules.

Genesis 2:2-3 (NASB95)
² By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Exodus 20:8-11 (NASB95)
⁸ “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. ¹¹ “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 15:26 (NASB95)
²⁶ And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”

Genesis 14:18-20 (NASB95)
¹⁸ And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. ¹⁹ He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; ²⁰ And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all. ^[2]

This is the first time that the Sabbath was officially set up as a day of observation.  In the beginning God rested, but an official day of rest is not mentioned until this passage.  Later the Sabbath is written into the law.  There are a few things that are not written into the law, and existed before the law.  The Sabbath is one of them, also yesterday we studied that close fellowship with God, determined service to Him, and earlier, with Melchizedek, tithing.  It is interesting that on all of these points, if your pastor preaches on any of them he is accused of trying to put the people under "the law".  As I think on this, Jesus not only fulfilled the Jewish Law, He also returned the Jews to the fellowship that they had before the law was established.  In effect, we have been privileged to take the place of blessing that the Hebrews experienced.  Some things existed before the Law because they were necessary to worship God with.

Manna was not a boring food.  It was used for baking and cooking according to verse 23.  You can also be sure that the quail were cooked for use on the Sabbath since they were not able to cook on the Sabbath.

The Manna stored in the Ark was a constant reminder of how God supplied for the people in the desert.  I wonder what happened to this Manna, if perhaps we will see it when we go to heaven.  Another thought on this, the only people who could look into the Ark was the priest.  The average person was not able to look into the Ark, only those who were ministering before God.  Therefore, the Manna in the Ark may not have been there just as a testimony to the people, but also as a testimony to the priest of how powerful that God really is. 

I am grateful that all of you have joined in this study today.  If you wish to add your comments, be sure to write in.

Father, as we consider Your word today, impress on each one of us the truths that You have given to us.  Give us the courage to apply the truths to our lives and live by them.

In Him,

Joe Turner.

Joe