Day 35 – Exodus 16-18

Israel cried out to God for help and relief. They suffered and wearied and grew hopeless enslaved to Pharaoh. God heard their cries, remembered his covenant with their ancestors, cared for them, and came to their aid. He did what was required, what was needed to rescue and redeem Israel from Egypt. He gathered what was before a pitiful mass of slaves into a free people, organizing and moving toward a land of their own. He brought them miraculously and safely across the Red Sea, ensured their escape from the Egyptian army, leads them, provided water and food. In return these grateful people continue to complain at every turn. Any sign of complication and they whine like children. At every little difficulty they pine for the days when they were slaves in Egypt. I want to dislike these people. I wonder at their disbelief and mistrust. I think them weak. But then I wonder how I would act in their position. Would I be any different? Would I show more faith, more resolve? Do I trust, obey, and follow God any better than Israel did? In this way, they represent all of mankind; they show how we all respond to God’s great provision and mercies.