LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?
THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
(A) The people grumbled. Right from the start of Exodus 15:22-24, there is a change of mood in the camp. Moses has come to the people of Israel, and God has used him to answer the cries of the people, who suffered bitterly at the hands of the Egyptians. Now that they have seen great things and are beginning to see the fulfillment of God's promises, they are ecstatic--but actually, wait, they're not. They've barely gotten across the Red Sea when they start encountering a little difficulty, and begin wishing that they could have things the way they've always been: "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger" (Exodus 16:3). I wonder if Moses was tempted at that point to tell them to go ahead, and offer to take the rest to the Promised Land by the quick route. But he didn't. He stayed and led the people, eventually sacrificing his own ability to enter the Promised Land himself, and died in the wilderness--the most significant leader that Israel ever produced. As for the people, God slowly dealt with their grumbling by schooling Israel. But for more on that, see below...
(B) Israel in the school of faith. God used the wilderness as a sort of school of faith, with immediate rewards and consequences, to teach the people to trust in him. When they came to a bitter pool, God miraculously made it fresh. When they were hungry, He rained bread from heaven--but only enough for that day, unless the following day was the Sabbath; no storing up security for later. When the Amalekites came up against them in Exodus 17 (if memory serves me, this would have been an unusually tall people), God gave them victory as long as Moses could have his hands lifted up to God, to the point where the people actually had to plan for that and provide someone to help Moses keep his hands up. Every part of the wilderness was meant to shape the people so that when God brought them to the Promised Land, they would be ready. Maybe that's a good word for us. Maybe you're reading this and you're in the middle of a personal wilderness. Now, if there is real harm in your wilderness, don't stay there if you could get out. Don't be passive. But could God be (partly) using this time intentionally to shape your character for the Promised Land ahead?
(C) The duty of delegation. In Exodus 18 God had a visit from his father in law, who himself had some extensive leadership experience as the high priest of Midian (see Exodus 2). He took a look around at all the things that Moses was doing, and he did the right thing by telling Moses to look for some people who could help. The same thing is true today for every church, business, school, community organization, or significant birthday planning committee--no one person can do all the necessary roles without dropping a few plates. At the same time, leaders can create more work for themselves by assigning the wrong people to handle details; I have worked seven times harder to manage a key volunteer with a bad attitude, a political mind, and a poison tongue than I have ever worked doing something on my own. The wrong person in a key role can create ripples of crisis management in relationships all over the camp, to the point where that one person can create most of the work of the whole job just by themselves. So Moses wasn't told to just assign anyone who wanted to lead: he was told "Look for [chosen] able men [qualified by ability] from all the people [representative], men who fear God [spiritually qualified], who are trustworthy and hate a bribe [qualified by character], and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens [able to work within a larger structure]" (Exodus 18:21). If Moses was willing to look for this and raise up such leaders, not only would he be better off, but all the people would be better served, and the mission could go forward as God is honored in the work.
RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?
Like the people of Israel, we (and I include myself here) can become quick to complain or to wish for the way things used to be--or to wish for how things will be, ad infinitum. But all we have at the moment to be faithful with is now. How is our attitude right now? What am I doing to be faithful with what I have now? What is God trying to teach me right now? If we have trust that God is good and that He is in control, and if we are in possession of our own minds, then we are free to worship the Lord despite whatever situation we are in. Let's jump in to the school of faith, do the most we can with the moment, and trust that at the right time God will lead us to the Promised Land.
PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?
Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, in the middle of the wilderness, in the school of faith that you've enrolled me in at the moment, help me entrust myself to your wisdom. Grant me courage in uncertainty, anchoring my heart in the certainty of your love. Help this wilderness journey to refine my trust in you and deepen my reliance upon you. Teach me to trust in you and lead me to patiently wait for the fulfillment of your promises."
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