"In the morning you will see the dazzling light of the Lord's presence." Exodus 16:7. This particular scripture is actually Moses and Aaron telling the children of Israel that, because of their complaining, God was going to give them all the food they needed the next morning. These people had seen miracle after miracle but had forgotten what their Lord had done!
Wow.....they were complaining about food. I find it interesting, well it's God, that He directed me to this passage early this morning and then the sermon I heard at church not long after included the same thought! During his sermon the minister mentioned "So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt", a song by Keith Green, one of the first Contemporary Christian artists. I hadn't thought of that song in years until the minister mentioned it this morning. So let's explore that idea just a bit.
As the story goes, the Israelites were God's chosen people. Through a series of events, they became slaves to the Egyptians who didn't worship God. Moses, one of the Israelites, had been rescued from floating in a basket as the Princess and her maidens were bathing in the river. Pretty much all the other baby boys born at that time were killed by order of the Pharaoh but Moses' mother and sister were able to save his life by allowing him to be rescued by the Pharaoh's daughter. Little did they know what God had in store for Moses and His people! As he grew up, Moses knew he was different. He looked different than his 'royal family'. He knew how he came to live in the palace. And he knew where his heart was.
After years of disobedience and obedience, growing, learning, and God speaking to Moses from a burning bush even, Moses was leading God's people out of slavery. It took some doin' to get them out of Egypt. Pharaoh kept changing his mind and God kept raining down plagues. The Israelites would obey God's commands and not suffer the consequences of the plagues. The Egyptians wouldn't listen and suffered, finally to the point that the Israelites were told to go just to get the plagues to stop.
Well once again Pharaoh changed his mind. In front of God's people was the Red Sea. Behind them was a whole slew of Egyptian soldiers coming to take them back to Egypt where they would be once again enslaved. (If you've ever watched "The Ten Commandments" you are probably picturing all this in your mind just like I am right now.) And yes I wrote about this in Walk Like An Egyptian recently. You know what that means.....God must be trying to tell ME something when He has me writing about the same subject this quickly!
Anyway, the people had survived the plagues, been given miracle after miracle including God rolling back the Red Sea so that they walked on DRY ground and then He had the same sea drown the Egyptian soldiers who were chasing them and trying to stop them. And here they were, complaining again. They even said they would be better off in Egypt as slaves! Oh my. How soon we forget what God has brought us out of.
Did God just give up on them right then and there? Did He tell them He had taken all their mouthing He was going to take? Did He turn away from them? No. He provided food for them. In His way. To teach them to trust and obey. He loved them and had an amazing promised land ahead for them. All they had to do was trust and obey Him.
What has God done for you that you have already forgotten? Did He forgive you? Did He heal you? Did He put your family back together? Did He provide a job for you so that you could support your family? You probably thanked Him at the time. But how long did it take before you were complaining about something else? Do you still look at that healing, that restoration, that job as a gift from Him?
Many things have come to mind recently that I had asked God for and then complained as He started the process for those things to happen. Things didn't go the way I thought they should and I didn't like it. I didn't trust Him. And I can see that now. Sure there was some time in the wilderness learning to trust Him. But He knew where I was all along. Sometimes I gave up and went back to Egypt. But no more. There's no peace there. Only slavery. Only hardship. I'm bound for the Promised Land!
What has God provided for you that you have forgotten all about? What did you ask Him for but now you're complaining about it? Walk out in that wilderness if that's what He tells you to do. He has a plan. Trust Him. Let Egypt be a memory. Keep walking in faith. Live in awe of the dazzling light of the Lord's presence. And be ready for your promised land. God ALWAYS keeps His promises. That's what the children of Israel needed to see. That's what we need to see today. In the desert. In the wilderness. In times of what seems to be suffering and pain. Trust Him. The Promised Land is coming.
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