And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3and the people of Israel said to them, “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 16:2-3
The children of Israel fled Egypt to escape Pharaoh and the terrible treatment they were getting there as slaves. They fled Egypt, escaped through the Red Sea as God parted it miraculously and landed in the wilderness. They brought some food with them, but eventually that ran out and they were looking to Moses asking where their next meal was going to come from. God said He would provide, and He did. He provided manna from Heaven, just enough for each day. The Israelites grumbled and told Moses that they wanted to go back to Egypt because at least they had “pots of meat” there.
They had forgotten about the bad things that happened to them there, the way they were mistreated. They just remembered that it was way easier than being in the wilderness and not knowing where the next day’s food would come from – having to trust God for everything. They couldn’t see the way through the wilderness, and they were only given enough food for each day. They worried and grumbled about what would happen tomorrow. They tried to gather up extra mana when Moses told them to only get enough for that day. And when they took too much, God caused maggots to grow in the extra mana they were taking and storing. They had forgotten. They just wanted easy.
Are you grumbling and wanting to go backward into easy? Are you worried about tomorrow or the next step, trying to solve the problem yourself? When God delivers us from “Egypt”, He doesn’t expect us to go running back. He wants us to go forward through the wilderness with Him. He wants us to depend on Him for the very food that sustains us and the very next step we are supposed to take. He doesn’t want us to run back to abuse or back into a situation where we are mistreated because at least there is a meal plan. It sounds crazy but its easy to do if that’s all you’ve ever known. It is even comfortable and secure which is a twisted perspective. When you have never had security in your life, you take whatever you can find. But God has so much more to offer us, even in the barren wilderness. He provides what we need, and it is always enough. His security is eternal, and it doesn’t come with the price tag of abuse. His security comes free to all with love and provision to sustain us through every wilderness of our lives.
Trust Him. Look to Him. Don’t worry about tomorrow and don’t lament for yesterday. Take the gift of today and the gift of His provision and rest in His secure arms.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our GOD.
Psalm 20:7
Psalm 20:7
