Monday, March 12, 2012

How Can People be so Fickle Towards God?

Today's Reading:
  • Exodus 15:19 - 17:7
  • Proverbs 6:20 - 26
Looks like I missed posting this reading from Exodus.  Oops, here you go!
Exodus 15:19 - 17:7
The people of Israel continued to celebrate the deliverance of their people from the Egyptians.  This didn't last long because soon enough the people were lacking for water in the desert and complaining to Moses for bringing them out into the wilderness to die of thirst.  The Lord then told Moses to throw a piece of wood into a water hole to make the water drinkable.  

Not long after the Lord provided the Israelites with drinking water, the people were once again complaining to Moses, this time about hunger.  That is when the Lord began to send down the manna in the morning and meat in the evening. As a side note, my bible says that manna means "what is it?" in Hebrew, which I thought was pretty humorous. 

After 40 years of being provided for with manna and meat, the Israelites moved out of the desert.  Soon enough they were complaining again, this time about water.  So Moses followed God's instructions and struck a rock and this brought forward water.

I have to say that the group of people Moses had to deal with were a whiny, faithless bunch!  I know that the Lord will not let me starve to death or die of thirst as long as I have faith in Him.  Even if the Israelites were scared and didn't quite know the Lord, they did at least know that Lord went to great lengths to free them from the Egyptians.

The Lord led these people straight through the Red Sea as if it were dry land and then swallowed all of the Egyptians that were pursuing them!  He rained plague after plague down upon the Egyptians while excluding the Hebrews from those same plagues.  And okay, so the first time they ran out of water they were frightened.  But then the Lord fed them from the heavens every single day for 40 full years!  

How can people be so fickle?  It's one thing to think that God has excluded you from His protection, like you're wondering around by yourself.  It's quite another to see miracle after miracle performed and then still lose your faith so easily.  Could you imagine being the leader of that group of people?  How disheartening and frustrating it would be?  It certainly wasn't easy being Moses.

Proverbs 6:20 - 26
These verses in Proverbs caution us to take heed of our parent's instructions.  Doing so will keep us safe and on a straight path.

As I raise my own children I see how all the things I do for my children -- advice, love, discipline -- are all aimed at the same set of goals.  I want them to grow well, have faith in the Lord, become well rounded adults, find happiness and keep them safe.

I can't be there every single step to stop them, but I can hope that they will remember and keep to heart all that I try to instill upon them.  So listen to your parents, they want what is best for you.  And always listen to the Lord, for no one has your welfare more in mind than He does.

No comments: