Chapters 16-18

Exodus 16 - General Remarks: When we begin to know the Lord, He requires more faith of us. At first, they had to trust that though the Egyptians increased their labors, the Lord would deliver them. Then at the Red Sea, they had to trust the Lord's power to deliver them again. Now, wandering in the wilderness, they have to trust the Lord for their supply of food and water. This was a severe test for them. Living hand-to-mouth is not natural. But as we step out in faith, the Lord will begin to show us His glorious power to provide.

Exodus 15:22-25 & 16:3 - The Lord often allows us to feel our need before He will provide for it. We rarely notice when the Lord provides before we feel the need, because we assume it should be that way. The Lord allow us to feel the need so that (1) we will not take His good gifts for granted, (2) He can test our faith, (3) He can receive more praise and glory when He does provide.
Exodus 16:4 - The Lord giving manna from heaven was not so much about the Lord meeting their needs miraculously. It was about teaching the Israelites to trust the Lord for their daily needs. Jesus prayed, "Give us this day our daily bread." Here is the source of that prayer. The Hebrew emphasizes the fact that they are to take their day's portion "in its day." God was trying to teach them that they did not have to have a week's supply in the storehouses to be content. They could only have enough for the day and still be content and trust God for tomorrow when tomorrow comes. It was like a baby-step. Later, (vs. 19-20) Moses instructed them not to store up any overnight; that each day they should collect their portion and gather none for tomorrow. A beautiful picture of the Lord training them to trust Him and be concerned only for today, "for you do not know what a day may bring."

Exodus 16:26-28 - The Lord commanded that no one should gather (or even attempt to) manna on the Sabbath day. But some people (vs. 27) decided to check things out. Can you hear it? "Honey, I think there will not be enough for today left over from yesterday. Can you go and just check to see if any at all came down?" "Yes dear." It was an innocent action, right? After all, there wasn't anything on the ground, so technically, they didn't gather anything. Thus, they didn't technically break the Sabbath. Wrong. The Lord judges the intentions of the heart. It all started with a breach of faith. Did not the Lord prove (vs. 18) that even if a family gathered too little, they would not lack? Secondly, it was a violation of God's Law (innocently intended or not). You don't have to actually break the commandment in deed to be guilty. You merely have to conspire to kill the president of the U.S.A., and you will spend a long time in prison. You merely have to look at a woman with lust in your heart to be guilty of adultery.

Exodus 16:31 - The name "Manna" has no meaning. In the Hebrew, it is two consonants "MaN". In 16:15, the Israelites say, "What is it?" That question is made up of two Hebrew words, "MaN Hoo". Based on this observation, the Israelites actually named the substance from Heaven "What?" This draws attention to something Moses says later, "[God] fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know" (Deut 8:3, ESV). God's provision is miraculous. Those coming out of Egypt had never seen manna. Their ancestors had never seen it either. It was the power of God to supply their needs bringing manna and even quail (vs. 13) to provide for His people. Many do not see God's power, because they never put themselves in a position where God must exert Himself. In the same way, you will never see your own strength until you try to lift something heavier than normal. No place is it more felt in humans than in our finances. God says, "Test me now in this." That is, be a generous person. Give to the work of the Lord. Help other people. Sacrifice. "[And see] if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows" (Malachi 3:10, NASB). You don't know where the money will come from to make up the difference? Neither does anyone who walks by faith. That is precisely the meaning of "walking by faith." It means you do not see, hear, foresee, feel or know of provision coming. But faith is "the assurance of things [expected]..." That is, you know God said He would provide, so you can expect that He will. His Word gives you the assurance of what you can expect. "...the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1, NASB) That is, you are certain of God's provision even though you cannot touch, see, or even though you may not feel like God will provide. Despite even your feelings, you can be certain that God will "never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5, NASB).

Exodus 17:1-7 - It looks like the Lord did not provide the water at first because the people were thirsty enough to consider mutiny. That makes us question if we may trust the Lord at all times with our provision, if in this case He allowed such suffering by thirst. But notice that all Moses had to do was ask, and the Lord provided. God's provision for real needs is just a prayer away. Don't hesitate. Don't delay.
A few things could be the source of our lack of provision: (1) Too proud to ask, (2) Assume it will/should be there so don't bother to ask, (3) Don't really believe the Lord will provide supernaturally if there doesn't seem to be a natural means of provision (e.g., They didn't believe the Lord's provision because they couldn't see a well for water.), (4) Not walking closely enough with the Lord to (a) discern between needs and wants or (b) feel comfortable asking Him for anything.

Exodus 18:18 - The English rendering of Jethro's counsel in this verse does not convey the force in the original language. Notice that Moses did not make a reply. Why not? Because Jethro was giving Moses a stern lecture (as only father-in-laws can do with such an impact). In the original Hebrew, there is an adjectival intensifier, which also serves to intensify the meaning. The NASB renders it, "You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people..." It could be rendered with more force as such, "You will utterly exhaust both yourself and the people..." This was not something Moses even should have responded to.

Exodus 18:27 - Did Moses keep Zipporah (his wife whom he had sent away earlier, see verse 2) after he bid farewell to his father-in-law? The Bible does not mention Zipporah again after 18:2. It is possible (though speculative) that Jethro came with the hidden motivation of restoring his daughter (Zipporah) to Moses. It is speculation to say that Moses renewed his affection toward Zipporah after not seeing her for some time and she stayed. The Scripture says Moses sent his father-in-law back. A literal reading of the text does not include Zipporah, nor a reference to family (Moses' two sons). Perhaps Moses' heart was touched seeing his children and wife again. With all the hardship he endured, he would have needed the comfort of a wife and family. The Lord never asked him to send away his wife, as the Scripture records. Zipporah was a descendant of Abraham. Those descendants were a product of a later marriage of Abraham after Sarah died (Gen 25:1-2).