The only way out is through. Isn’t that the truth? The Lord brings us through the valley and he brings us out of the wilderness, doesn’t he? When you are in the wilderness and the Lord provides for you and cares for you, and you talk about it, you have an opportunity to tell others that He is the Lord and to remember yourself, that he is the Lord. that is one of the gifts of the wilderness.
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Transcription:
The only way out is through. Isn’t that the truth? The Lord brings us through the valley and he brings us out of the wilderness, doesn’t he? Welcome to the Bible for Busy People. My name is Erica, and this week, yeah, you and I are exploring the wilderness times in our lives. Those times when we feel alone, even though we aren’t, and we feel abandoned by God, even though He’s right there taking care of us every step of the way. Join me right now in Exodus chapter 13. We’re going to begin in verse 20. This is right after Pharaoh releases God’s people. Okay?
The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. 22 And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.
Oh, what a picture we have! God’s presence manifested in a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. To me, it’s so easy to picture, and I imagine as an Israelite in God’s army, what it must have felt like to see it, to see him before me. What courage must have filled the hearts of those people, and I love that God chose clouds and light. Okay? Psalm 57, 10 says,
For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Our God is faithful. When you and I are in those desert seasons, he’s still right there. His faithfulness reaches the clouds. Stop and think of the magnitude of that. And then Psalm 119 verse 105 says,
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
Do you realize right now you and I are studying God’s Word and he’s leading us? Maybe you’re in a wilderness season right now and you’re looking around lost going, What is going on? He’s leading you by the light of his Word, not enough to see the whole path. It’s just not how God operates. He gives us just enough light for today. And the whole cloud picture, his faithfulness and his love are all around us, and he’s guiding us through. He’s guiding us out of this place. Sometimes it takes us a long time to learn what we have to learn in the wilderness, just like it took the Israelites 40 years to learn all that God had to teach them. But he was faithful to stay present with them and he’s faithful to stay present with us. Join me now in Exodus chapter 16. We’re about a month and a half into their escape from slavery, okay? And this is the current mood, picking it up in verse two.
In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
Already they’re grumbling, right? Does this sound familiar? I so appreciate the story of the Israelites. How often we complain, and it’s a lot easier to complain when you’re in a wilderness season like they were, like maybe you are right now. So picking up the story now in verse nine,
Then Moses told Aaron,
Aaron was Moses’ brother. He was kind of the spokesman.
“Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
Wow, right there back and preach a whole sermon. He hears us when we grumble, Lord, give us thankful hearts, we pray. Verse 10 now,
While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. 11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
Remember that. We’re going to come back to it at the end.
That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’” 17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
For time’s sake now, we’re going to skip down to verse 31.
The people of Israel called the bread manna.[a] It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’” 33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
The Lord fed his people in the wilderness. He cared for them. He will take care of you in your wilderness. He will lead you through. He will feed you. He counts the hairs on your head, and he’s going to make sure you have all that you need. As promised, I wanted to revisit a beautiful verse from earlier, verse 12.
I have heard the Israelites complaints. Now tell them in the evening, you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.
When you are in the wilderness and the Lord provides for you and cares for you, and you talk about it, you have an opportunity to tell others that He is the Lord and to remember yourself, that he is the Lord. that is one of the gifts of the wilderness. Until tomorrow, you are really loved.
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