June 12

EXODUS 16

They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. ² And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, ³ and 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.” ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. ⁵ On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”  – Exodus 16:1-5

EXODUS 16 ON GRUMBLING ISRAELITES & GOD’S RESPONSE

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As the people moved deeper into the wilderness between Elim and Sinai

Hunger began to consume the Israelites and they began to grumble

They regretted leaving Egypt where they didn’t go hungry

Even though they were enslaved in oppressive labor, they were nourished

So, God’s response to this was the promise of bread from heaven

But it was also a test for the Israelites to depend on his provision.

It is interesting what hunger can to us humans. There is now a condition called “hangry” which is irritability and anger due to having an empty stomach. According to researchers there is a link between hunger and irritability due to low levels of blood sugar and the hormones released as a result. Could it be that this was true as well among the Israelites during their journey in the wilderness?

Food is one of our basic needs, but when it becomes the reason for living, it becomes an addiction. In the case of the Israelites, they have forgotten that they were oppressed and forced to do hard labor. Because of the scarcity of food during their journey, they began to imagine how it was when they had food despite the harsh treatment they got from the Egyptians. The lust of the flesh overtook them and they forgot what God did for them.

REFLECTION

• Share how hunger could make us grumble and affect our walk with God.

June 7

EXODUS 15

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    the horse and his riderhe has thrown into the sea.
² The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
³ The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.

⁴ “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
    and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
⁵ The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.
⁶ Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,

your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
⁷ In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
    you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

                                                                   – Exodus 15:1-7

EXODUS 15 THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH & MY SONG

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When I am faced with adversities and attacks from the foe

I will not fear for the Lord is my strength and my song

The Lord will fight for me and shatter those who hurt me

He will bring his fury and wrath to all those bring injustice

I will praise the Lord; he will save his people and bring down the foe

His right hand will consume all the tactics and plots of the evil one

I will sing and praise the Lord who is full of majesty and glory

He is the only source of strength and triumph over the enemy.

In this song of Moses, we hear how he praised, worshiped and sang to edify and glorify the Lord. Right after the Israelites were delivered from the Egyptians and everything that God did for them was still very fresh in their hearts and minds, Moses composed this song so they could express their joy and thankfulness to God for all that he did for them to be freed from the enemy. They wanted to please the Lord for his wondrous deeds for them.

REFLECTION

• Why was it important that Moses wrote this song after their deliverance?

June 6

EXODUS 14

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. ²⁹ But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.³⁰ Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

                                                                   – Exodus 14:26-31

EXODUS 14 EXTERMINATION OF THE EGYPTIANS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As the people of God headed towards the Promised Land

The Egyptians pursued them to get retrieve them as slaves

But God asked Moses to stretch his hands once again

It was to let the walls of water return back to the dry land

As the Egyptians fled into the waters, they were all drowned

The water covered the chariots and not one Egyptian remained.

This scene is another dramatic display of God’s power. We learn of how much God hates sin and abusers and those who hurt his people. The Egyptians were given so much warning before the plagues were brought about but it did not bring them on their knees to worship the Lord. They now witness what the God of the Israelites was truly like. By the time they realized it, it was too late. God had brought about his judgment on them already and they were all exterminated at the same place that the Lord had led his people to cross towards the Promised Land. This is how God loves his people so much and what lengths he would go to protect and preserve them.

REFLECTION

• Share a time when God displayed his protection and power over your life.

June 4

EXODUS 14

¹⁰ When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” ¹³ And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”¹⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸ And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

                                                                   – Exodus 14:10-18

EXODUS 14 THE ISRAELITES FEARED & GRUMBLED

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When the Egyptians came to pursue the Israelites

God’s people were terribly afraid and grumbled to Moses

They feared that they were going to die in the wilderness

But Moses assured them that that will be the last they’ll see them.

When the Israelites saw that the Egyptians were out to get them, they regretted leaving Egypt. They thought their lives were better off when they were slaves to them because they feared that they would die in their hands. It is very easy for us humans to start grumbling when we feel danger around us just like these Israelites did. We panic when we don’t know what’s next to happen in the midst of danger. When we are in the midst of adversities, we try to think of times when we are comfortable and convenient. We go back to those times instead of moving forward and depending on where God takes us to.

REFLECTION

• How can we avoid panicking and grumbling when we are in the midst of trials?

June 3

EXODUS 14

Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. ³ For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ ⁴ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶ So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, ⁷ and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. ⁸ And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. ⁹ The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

                                                                   – Exodus 14:1-9

EXODUS 14 PHARAOH PURSUES THE ISRAELITES

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As the Israelites left Egypt towards the wilderness

God hardens Pharaoh’s heart and he pursues them

The king had no idea that God was planning this all along

It was to make Egyptians know that he is the one true God

The Egyptians came after the Israelites with all their chariots

They have no clue what was about to happen to them all.

In this account, we are given a glimpse of the powerlessness of humans and God’s total sovereignty and power. It shows us that we have no control over anything. God has control over our mind, hearts, body and soul. God manifests his wondrous deeds in this event to ensure that the Egyptians and also the Israelites will know who the One true God is. It seems like a script where the only one who knows the ending is the playwright and the only one who can kill and bring to life any characters he desires.

REFLECTION

• What can we learn from this account?

June 2

EXODUS 13

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. ¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” ²⁰ And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. ²² The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.  – Exodus 13:17-22

EXODUS 13 THE LONGER WAY TOWARDS THE WILDERNESS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

After the Egyptians released the Israelites, God led his people

He told them to take the long route towards the Red Sea

This will prevent them from witnessing the Philistines’ wars

God didn’t want them to get discouraged and go back to Egypt

The Lord provided them with the pillar of cloud during the day

And at night, a pillar of fire covered them so they can see in the dark

They also took Joseph’s bones with them as his sons swore to him

They moved from Succoth and encamped in the wilderness at Etham.

The Lord didn’t lead the Israelites towards the easy and faster way, but towards the wilderness. He didn’t want them to witness the terrible wars in the land of the Philistines for it might discourage them and lead them back to Egypt. Isn’t this very true to us humans? When we experience conflicts and adversities, we back out and look for an easier way out. In the long journey, God never left them. He provided pillars of cloud and fire to ensure they are provided and protected.

The Israelites also brought with them Joseph’s bone as a fulfilment of his request to be out of Egypt too when God visits them.

REFLECTION

• Why isn’t the shorter way always the best option when following a direction?