Chapter 3: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.”
They cried out in their slavery and God saw it and heard it and He set them free.
Chapter 14: “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?“
They cried out in their fear and questioned why they had been taken out of Egypt… the land of their slavery… where they had cried out for deliverance. But still, God parted the Red Sea and delivered them from their fear.
Chapter 15: “So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
They crossed the sea God parted and they sang and danced, until they got thirsty. So God gave them an oasis.
Chapter 16: “In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 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.”
After having their fill of water, they were hungry. But rather than trust that the same God who rescued them from the Egyptians (twice) and led them to water for their thirst would also feed them, they did what they do. They complained, and believed what fear was telling them rather than remembering what God had done for them. But God responded with bread in the morning and meat in the evening.
More and more I am convinced that we are no different from the Israelites. We too tend to listen to fear lie to us despite evidence of God’s faithfulness to us.
We rejoice in God’s deliverance, until we see the enemy coming.
We sing and dance when He parts the sea for us, until we get thirsty.
We gladly drink from still waters, until we get hungry.
We will see, as we continue reading, that God eventually came to call their fear and grumbling unbelief. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And just like then, the price of unbelief today is just as steep.
From what I can tell, God is not opposed to laying down a track record of faithfulness for us, but having done so, He will expect us to trust that record.
Lord, help us choose faith every single time. Help us put a stake in the ground right where we’re at, as the place we will discard our fear and trust Your track record of faithfulness to us.
Karla Jo Wasion 