Exodus 15:1 – 17:16
These chapters are such a contrast – it starts of with Israel giving great praise to God of His might, His majesty and His faithfulness… Look at verse 13:
“In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.”
Moses and the Israelites were praising God for his faithfulness in delivering them from the Egyptians for the fulfilment of the promises made to their forefathers: being God’s people, under God’s rule in God’s land (“holy dwelling”).
BUT then Israel isn’t satisfied with anything! They complain about that the water isn’t sweet; they complain that there is no meat to eat, they complain about the leadership, they complain that there was no water. When God does give them food and water, they weren’t thankful but instead they disobeyed God and his instructions. It was as though Israel completely lost sight of all that had just happened. All that God had done for them in redeeming them from slavery. Instead of continuing to be overjoyed and thankful as they were after crossing the Red Sea, they turned away from God, their Saviour, and looking longing on slavery.
This is so parallel to the Gospel for me. Like the Israelites we have been redeemed from slavery, slavery to sin. We are initially overjoyed when we hear the gospel that we’ve been redeemed from our sin but then somehow we lose our joy in gospel and thankfulness for all that God has done for us. Like the Israelites, we forget the goodness that God has shown us in Jesus and instead of being thankful for it; we focus on the things around us, the things in this world.
This is a struggle for me most days (well, every day) and I am very thankful for this reminder (a bit of a kick!) from God’s Word today. I pray that we all will continue to find great joy in the gospel of Christ and sing God’s praises for all that he has done for us in redeeming us from slavery of sin.
Leave a Reply