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Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things Phil 4:8 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The People Criticize Moses Bible Verse: Exodus 5:12-23 "So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?” Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” " Message:
Pharaoh’s orders have created a physical impossibility for the Hebrews. They were already working at full capacity just to make the mud bricks. Now, they have been ordered not only to gather their own straw, but also, to gather it from stubble — that is, from the remains in fields where the good straw has already been harvested.
Ancient Egyptian beating a slave
Ancient Egyptian
beating a Hebrew slave
Pharaoh, obviously, is not actually trying to increase brick production. The orders are just an excuse to show the Hebrews who’s the boss. His dismisses this god of theirs. The Egyptians had dozens of gods, idols made by human hands, and often Egyptian pharaohs were considered gods or demi-gods in their own right. So, this puny god of the Hebrews, who were themselves slaves and an abomination to the real Egyptians, was practically a joke to him.
In fact, the Hebrews fear genocide (and rightfully so), but as thoroughly subjugated slaves will do, they blame not Pharaoh, but Moses. They have lost their confidence in the power of their God over the centuries. They have not utterly lost faith or reverence, but it is apparent that they have fallen into pragmatic compromise and the toleration of idolatry.
They blame Moses for calling on God; but Moses blames God Himself! He has been an unwilling participant all along, and a small setback has completely thrown him off track. Having little confidence in Yahweh, despite the miraculous signs, Moses does not understand that God might let his people suffer in the short run, as penance for their sinfulness, even though He fully intends to keep a promise of helping them.
If we look down on the Hebrews or Moses for their lack of faith, we need only to look at contemporary disdain for obedience to God’s will. Atheism and moral relativism are a growth industry in the modern world, largely because people do not want to sustain any sort of sacrifice to do God’s will. Sexual morals are especially out-of-fashion. The idea of delayed gratification is scorned. People scoff at God, and compare Him to Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.
This isn’t meant to be a diatribe against modern life, but rather, an illustration to make us see the ancient Hebrews and Moses in a more understandable light. Human nature gravitates toward compromise with evil, which inevitably degenerates into sin. The nation of Israel had lost its spirit, in both senses of the word.
Exodus is a long book, for bringing the Hebrews into obedience with God’s will was a long and arduous process. Like all great things, faith in God takes time and effort.
Meditation : Prayer : Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. |
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