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Complaining Again, March 29
Exodus 16:1-21
And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against
Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
Exodus 16:2
.
Many look back to the Israelites, and marvel at their unbelief and murmuring,
feeling that they themselves would not have been so ungrateful; but when their
faith is tested, even by little trials, they manifest no more faith or patience than
did ancient Israel
God had promised to be their God, to take them to Himself as a people,
and to lead them to a large and good land; but they were ready to faint at every
obstacle encountered in the way to that land.... They forgot their bitter service
in Egypt. They forgot the goodness and power of God displayed in their behalf
in their deliverance from bondage. They forgot how their children had been
spared when the destroying angel slew all the first-born of Egypt. They forgot
the grand exhibition of divine power at the Red Sea. They forgot that while
they had crossed safely in the path that had been opened for them, the armies of
their enemies, attempting to follow them, had been overwhelmed by the waters
of the sea. They saw and felt only their present inconveniences and trials; and
instead of saying, “God has done great things for us; whereas we were slaves,
He is making of us a great nation,” they talked of the hardness of the way, and
wondered when their weary pilgrimage would end.
The history of the wilderness life of Israel was chronicled for the benefit
of the Israel of God to the close of time. The record of God’s dealing with the
wanderers of the desert in all their marchings to and fro, in their exposure to
hunger, thirst, and weariness, and in the striking manifestations of His power
for their relief, is fraught with warning and instruction for His people in all
ages. The varied experience of the Hebrews was a school of preparation for their
promised home in Canaan. God would have His people in these days review with
a humble heart and teachable spirit the trials through which ancient Israel passed,
that they may be instructed in their preparation for the heavenly Canaan
[95]
46
Ibid., 293
.
47
Ibid., 292, 293
.
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