This chapter is based on Exodus 15:22-27; 16 to 18.
(EP 200)
From the Red Sea the hosts of Israel again set forth on their journey under the guidance of the pillar of cloud. They were full of joy in the consciousness of freedom, and every thought of discontent was hushed.
(EP 200.1)
But for three days, as they journeyed, they could find no water. The supply which they had taken with them was exhausted. There was nothing to quench their burning thirst as they dragged wearily over the sun-burnt plains. Moses, who was familiar with this region, knew what the others did not—at Marah, where springs were found, the water was unfit for use. With a sinking heart he heard the glad shout, “Water! water!” echo along the line. Men, women, and children in joyous haste crowded to the fountain, when, lo, a cry of anguish burst forth—the water was bitter.
(EP 200.2)
In their despair they reproached Moses, not remembering that the divine presence in that mysterious cloud had been leading him as well as themselves. Moses did what they had forgotten to do; he cried earnestly to God for help. “And the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet.” Here the promise was given to Israel: “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.”
(EP 200.3)
From Marah the people journeyed to Elim, where they found “twelve wells of water.” Here they remained several days.
(EP 200.4)
When they had been a month absent from Egypt, their store of provisions had begun to fail. How was food to be supplied for these vast multitudes? Even the rulers and elders of the people joined in complaining against the leaders of God’s appointment: “Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
(EP 201.1)
They had not as yet suffered hunger; but they feared for the future. In imagination they saw their children famishing. The Lord permitted difficulties to surround them and their supply of food to be cut short, that their hearts might turn to Him who had been their Deliverer. If in their want they would call upon Him, He would still grant them tokens of His love and care. It was sinful unbelief on their part to anticipate that they or their children might die of hunger.
(EP 201.2)
It was necessary for them to encounter difficulties and endure privations. God was bringing them from degradation to occupy an honorable place among the nations and to receive sacred trusts. Had they possessed faith in Him, in view of all that He had wrought for them, they would cheerfully have borne inconvenience, privation, and even real suffering. But they forgot the goodness and power of God displayed in their deliverance from bondage. They forgot how their children had been spared when the destroying angel slew all the firstborn of Egypt. They forgot the grand exhibition of divine power at the Red Sea. They forgot that their enemies, attempting to follow them, had been overwhelmed by the waters of the sea.
(EP 201.3)
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.
(EP 201.4)
God would have His people in these days review the trials through which ancient Israel passed, that they may be instructed in their preparation for the heavenly Canaan. Many look back to the Israelites and marvel at their unbelief, 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. They murmur at the process by which God has chosen to purify them. Though their present needs are supplied, many are in constant anxiety lest poverty come upon them and their children be left to suffer. Obstacles, instead of leading them to seek help from God, separate them from Him because they awaken unrest and repining.
(EP 202.1)
Why should we be ungrateful and distrustful? Jesus is our friend; all heaven is interested in our welfare. Anxiety and fear grieve the Holy Spirit of God. It is not the will of God that His people should be weighed down with care.
(EP 202.2)
Our Lord does not tell us there are no dangers in our path, but He points us to a never-failing refuge. He invites the weary and care-laden, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Lay off the yoke of anxiety and care that you have placed on your own neck, and “take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:28, 29. Instead of murmuring and complaining, the language of our hearts should be, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” Psalm 103:2.
(EP 202.3)
God was mindful of the wants of Israel. He said to their leader, “I will rain bread from heaven for you.” Directions were given that the people gather a daily supply, with a double amount on the sixth day, that the sacred observance of the Sabbath might be maintained.
(EP 202.4)
Moses assured the congregation that their wants were to be supplied. “The Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full.” And he added, “What are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.” They must be taught that the Most High, not merely Moses, was their leader.
(EP 202.5)
At nightfall the camp was surrounded by vast flocks of quails, enough to supply the entire company. In the morning there lay upon the ground “a small round thing, ... like a coriander seed, white.” The people called it “manna.” Moses said, “This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.” The people found that there was an abundant supply for all. They “ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it.”“And the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Numbers 11:8; Exodus 16:31.
(EP 203.1)
They were directed to gather daily an omer for every person and not to leave of it until the morning. The provision for the day must be gathered in the morning, for all that remained upon the ground was melted by the sun. “He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack.”
(EP 203.2)
On the sixth day the people gathered two omers for every person. The rulers hastened to acquaint Moses with what had been done. His answer was, “This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.” They did so, and found that it remained unchanged. And Moses said, “Eat that today; for today is a Sabbath unto the Lord: today ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.”
(EP 203.3)
God requires that His holy day be as sacredly observed now as in the time of Israel. The day before the Sabbath should be made a day of preparation, that everything may be in readiness for its sacred hours. In no case should our own business be allowed to encroach upon holy time. God has directed that the sick be cared for; the labor required to make them comfortable is a work of mercy and no violation of the Sabbath; but all unnecessary work should be avoided. Work that is neglected until the beginning of the Sabbath should remain undone until it is past.
(EP 203.4)
The Israelites witnessed a three-fold miracle to impress their minds with the sacredness of the Sabbath: a double quantity of manna fell on the sixth day, none on the seventh, and the portion needed for the Sabbath was preserved sweet and pure.
(EP 204.1)
In the giving of the manna, we have conclusive evidence that the Sabbath was not instituted when the law was given at Sinai. Before the Israelites came to Sinai they understood the Sabbath to be obligatory upon them. In being obliged to gather every Friday a double portion of manna in preparation for the Sabbath, the sacred nature of the day of rest was continually impressed upon them. And when some of the people went out on the Sabbath to gather manna, the Lord asked, “How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?”
(EP 204.2)
“The children of Israel did eat manna forty years, ... until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.” For forty years they were daily reminded of God’s unfailing care and tender love. God gave them “of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angels’ food” (Psalm 78:24, 25)—that is, food provided for them by the angels. They were daily taught that they were as secure from want as if surrounded by fields of waving grain on the fertile plains of Canaan.
(EP 204.3)
The manna was a type of Him who came from God to give life to the world. Said Jesus, “I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven... . If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:48-51.
(EP 204.4)
After leaving the wilderness of Sin, the Israelites encamped in Rephidim. Here there was no water, and again they distrusted the providence of God. The people came to Moses with the demand, “Give us water that we may drink.” They cried in anger, “Wherefore is this, that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” When they had been so abundantly supplied with food, they remembered with shame their unbelief and promised to trust the Lord in the future; but they failed at the first trial of their faith. The pillar of cloud that was leading them seemed to veil a fearful mystery. And Moses—who was he? What could be his object in bringing them from Egypt? Suspicion and distrust filled their hearts, and in the tumult of rage they were about to stone him.
(EP 205.1)
In distress Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do unto this people?” He was directed to take the elders of Israel and the rod wherewith he had wrought wonders in Egypt, and to go on before the people. And the Lord said unto him, “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.” He obeyed, and the waters burst forth in a living stream that abundantly supplied the encampment. The Lord in His mercy made the rod His instrument to work their deliverance.
(EP 205.2)
It was the Son of God who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, stood beside Moses and caused the life-giving water to flow. All the congregation beheld the glory of the Lord; but had the cloud been removed, they would have been slain by the terrible brightness of Him who abode therein.
(EP 205.3)
The unbelief manifested was criminal, and Moses feared that the judgment of God would rest upon them. He called the name of the place Massah, “temptation,” and Meribah, “chiding,” as a memorial of their sin.
(EP 205.4)
A new danger now threatened them. Because of their murmuring against Him, the Lord suffered them to be attacked by their enemies. The Amalekites came out against them and smote those who, faint and weary, had fallen into the rear. Moses directed Joshua to choose from the different tribes a body of soldiers and lead them against the enemy, while he himself would stand on an eminence near by with the rod of God in his hand. Accordingly the next day Joshua and his company attacked the foe, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur were on a hill overlooking the battlefield. With arms outstretched toward heaven and holding the rod of God in his right hand, Moses prayed for the success of the armies of Israel. It was observed that so long as his hands were reaching upward, Israel prevailed; but when they were lowered, the enemy was victorious. As Moses became weary, Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands until the going down of the sun, when the enemy was put to flight.
(EP 206.1)
The act of Moses was significant, showing that God held their destiny in His hands; while they made Him their trust, He would fight for them and subdue their enemies. But when they should let go their hold upon Him and trust in their own power, they would be weak and their foes would prevail against them.
(EP 206.2)
Divine strength is to be combined with human effort. Moses did not believe that God would overcome their foes while Israel remained inactive. While the great leader was pleading with the Lord, Joshua and his brave followers were putting forth their utmost efforts to repulse the enemies of Israel and of God.
(EP 206.3)
Just before his death Moses delivered to his people the solemn charge: “Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God... . Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.” Deuteronomy 25:17-19. Concerning this wicked people the Lord declared, “The hand of Amalek is against the throne of Jehovah.” Exodus 17:16, margin.
(EP 206.4)
The Amalekites were not ignorant of God’s character or of His sovereignty, but they had set themselves to defy His power. The wonders wrought by Moses before the Egyptians were made a subject of mockery. They had taken oath by their gods that they would destroy the Hebrews and boasted that Israel’s God would be powerless to resist them. They had not been threatened by the Israelites. Their assault was unprovoked. To manifest their defiance of God they sought to destroy His people. The Amalekites had long been highhanded sinners, yet God’s mercy had still called them to repentance; but when the men of Amalek fell upon the wearied and defenseless ranks of Israel, they sealed their nation’s doom. Over all who love and fear Him, God’s hand extends as a shield; let men beware that they smite not that hand; for it wields the sword of justice.
(EP 207.1)
Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, now set out to visit the Hebrews and restore to Moses his wife and two sons. Moses, the great leader, went out with joy to meet them and conducted them to his tent.
(EP 207.2)
As Jethro remained in the camp, he soon saw how heavy were the burdens that rested upon Moses. Not only the general interests and duties of the people, but the controversies that arose among them, were referred to him. He said, “I do make them know the statutes of God, and His laws.” But Jethro remonstrated, saying, “This thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.”“Thou wilt surely wear away.” He counseled Moses to appoint proper persons as rulers of thousands, others as rulers of hundreds, and others of tens. These were to judge in all matters of minor consequence, while the most difficult and important cases should still be brought before Moses. This counsel was accepted, and it not only brought relief to Moses, but more perfect order among the people.
(EP 207.3)
The fact that he had been chosen to instruct others did not lead Moses to conclude that he himself needed no instruction. The chosen leader of Israel listened gladly to the suggestions of the godly priest of Midian, and adopted his plan.
(EP 208.1)
From Rephidim the people continued their journey, following the movement of the cloudy pillar. Their route had led across barren plains, over steep ascents, and through rocky defiles. Now before them in solemn majesty Mount Sinai lifted its massive front. The cloudy pillar rested upon its summit, and the people spread their tents upon the plain beneath. Here was to be their home for nearly a year. At night the pillar of fire assured them of divine protection, and while they were locked in slumber, the bread of heaven fell gently upon the encampment.
(EP 208.2)
Here Israel was to receive the most wonderful revelation ever made by God to men. Here the Lord had gathered His people that He might impress upon them the sacredness of His requirements by declaring with His own voice His holy law. Radical changes were to be wrought in them; for the degrading influences of servitude and idolatry had left their mark upon habits and character. God was working to lift them to a higher moral level by giving them a knowledge of Himself.
(EP 208.3)