Exodus 16-18 (Day 35)

_ Chapter 16
Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “He (God) humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.

A generation died in the wilderness, but the younger generation became strong in the wilderness. They did not store up their food; they had to get rid of it at the end of everyday expecting God to provide the next morning. When they were commanded to rest, they did so knowing God would take care of them. It was all about trust; they learned man does not live by their effort and what they can do, but by trusting what God says. Their souls’ were formed in the wilderness to trust God. When they saw the giants in the Promised Land, they walked by faith and not by sight because they had been conditioned in the wilderness.

Chapter 19
Jethro gives his son-in-law Moses advice and then says these words in Exodus 18:23, “If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure..." Notice the words, “and God so commands you.” Jethro gave Moses advice, but he didn’t want him to implement it unless it was God’s will that he do so. We all get advice in life; no matter how good that advice sounds, we better make sure that it is what God commands.