Exodus 16-34: The testing of the wilderness and the forging of holiness

After the songs of salvation in Exodus 15, comes a series of grumbling (at least six instances recorded in Exodus and Numbers) from the sons of Israel. I have often wondered - how does the heart move from gratefulness to grumbling so rapidly? (it was only three days after the parting of the Red Sea before the first grumbling was recorded). Also, isn't it normal for one to voice their desire for food and water, especially when traveling through the wilderness? Isn't it unrealistic to expect people to keep quiet when they are hungry and thirsty? 

David prayed in Psalms 26 - "I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my mind and my heart." Could it be that the grumblings of the stomach are signs of a deeper, inner discontent of the spirit that God is aiming at? Recall God's deliberation with Cain back in Gen 4:6 - "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at your door, and its desire is for you, but you must master it." In coming out of Egypt, the sons of Jacob is forming its identity as a nation and now this population of approximately 2 million people (including women and children) is being forged to become a great nation, not in terms of military might but as a nation who reflects the greatness of Yahweh. Exod 19:5 - "and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." The trials of the wilderness certainly expose the deep inner workings of sin but they also reveal the covenantal faithfulness of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Connecting the dots
Don't worry if you are behind in the Read Scripture schedule, just start afresh again this week from Exodus 16-34 (remember, we are aiming for progression, not perfection). As you read through Exodus and later on Leviticus, be mindful that the law is not synonymous with legalism. The law actually begins with a statement of grace, namely that Yahweh is the God who brought Israel out from Egypt: the law is a response to that grace, not a means of winning it. Further, several laws are expressions of imitations of Yahweh (eg treat slaves and aliens well because God rescued you from slavery and you were aliens in Egypt; judge impartially because God judges impartially). Many laws reflect the perfect character of God: love your neighbor; serve the Lord; love God. (See article - https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-hypergrace-of-joseph-prince-a-review-of-destined-to-reign/). 

Look out for the following themes which define not only the identity of Israel but how it reflects the glory of the God of Israel.

• "A kingdom of priests" (Exod 19:6a). The ordination of the priesthood is a reflection of Yahweh's desire to dwell among His people - hence, it is not surprising that besides the Ten Commandments, the other set of instructions which Moses received while on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights was the detailed blueprint for the construction of the tabernacle. Yahweh is the King who makes His presence felt in His kingdom but His holiness requires mediation.
  
  
• "A holy nation" (Exod 19:6b). The holiness of Israel is not primarily an act of external conformity, rather it is a reflection of who God is - "For I am the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God, thus you shall be holy for I am holy." (Lev 11:45). Israel has been delivered from bondage to be Yahweh's special treasure and possession (Exod 19:5), holiness in this context means "specially set apart for Yahweh". Which then leads us to the next important theme.
  
  
• "Flee from idolatry" (1 Cor 10:10-14). Paul warned that the grumbling of the Israelites were written down for our instruction that we may rely on God's faithfulness in times of temptation. The lure for Israel away from being a holy nation is the temptation of idolatry. When Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread after fasting for forty days and forty nights, He did not deny His hunger but deferred to a higher longing to live on "every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." (Matt 4:4, Deut 8:3). Note that while Moses was up on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights, feasting on the word of God alone (Exod 24:18), the Israelites where feasting on the bread of idolatry and immorality in the valley below! (Exod 32:1-8). Observe the link between external grumblings with the internal workings of idolatry.
  

Activity Idea
It is mentioned three times that Moses "wrote down the words of the Lord" (Exod 17:14, 24:4, 34:27) - imagine, if Moses did not record down the faithful words and deeds of Yahweh, we would have missed out on a treasury of gratefulness towards God's fulfillment of His covenant promises. When my children were younger, we used to write down answers to prayers on rocks and pebbles - they are such a source of encouragement during those dry and dreary seasons of my spiritual life! Consider various creative ways as to how you can record down (as Moses did) the precious word of God for you, His fulfilled promises and answers to prayers in your life. Do it as a family!

Christ in Scripture
After 400 years of silence, God raised Moses as a deliverer for the sons of Jacob out of the land of slavery and sadly, the first generation of Israelites failed the testing of faith while in the wilderness. On another scene, there was also 400 years of prophetic silence after Malachi before another Deliverer showed up - this time while in the wilderness testing for forty days and forty nights, Jesus Christ, the Greater Moses resisted the devil's temptations and as the Son of Man, succeeded where the sons of Jacob failed. 

The first sermon preached by Jesus is "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matt 4:17). God is still focusing on building a great nation - this time, it is the spiritual kingdom of Jesus Christ and His active obedience of the laws of God and His atonement ushered us into a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession (1 Pet 2:9). As you go through the chapters of Exodus, read with a sober spirit knowing that the temptation towards idolatry is always a clear and present danger but praise God - "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Cor 10:13). 

Christ was the spiritual rock which followed Moses and the Israelites (1 Cor 10:4), and now Jesus Christ is also the spiritual rock with you in your wilderness journey and He says - "I will never desert you, nor will I forsake you." (Heb 13:5, Deut 31:6). 

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