Sunday, October 27, 2019

Exodus 15:20  says, And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.  Miriam, referred to as Aarons sister, began to play music and lead the women to play music as well.  Music and singing have always been a part of worshipping God, though some people today believe that music has no place in the church.  Verse twenty-one states, And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.  Miriam told the women to sing to the LORD as well because of His great triumph over the Egyptians.  All Christians, both women and men, should sing praises to God today, especially when the evil of the world seems to be winning.  Verse twenty-two declares, So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.  Moses lead the people of Israel three days into the wilderness from the Red Sea, and they had found no water.  They were going where God was leading them, but it seemed that He was not providing for them.  They had not only the people but the cattle to be concerned about.  Even if we look around and it seems that conditions in life are hopeless, if we are following God's leadership, we do not need to be concerned.  God will always provide for our needs.  Verse twenty-three says, And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.  When the people got to water at Marah, they could not drink it because it was bitter.  To find water that they could not drink would have probably seemed even worse.  I believe that this would be like our finding what looks like an answer to a problem today, relying on our own ability and not God's guidance, and realizing that what we thought was the answer wouldn't work.  Verse twenty-four adds, And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?  It didn't take the people of Israel long to begin to murmur and question Moses.  After their deliverance from Egypt by the power of God, we would think it would take more than three days for them to begin to doubt Moses, and more importantly, God.  We should never murmur against and doubt God, and we certainly should not do so almost immediately after experiencing His work in our lives.  Verse twenty-five declares, And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,  Moses cried out to the LORD, and He answered.  We really don't have any record of Moses calling out to God in the three days that they had traveled.  If we constantly seek God's guidance, we might not have to call out to Him in distress.  Verse twenty-six adds, And said, 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.  Moses was called on to put his faith in God, and I believe this applied to all the people of Israel.  If we, as followers of Christ, want to be victorious in the world today, then we must put our faith in God no matter what.  Verse twenty-seven concludes, And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.  God, through Moses, lead the people to a place with plenty of water.  Christ today provides us with plenty of spiritual water to sustain us in life, if we will only keep our faith in Him.  We should never have a reason to murmur aginst or doubt God.

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