Can we do תפילות prayers for:
Mike Clayton and his ministry?
That also through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוהYeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?
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| January 13, 2011 |
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TEACHING THE HEBRAIC PERSPECTIVE OF FAITH IN AND OBEDIENCE TO THE ONE TRUE GOD
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"When He Sent"
Exodus 13:17-17:16
Judges 4:4-5:31
*Archived teaching from 2010*
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"When He Sent"
Exodus 13:17-17:16
Judges 4:4-5:31
What Is It?
The estimates are that some three million people came out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea. What a sight it must have been to see the waters roll back and the people walk across on dry ground. It was an event which is still to this day spoken of, studied and argued. Some of us take the event at face value, while others look for holes to try and disprove it. I even heard of one person who said it was not such a great miracle because during that time of the year the water would have only been a few inches deep. I guess this could have been, but the miracle still holds in that all those Egyptian soldiers drowned in a few inches of water. Looks to me like The Almighty pretty much covered all His bases on this one. Of course, I am one of those "crazies" who just believe it all happened just the way He said it did.
After they all came up on the shore of the river and the Egyptian soldiers were drowned, it was no time for the miracles to end. These people would need food and water for their travels back home. What the people just never quite got into their hearts though is that the same One who had brought them out of Egypt would be the same One who would care for them all the way home if they would let Him. In their slave mentality they just never quite allowed His love and provision to overcome their past. Just how many miracles would it take for them to understand His great love for them?
Miracles were not a random occurrence in the wilderness as some may have been lead to believe. Miracles were as common as the sun rising every morning. In fact more than 12,000 times during the Hebrew's journey they awoke to a miracle called manna. Six days a week as sure as the sun coming up over the horizon they could go forth and pick up their daily bread. Fact is that there was an additional 2,000 plus miracles when on the sixth day they would be given manna for two days and instead of the leftover rotting as it would during the week, that which was for Shabbat stayed fresh for the next day. To take it a step further, according to Exodus 16:32, there were two more quarts on public display that did not rot during the complete forty year journey. How is that for miracles in your face on a daily basis?
No matter how many miracles they saw the hearts of the multitudes would just not change. They would never realize the love YH VH had for them and how He desired to draw them to Himself. Miracles would come and miracles would go, but the hearts of the people were still far from Him. Why was this? What kept them from seeing the big picture that was being painted right in front of them? I believe part of the answer is that in forty years they failed to answer a question that was being asked morning.
The first morning they saw the manna, it must have been a curious sight. What looked like dew on the ground somehow turned to food right before their eyes. Of course someone in the crowd simply had to ask the question "Manna?" See, the word manna was not intended to ever be a noun, but it was rather a question. When the first person said "Manna" they were not intending to name the substance in front of them but was instead searching for an answer to a question as the word manna means, "What is it?" One of the things that would hold the Hebrews back from ever entering into the intended relationship with the One who had delivered them was that for forty years no one ever answered the question of what this substance before them was.
So what was this stuff called manna? Was it angel food? Was it a seed or some sort of flour substance? This line of thought had been studied and debated through the years, but will not bring us to the right conclusions. What is the correct answer to the question 'Manna?'" Manna is a miracle. Manna is daily proof of HaShem's provision in life. Manna is a daily show of His love for us. Manna is His statement that if He took care of us yesterday, he will take care of us again today! That is what manna really is. That is the answer to the centuries old question, "Manna?"
Manna has another aspect. To the Hebrews it was a reminder of where their substance was coming from and Who was in charge of their well being each day. They were not to trust in the gold and jewelry they had taken from the Egyptians. They were not to trust in First Bank of the Wilderness, but they were to put their total trust in Him.
I am often asked the question, "Will we see manna again?" My response to this question is that we already are. Do you really think that today your provision comes from your job or social security or your retirement fund? If you do, then what are you going to do what that source dries up? Yes, He may be using any number of sources for our manna today, but do not fail to realize Who is behind the source. That way if the source for some reason dries up you understand that it never was the source, but merely a conduit the true source was using to get the provision to you.
The reason why the Hebrews could not answer the question, "Manna?" in the wilderness is that they had never answered it right in Egypt. They had come to believe that the Pharaoh was the one who provided for them. They thought their job in Egypt was their provision. They failed to realize that Elohim had always been their provision and would always be. Because they never saw Who was their provision of the past, they never were able to answer the question of Who was their provision for their future.
So tell me. Will we also make the same mistake that our ancestors in the wilderness did? The answer lies in asking if we are making the same mistake they did in Egypt. As with them, if He is not our true source today in our own Egypt, it is doubtful we will acknowledge Him as such at any time in the future. p> Shabbat Shalom,
Mike
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