The Man Moses #7

The Lord said to me,.."I will test my people with a plumbline. Amos 7:8 (TLB)

The Plumbline is a blog to encourage the Body of Christ.

The Man Moses #7

Moses was a great man, who loved God and God’s people. He was an obedient servant of the Most High God!

Exodus 11:3 (NKJV) And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

After the Israelites crossed the Red Sea via God’s great supernatural deliverance. Moses brought the great host from the Red Sea into the Wilderness of Shur. They traveled for three days into the wilderness but had no water (Exodus 15:22).

When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters because it was bitter. Marah is almost universally believed to be what is now called Howarah located a distance quite sufficient for their march of three days. God many times allows His people to drink from the bitter wells of Marah. More often than not, He uses the situation to teach us some divine truth that will increase of effectiveness as His disciple.

The Lord showed Moses a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet -- another of God’s miracle endowed a tree with the property of purifying the bitter water -- a tree employed the sweetening touch supplied by the power of God. This was no doubt a preview of how God would use the Cross of Jesus to transform our bitter past to a sweet presence and future.

God would now bring the Israelites into circumstances which would put their faith and obedience to the test (compare Ge 22:1). Genesis 22:1 (NKJV)  Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

Let’s take a look at some of the great provisions God demonstrated to Israel during their trek  through the wilderness. Exodus 15:22-17:7

Verse 17; Desert of Shur. The wilderness of Shur is located in the northwest region of the Sinai peninsula. An east-west route runs through the region that connects Egypt to the King's Highway in Transjordan at Bozrah, or leads up into Palestine through Beersheba, but the Israelites did not take this route. Shur means "wall" in Hebrew, so it is possible that this term refers to the well-known Egyptian line of fortresses in this region. This is supported by Numbers 33:8, where it is called the wilderness of Etham (etham means "fort"). Built a few centuries earlier to protect the northeastern frontiers of Egypt, this series of garrisons was known as the Wall of the Ruler.

Verse 27; Elim oasis. The oasis at Elim with twelve springs and seventy palm trees is often identified as being about sixty miles down the coast of the Gulf of Suez. It features tamarisks (elim) as well as palms and springs. It remains a major resting place for modern Bedouin. Besides having the appropriate groves of tamarisks and palms, it also features twelve springs and is probably to be preferred.

16:4-9. Bread from heaven/manna. The bread from heaven was called "manna" in Exodus 16:31, where it is described (see also Numbers 11:7). Exodus 16:4 (TLB) Then the Lord said to Moses, "....I’m going to rain down food from heaven for them. Everyone can go out each day and gather as much food as he needs. And I will test them in this, to see whether they will follow my instructions or not.”

6:10-11. Glory of the Lord in the cloud. "The glory of the Lord" refers to the brightness that was evidence of his presence. Exodus 24:16 (NKJV) 16 Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Exodus 24:17 (NKJV) 17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. The Glory of the Lord in the cloud was a mighty symbol of the great I AM in all His splendor and magnificence.

God chose Moses to lead the Hebrews out the Egyptian slavery and bondage while doing these marvelous things.