A Heart For Jesus

We continue our story with how the Israelites tested God, beginning with Exodus 32:4. To provide some context, Moses was on the mountain with God, receiving the Commandments. He had been there for quite some time, and the people were growing restless. They were uncertain about Moses’s whereabouts. Consequently, they persuaded Aaron to create a “god” for them, which ultimately led to the events described in Exodus 32:4. “And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” It appears that the Israelites needed something tangible to hold onto as their “god.” They sought an image they could point to that had saved them and brought them out of bondage. Something visible to worship and praise. Have we created “gods” for ourselves instead of trusting in the One true God who has led us out of darkness into light? I believe this subsequent testing of Go...

The Journey continues… The next two instances where the Israelites tested God’s provision are found in the following verses from Exodus: 16:18-20 and 16:27. Exodus 16:18-20 states, “But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered more had nothing left over, and whoever gathered less had no lack. Each gathered as much as they could eat. Moses said, ‘Let no one leave any of it over until the morning.’ But they did not listen. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. Moses was angry with them.” Exodus 16:27, “On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, but they found none”. Once again, they grumbled against Moses and Aaron for bringing them into the desert. However, in truth, they were grumbling against the Lord. In response to their grumbling, the Lord sent Mana. The Israelites certainly seem to be prone to grumbling. But I suppose we sometimes do the same. But I don’t want to… I don’t like… It’s too hard… And so on. But I digress:) Mose...

  “But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs in Egypt and the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭14‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬   Reflecting on this verse, I wondered how the men of Israel had tested God. They tested Him ten times. So I did some research. An article on believer.com provided the verses to understand these ten times. I would like to share them in a few blog posts. Here’s the first installment:) Exodus 14:11-12: “They said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve ...