Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20060614.htm

EXODUS: FUNCTIONING WELL IN A HOPELESS GROUP ASSIGNMENT
Part II: God's Sustainment Of Israel In The Wilderness Amid Humanly Helpless Trials
C. Learning To Heed God's Leading Through His Assigned Mere Human Overseers
(Exodus 16:1-12)
  1. Introduction
    1. Though God often proves His will and ability to meet our needs in life, when we experience trials, it is easy to blame the human leaders we have for the trial as though the problem we face is their fault.
    2. In reality, GOD is the One who leads us THROUGH our leaders, and God often needs to teach us that HE is leading US THROUGH the human overseers HE has placed over us (as follows):
  2. Learning To Heed God's Leading Through His Assigned Mere Human Overseers, Exodus 16:1-12.
    1. After Israel left Egypt (Exodus 12:34), the people soon ran out of food, and faithlessly thinking God had abandoned them to die of hunger, they complained to Moses and Aaron as it if was their fault, Ex. 16:1-3.
    2. In reality, God was the One Who had ultimately led them there, so their complaint was badly misdirected:
      1. When Moses had tried to lead Israel out of Egypt in his own effort in Exodus 2:11-14, he was rejected, and fled to the back side of the desert, giving up on any effort to try to deliver Israel, Exodus 2:15-22.
      2. Thus, it took God's appearing to Moses 40 years later (Acts 7:29-30), and working to convince him to return to Egypt, and giving him supernatural power with his rod to get him to lead, Exodus 3:1-4:18.
      3. When Moses did return, it took God's provision for him to perform miracles and to speak God's authenticating words just to get Israel to be willing to follow him out of Egypt (Exodus 4:30-31).
      4. Then, it took ten great plagues through Moses and Aaron by God's power just to convince Pharaoh to release Israel from Egypt so the nation could begin to head toward the Red Sea, Exodus 5:1-13:20.
      5. Additionally, it took God's supernatural leading in the cloudy pillar by day and pillar of fire by night to provide certainty as to where the nation was to head each day when they started the journey, 13:21-22.
      6. At the Red Sea, God worked a series of great miracles to save Israel from the Egyptians, Ex. 14:1-31.
      7. Next, God supernaturally healed the water at Marah so Israel could drink it and live, Exodus 15:22-26.
      8. Thus, in the current crisis of the lack of food, the LAST ones to bear the COMPLAINT about the trial was Moses and Aaron -- they were just human overseers who had been totally called and used by God. The REAL Party the people should have realized they were demeaning in their complaint was GOD!
    3. Well, God graciously told Moses and Aaron how He would meet the problem of the people, Ex. 16:4-5:
      1. God revealed He would meet Israel's needs of physical hunger by daily miraculous provisions, 16:4-5:
        1. On each regular day, God would provide food from heaven that Israel needed for that day, Ex. 16:4.
        2. On the sixth day, He would provide a double portion for that day and the next, the Sabbath, 16:5.
      2. In meeting their needs through an obvious miracle independent of Moses' rod, the people would realize that God Himself had been the One Who had led them from Egypt -- their complaint was against Him!
    4. Armed with this message, Moses and Aaron went to the people to explain they would see in the provision of this miraculous food that it was God Who had really been the One to lead them out of Egypt, Ex. 16:6.
    5. Indeed, they explained they would see God's glory, for God realized they had really complained against Him, and He was going to let them know that this complaint was sin against Him, Exodus 16:7-8.
    6. After that, Moses and Aaron told the people to approach the Lord, and when they looked toward the wilderness, the glory of God appeared in the cloud so they could all see God was actively showing Himself in the food crisis they faced so that they would recognize they had sinned against Him, Ex. 16:10.
    7. Then the Lord revealed to Moses that He had heard the people's complaint, and He would provide them flesh that evening and bread the next morning that they would know He was the "I AM" (Jahweh , cf. Exodus 3:13-14) their Creator (Elohim), the name exclusively used of God as Creator in Genesis 1, Ex. 16:12b! [Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 103, 82, 1-2] He as Creator would daily create food for their needs!
Lesson: God's guidance THROUGH HUMAN overseers is always HIS leading -- NOT the overseers'!

Application: (1) If we are under overseers Biblically assigned to oversee us by God, HE wants us to see that it is NOT the OVERSEERS, but ultimately HIM Who is USING them to lead us as HE wills! (2) If we are assigned by God to lead, may we ALWAYS follow Him and let our subordinates SEE EVIDENCE that HE is the One Who TRULY leads us through His Word EACH STEP of the WAY!