Exodus 16
Children of Israel murmurverses 1-3
And they took their journey from Elim
and all the congregation of the children of Israel came
to the wilderness of Sin
which is between Elim and Sinai
on the fifteenth day of the second month
after departing out of the land of Egypt
And the WHOLE congregation of the children of Israel MURMURED
against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness
and the children of Israel said unto them
Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD
in the land of Egypt – when we sat by the flesh pots
when we did eat bread to the full
FOR you have brought us forth into this wilderness
to kill this whole assembly with hunger
LORD promises Moses daily foodverses 4-8
THEN said the LORD unto Moses
BEHOLD – I will rain bread from heaven for you
and the people shall go out and gather a
certain rate every day
that I may PROVE them
whether they will walk in MY law – or no
And it shall come to pass
that on the SIXTH day they shall prepare that which they bring in
and it shall be twice as much as they gather DAILY
And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel
At even – then you shall know that the LORD has brought
you out from the land of Egypt
And in the morning – then you shall see the GLORY of the LORD
FOR that HE hears your MURMURINGS against the LORD
and what are we that you MURMUR against us?
And Moses said – This shall be
when the LORD shall give you in the evening FLESH to eat
and in the morning BREAD to the full
for that the LORD hears your MURMURINGS which you
MURMUR against HIM
AND what are we? your MURMURINGS are not against us
BUT against the LORD
Announcement to the congregation of Israelverses 9-12
And Moses spoke unto Aaron
Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel
Come near before the LORD
FOR HE has heard your MURMURINGS
And it came to pass – as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation
of the children of Israel – that they looked toward the wilderness
and BEHOLD – the GLORY of the LORD APPEARED
in the cloud
And the LORD spoke to Moses saying
I have heard the MURMURINGS of the children of Israel
speak to them saying
At even you shall eat FLESH
and in the morning you shall be FILLED
with BREAD
AND you shall KNOW that I am the LORD your God
LORD provides quails and mannaverses 13-15
And it came to pass
that at even the QUAILS came up – and COVERED the camp
and in the morning the dew lay round about the host
And when the dew that lay was gone up
BEHOLD – on the face of the wilderness there lay a
small round thing – as small as the hoar frost on the ground
And when the children of Israel saw it – they said one to another
It is MANNA – FOR they wist not what it was
And Moses said to them
This is the BREAD which the LORD has given you to eat
People gather foodverses 16-18
This is the thing which the LORD has commanded
Gather of it every man according to his eating
an omer for every man
according to the number of your persons
Take you every man for them which are in his tents
And the children of Israel did so – and gathered
some more – some less
And when they did mete it with an omer
he that gathered much had nothing over
and he that gathered little had NO LACK
They gathered every man according to his eating
Moses warns people to not keep food overnightverses 19-21
And Moses said
Let no man leave of it till the morning
NOTWITHSTANDING they hearkened NOT to Moses
BUT some of them left of it until the morning
and it BRED WORMS – and STANK
and Moses was WROTH with them
And they gathered it every morning
every man according to his eating
and when the sun waxed hot – IT MELTED
Moses tells of SABBATH restverses 22-26
And it came to pass
that on the sixth day they gathered TWICE as much bread
two omers for one man
and all the rulers of the congregation came
and told Moses
And he said unto them – This is that which the LORD has said
Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath to the LORD
bake that which you will bake today
and seethe that you will seethe
and that which remains over lay up
for you to be kept until the morning
And they laid it up till the morning – as Moses bade
and it did not stink – neither was there any worm therein
And Moses said – Eat that today
FOR today is a SABBATH to the LORD
today you shall not find it in the field
Six days ye shall gather it
BUT on the SEVENTH day – which is the SABBATH
in it there shall be NONE
Disobedience to LORD’S commandverses 27-31
And it came to pass – that there went out some of the people
on the seventh day for to gather – and they found NONE
And the LORD said to Moses
How long REFUSE you to keep MY commandments and MY laws?
See – for that the LORD has given you the Sabbath
THEREFORE HE gives you on the sixth day the BREAD of two days
abide you every man in his place
let no man go out of his place on the SEVENTH day
So the people RESTED on the SEVENETH day
and the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna
and it was like coriander seed – white
and the TASTE of it was like wafers made with honey
Manna collected to be put in Ark of Covenantverses 32-36
And Moses said
This is the thing which the LORD commanded
Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations
that they may see the BREAD wherewith I have
fed you in the wilderness
when I brought you forth from
the land of Egypt
And Moses said to Aaron
Take a pot – and put an omer full of manna therein
and lay it up before the LORD
to be kept for your generations
As the LORD commanded Moses
so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony – to be kept
And the children of Israel did eat manna FORTY YEARS
until they came to a land inhabited
they did eat manna
until they came to the borders of the
land of Canaan
Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (3885 “murmured” [luwn] means to grumble, complain, show oneself obstinate, to be stubborn, or blame)
DEVOTIONS:There is just a little distance between praise and complain. We find this true in our life and in the life of the children of Israel. It is much easier to complain about all that is wrong in our world than to praise the LORD for the things that are right.
By the way, there are more things right than wrong in our world most of the time. The children of Israel just saw the army of Egypt drown in the Red Sea. They were in the wilderness and the LORD provided sweet water where there was bitter water.
Now they are faced with the fact that they don’t have any grain to make bread and they have eaten little meat on this journey. So they think that it is all the fault of Moses and Aaron for taking them the way the LORD was leading. It was the long way to the Promised Land. The LORD led them this way because HE wanted to test them.
The whole congregation came to Moses and Aaron to complain about the lack of bread. The LORD spoke to Moses about providing bread and meat for the people. One of the lessons the children of Israel needed to learn was that all they had to do was ask the LORD for what they needed and HE had promised to provide for their needs. They skipped that step and when to complain to Moses and Aaron.
Too often we skip the step of going to the LORD with our needs and then fail to wait for HIS timing to answer our request. We want instant answers from the LORD. Throughout the Word of God we are told to wait on the LORD. We need to correct our thinking about the LORD. We know about the attribute of omniscience but we tend to think that there are so many people that God can’t possibly know what we need when we need it. That is wrong thinking.
Did God know that the children of Israel would need food and drink in their travels through the wilderness? Of course, the answer is YES!! Does HE know about, all of our needs? The answer again is YES!!!
CHALLENGE: Before complaining we need to go to the LORD in prayer and ask HIM for what we need and then ask HIM for the patience to wait for HIS answer.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 Then said the LORD to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in MY law, or no. (3899 “bread” [lechem] means food, meat, showbread, loaves, victuals, grain, or food made from dough of flour or meal)
DEVOTION: The Christian life is full of tests. Here we find that the children of Israel were going to take a test. HE was going to give them simple instructions and HE was going to watch to see if they would follow the instructions.
Aaron told the people how to collect the manna that came every morning for six days. They were to collect double the amount on the sixth day because there would be no manna on the seventh. The instructions seemed plain enough but we know that some didn’t listen very carefully. Some tried to collect too much in a day and it turned to worms.
We are given simple instructions by the LORD regarding our actions toward one another. We are to love one another. It is simple to say but hard to follow. I have been in many churches where there were a hundred or less people in attendance and yet many who have attended for years didn’t know the names of the others who attended as well.
Is that love?
This was a simple test that the LORD gave the children of Israel and many of them failed the test. The LORD is testing us to see if we are obedient to HIS commands. Are we passing the test of loving one another?
Children need to show this to others in their Sunday school class. Teens need to show it toward other teens. Adults need to show it to other adults.
CHALLENGE: What would happen in a church if this simple command were followed each Sunday?
: 8 And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD hears your murmurings which you murmur against HIM: and what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD. (8085 “hears” [shama] means to hear, listen, to perceive sound or have the power to perceive sound through the auditory sense, understand, examine, or to hear with attention or interest)
DEVOTION: One of the things I hated in ministry was people who called themselves the “devil’s advocate.” They would be negative against any suggestion the leadership made in the church. They would complain if something was done in the right way and people were reached because it wasn’t their idea.
The children of Israel were complainers. Moses was the one they blamed for anything going wrong in their eyes. Moses made the statement that they weren’t complaining about him but about the LORD.
If a man is faithful to the Word of God and leading in a way that the LORD would have him lead then people should be willing to follow that man. They should be praying for that man. They should be encouraging that man.
Many pastors don’t receive very much encouragement from their members. It is usually if something is going wrong that they hear from a majority of the people. When things are going right there is silence.
God wants us to follow faithful leaders. Moses and Aaron were faithful leaders most of the time. On this occasion they were faithful. What did they face? Complains on a regular basis!
They told the people the truth when they said that they were not complaining about their instructions they were complaining about the LORD’S instructions. When people complain about the direct teachings of the Word of God that is preached by a faithful pastor they are not complaining about the pastor but about the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: Compliment your leaders this Sunday and when they get up from the floor help them get the dust off their clothes.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. (7673 “rested” [shabath] to repose, celebrate, terminate, be at a standstill, take a holiday or make to cease)
DEVOTION: What do we do on a day without work? How do we celebrate a holiday? What is a vacation for?
This was the first time the children of Israel were instructed on how to keep a Sabbath. It was a time to be still and cease from any work and celebrate the presence of the LORD.
The instructions included how they were to gather food. They were only to gather enough for the first five days of the week. If they gathered too much it would spoil and stink. On the sixth day they were to gather enough for two days. The food that remained overnight on the sixth night NEVER SPOILED OR STANK. However, the children of Israel didn’t listen to Moses regarding the instructions of gathering the manna on the sixth day. On the sixth day they were to collect double the amount of manna and cook it. Then on the seventh day there would be no gathering or cooking. These were the LORD’S instructions.
HIS people didn’t listen. Some tried to gather on the Sabbath. The LORD was disturbed with the people because they were not listening. They were being proved by the LORD for obedience.
We are supposed to gather on Sunday in a local Bible believing church to worship with other Christians. We all are supposed to take a day and worship the LORD. That day today is Sunday in remembrance of the LORD’S resurrection. Some people do nothing but read their Bibles and attend church on Sunday. We need to find a way to celebrate the LORD’S salvation on Sunday with HIS people. Why? The reason is because the LORD commands us to “not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.” Many in this country don’t think it is necessary to gather with other Christians. This is disobedience.
Just like the children of Israel disobeyed in regard to gathering manna, we disobey if we are not gathering with other Christians on Sunday. It should be a regular time of worship at a local church. Did we worship with God’s people this last Sunday? Can we start again this Sunday?
CHALLENGE: How often do you rest in the LORD? How often do we seek HIS presence in our prayer time? Are we beyond ourselves with all that we have to do? Are we celebrating the presence of the LORD in our life?
:32 And Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded, ‘Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. (3899 “bread” [lechem] means 1 bread, food, grain. 1a bread. 1a1 bread. 1a2 bread-corn. 1b food (in general). [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: It should have sounded like déjà vu to the Israelites. All they had to think about was what had brought their forefathers four hundred years earlier—a famine where there was no bread. God had provided for them in a miraculous way by causing Joseph to become prime minister of Egypt and provide for them. Then, on the night of the Passover, they were told to prepare and eat unleavened bread. It was to be their last meal in Egypt.
Now they were in the wilderness, and their stomachs growled for lack of good food. God had brought them to another test in order to see if they would trust in His daily provision for them. They had to learn to trust Him every single day for His provision of bread. Now I am not a bread connoisseur (at least like some people), but I realize that bread is considered a staple of life by most people in most cultures. And the LORD continued to provide it day by day until they entered the Promised Land.
Years later, there would be a man who would draw upon this natural desire for bread by identifying Himself as the “bread of life.” He promised that His bread would satisfy the most basic needs of mankind. And that it would be continuous. He was also the one who taught His disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Seems as though He was the one who wanted to teach us that we needed to continually depend on Him for our sustenance and care.
Thus, no matter where one is in life, one never outgrows the need for God’s provision, both physically and spiritually. God is in the business of providing our daily bread for us if only we will trust in Him to do so.
CHALLENGE: Are you in a position to doubt God’s providence for you? Thank God right now that He has and will always continue to provide for you in the way that only He knows is best.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Sabbath – day of rest – seventh dayverses 22, 23, 25-30
Before the Testimonyverse 34
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Lawverses 4, 28
Commandmentsverse 28
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God (Elohim)verses 3, 12
Hand of the LORDverse 3
LORD (Jehovah)verses 3, 4, 6-12, 15, 23, 25, 28, 29, 32-34
Glory of the LORDverses 7, 10
Hears murmuringsverse 7
I am the LORD your Godverse 12
Manna before the LORD verse 33
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels(Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Elimverse 1
Wilderness of Sinverse 1
Between Elim and Sinai
Egyptverses 1, 3, 6, 32
Land of Canaanverse 35
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Murmuredverses 2-3, 7-9, 12
Hearkened notverse 20
Refuse to keep commandmentsverse 28
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Provision of foodverses 4, 8
Proveverse 4
Walk in the lawverse 4
No lackverse 18
Holy Sabbathverses 23, 25, 29
Restverse 30
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Congregation of the children of Israelverses 1, 9, 10
Mosesverses 2-22
Murmured against
Hunger
Rain bread from heaven
Certain rate each day
Double on sixth day
Children of Israelverses 3, 6, 12, 15, 17, 35
Aaronverses 6, 9, 10, 33
Flesh to eat in evening: quailverses 8, 13
Manna = breadverses 13-15, 31-36
Eaten for forty years
Omer = 1/10 of ephah
Rules regarding collecting mannaverses 16-22
Bred worms if left to morning
Rulers of the congregationverse 22
Rest of the holy Sabbathverses 22-26
House of Israelverse 31
Gather a omer of manna for testimonyverses 32-34
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
Moses and Aaron rebuked the people for their grumbling against them (v. 7) and the Lord (v. 8) and reassured them of His provision for their need, which provisions would cause the community to know that He is the Lord their God (v. 12). (Hannah, J. D. (1985). Exodus. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 134). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
16:12 God promised ample provision for His people in meat and bread. And you shall know: God supplied the heavenly food so that the Israelites would know beyond a doubt that God was with them and was providing for them. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Ex 16:12). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 12. I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, &c.] This Moses and Aaron had often affirmed, and now the Lord confirms what they had said, and lets them know that he took notice of their murmurings, and disapproved of them, and was displeased with them; though he did not think fit to resent them in an angry way, but dealt kindly and graciously with them; and since he had brought them into a wilderness, which was his own act, he would take care of them, and provide for them; which they might reasonably conclude he would, since he had done so many great and good things for them, in bringing them out of Egypt, and through the Red sea, and had slain all their enemies, and had given them water when in distress, and therefore need not have murmured nor have doubted but that he would give them bread also: speak unto them, saying, at even ye shall eat flesh; meaning that very evening, when the quails came up, as the following verse shews: and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; the next morning, when the manna fell around their camp, so that they had bread, and fulness of it: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God; good and gracious, kind and merciful, ever mindful of his covenant and promises, able to supply their wants, and provide them with everything necessary and sufficient for them. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 404). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
Our Lord Himself has laid His hand upon it, and claimed it as a faint foreshadowing of what He is. The Jews, not satisfied with the miracle of the loaves, demand from Him a greater sign, as the condition of what they are pleased to call ‘belief’—which is nothing but accepting the testimony of sense. They quote Moses as giving the manna, and imply that Messiah is expected to repeat the miracle. Christ accepts the challenge, and goes on to claim that He not only gives, but Himself is, for all men’s souls, all and more than all which the manna had been to the bodies of that dead generation. Like it, He came—but in how much more profound a sense!—from heaven. Like it, He was food. But unlike it, He could still for ever the craving of the else famishing soul; unlike it, He not only nourished a bodily life already possessed, but communicated a spiritual life which never dies; and, unlike it, He was meant to be the food of the whole world. His teaching passed beyond the symbolism of the manna, when He not only declared Himself to be the ‘true bread from heaven which gives life to the world,’ but opened a glimpse into the solemn mystery of His atoning death by the startling and apparently repulsive paradox that ‘His flesh was food indeed and His blood drink indeed.’ The manna does not typically teach Christ’s atonement, but it does set Him forth as the true sustenance and life-giver, sweet as honey to the soul, sent from heaven for us each, but needing to be made ours by the act of our faith. An Israelite would have starved, though the manna lay all around the camp, if he did not go forth and secure his portion; and he might no less have starved, if he did not eat what Heaven had sent. ‘Crede et manducasti,’ ‘Believe, and thou hast eaten,’—as St. Augustine says. The personal appropriating act of faith is essential to our having Christ for the food of our souls. The bread that nourishes our bodies is assimilated to their substance, and so becomes sustenance. This bread of God, entering into our souls by faith, transforms them into its substance, and so gives and feeds an immortal life. The manna was for a generation; this bread is ‘the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.’ That was for a handful of men; this is for the world. Nor is the prophetic value of the manna exhausted when we recognize its witness to Christ. The food of the wilderness is the food of the city. The bread that is laid on the table, ‘spread in the presence of the enemy,’ is the bread that makes the feast in the king’s palace. The Christ who feeds the pilgrim soldiers is the Christ on whom the conquerors banquet. ‘To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna.’ (MacLaren, A. (2009). Expositions of Holy Scripture: Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers (pp. 71–72). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software)
11–12. There are two sweet and precious points intimated in these words; the one is, that God undertakes to supply all the wants of his people. Their eyes are to be taken off from Moses, and to be directed to the Lord. John 6:32. The other is, that thereby he proves himself to be their God, and they his people. How much Moses, in the after stages of Israel’s history, dwells upon those glorious truths? Deut. 8:3–5. 32:9–14. Reader! may it be your happiness and mine, to know that the Lord is our God in the same covenant way, and from the same covenant tokens. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Genesis–Numbers (Vol. 1, p. 303). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software)
FROM MY READING: HE IS NOT SILENT by R. Albert Mohler, Jr
Preaching is therefore always a matter of life and death. The people in our churches depend for their very lives on the ministry of the Word; therefore our preaching had better benothing less- and nothing other – than the exposition of the Bible. Nothing else will do. The question that faces us is: Are theses people going to live or are they going to die? That’s what was at stake in the Old Testament, and so it is also with Christian preaching. We have the Bible, and if we truly believe that Bible to be the written Word of GOD –
the perfect, divinely inspired revelation of God – then expositional preaching is the only option available to us.
It all finally comes down to the question of who has the right to speak. Does the preacher have the right to speak, or does that right belong to God? That is the difference between live and death for our people.
Do we think that God elect will be called out by our own stories, gimmicks, and eloquence? Such thinking is arrogance. Can God’s redeemed people live on our words alone? Will they be just fine if we don’t read and explain God’s Word to them? Obviously not. For life is found only in the Word of God.
In the end, our calling as preachers is really very simple. We study, we stand before our people, we read the text, and we explain it. We reprove, rebuke, exhort, encourage, and teach – and then we do it all again and again and again. (p. 63- 64)
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
Lamentations 3
God sends a message of hope and restoration to Israel.
INSIGHT
Through the prophets, God has been warning Judah for many years to turn from idolatry to serve Him only. Finally, her sin has compounded to the point that judgment is no longer avoidable if God is to be true to His Word. But although destruction overtakes Judah, there is hope on the horizon. Jeremiah writes: “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (vv. 22-23). (Quiet Walk)
“We’re going on vacation!” my wife enthusiastically told our three-year-old grandson Austin as we pulled out of the driveway on the first leg of our trip. Little Austin looked at her thoughtfully and responded, “I’m not going on vacation. I’m going on a mission!”
We’re not sure where our grandson picked up the concept of going “on a mission,” but his comment gave me something to ponder as we drove to the airport: As I leave on this vacation and take a break for a few days, am I keeping in mind that I’m still “on a mission” to live each moment with and for God? Am I remembering to serve Him in everything I do?
The apostle Paul encouraged the believers living in Rome, the capital city of the Roman Empire, to “never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11). His point was that our life in Jesus is meant to be lived intentionally and with enthusiasm. Even the most mundane moments gain new meaning as we look expectantly to God and live for His purposes.
As we settled into our seats on the plane, I prayed, “Lord, I’m yours. Whatever you have for me to do on this trip, please help me not to miss it.”
Every day is a mission of eternal significance with Him!
By James Banks (Daily Bread)
GOD’S OMNISCIENCE
Great is our LORD, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
Psalm 147:5
Another of God’s great attributes is His omniscience. God knows all things, and His knowledge is always absolute knowledge. It is perfect knowledge, a complete knowledge of everything.
There are very many statements of this, of course, in the Scriptures. Take, for instance, Psalm 147:5: “His understanding is infinite.” Then in Proverbs 15:3 we read, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”
The Bible tells us quite a lot in detail about this knowledge, this omniscience of God. For instance, it tells us about God’s knowledge of nature: “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names” (Psalm 147:4). But let me give you another example. Do you remember those tender words of our Lord in which He tells us that not a single sparrow falls to the ground without our Father’s knowing it (Matthew 10:29)? Everything in the realm of nature is known by God. It is quite inconceivable to us, but the Bible asserts this is true of God. Look up into the heavens on a starry night and see all that multiplicity of stars. He knows them, every one, and He has a name for every one. There is nothing in creation but that God knows it in that intimate and personal sense.
But we are obviously more interested in God’s knowledge of us and of our human experience. Psalm 139 is very eloquent here. The psalmist says, “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off” (verse 2). My very thought! He knows all about me. “Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways” (verse 3). Indeed, he goes further in verse 4 and says, “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it ltogether.” What an exact and detailed knowledge God has of us!
A Thought to Ponder: God knows all things, and His knowledge is always absolute knowledge. (From God the Father, God the Son. P. 63, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Understanding Management
“For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.” (Matthew 25:14)
Several kingdom parables in the New Testament provide glimpses into two major principles: God’s provision and our management of His wealth.
In the parable of the talents found in Matthew, the “talents” (money) belong to the “lord of those servants” (Matthew 25:19), and he gave to “every man according to his several ability” (Matthew 25:15). Each steward had the master’s confidence and trust, and success of enterprise depended upon the servant’s productivity. Each steward received varied amounts of resources according to the master, and the reward was based on faithful use of those resources.
Luke’s parallel account (Luke 19:13-27) focused on the percent of return. In both cases, the stewards were essentially asked, “What did you do with what you were given?” Each had enormous freedom in his management and the opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities.
God funds His work through His people. The funding of the tabernacle building project (Exodus 35) is a good example. The Israelites were recently freed slaves who had all been given gold by the Egyptians until there was more than enough.
The funding of the temple during David’s reign (1 Chronicles 28 and 29) is another excellent example. The leaders gave vast amounts of wealth and building materials, setting an example for the rest of the nation. Though they did not actually build it, they had the vision for it, and their children eventually did it. God works no miracles to meet critical needs except through the miraculous giving of His willing people.
(HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
If you burn down the church building and drive away all the people, you have not disturbed Christian worship at all. Keep a Christian from entering he church sanctuary and you have not in the least bit hindered his worship. We carry our sanctuary with us. We never leave it – (Ailden Wilson Tozer. (p.18)
They have brief theological answers that satisfy them: suffering is the result of sin; free will means that God has to leave people to make their own mistakes; heaven and hell will set the record straight. (p. 18)
We are too much like children whose every request is stamped with “NOW!” (p.26)
There is nothing in the text that promises us an easy time, or a quick way out of the groanings to which the entire universe gives vent. (p. 26)
Above all, many of us have not adequately reflected on the cross. We have been used to thinking of the cross as the means of our salvation, we have not thought much about what it means to take up our cross and die daily, or to fill up thee sufferings of Christ. (p 27)
(How Long O Lord? By D.A. Carson)
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