Moses, Part 6: Preparation

Part 1: Youth | Part 2: Exile | Part 3: Call | Part 4: Confrontation | Part 5: Deliverance

Now we move from phase 3 of Moses’ life–Exodus–to phase 4: Sinai. This is the highlight; this is the place of the Mosaic Covenant.

Moses and his people have escaped from Egypt and from the clutches of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. Now it’s time to travel to Mt. Sinai. It’s a walk of perhaps 125 to 150 miles as the crow flies, but it’s entirely desert, and there are children, and animals. They’ll need to take their time.

And they’ll need supplies.

The first thing God teaches them, right out of the gate, is that he’s going to take care of them; he’ll provide all they need. The lesson comes in five parts.

First, after three days (Ex 15.22) they arrive at an oasis, of sorts, but the water is not drinkable (Ex 15.23). This is their first chance to turn to God for help since the Red Sea, where his demonstration of commitment to them was literally miraculous.

They complain.

Not a good start.

Moses brings the problem to God, who provides a solution (Ex 15.25). Was this a miracle, or was there some sort of catalyst or reactant in this species of tree? Doesn’t say. But it’s clear that God intervened on their behalf. And he promises to do whatever’s necessary in the days ahead (Ex 15.26).

Okay then. Lesson learned?

We’ll see.

Second, they arrive at a better oasis, with plenty of good water (Ex 15.27), as preparation for the longer desert journey. They then enter the wilderness and immediately begin complaining again (the desert is a stark contrast with the oasis at Elim), and this time they escalate: they condemn Moses and Aaron for getting them out from slavery in Egypt, because at least they had food to eat there (Ex 16.2-3).

The Lord responds calmly, generously, and kindly. He introduces them to manna (they’ll call it “what is it?” [Ex 16.15]), which will supply their nutritional needs for 40 years–though they don’t know about the 40 years yet. He’ll supply it every day (Ex 16.4)–and twice as much on Fridays, so they can rest on the Sabbath (Ex 16.5).

As an extra treat, this evening he’s going to supply them with meat from quails (Ex 16.12-13).

We don’t know how many people the Lord was feeding. We know that there were about 600,000 men “on foot” (Ex 12.37), so a population of 2 million or so seems reasonable.*

God tells the people that they must not store up the manna; he will provide it every morning (6 days a week), and they need to trust him for it.

Some don’t, and the extra manna rots (Ex 16.20).

He’s teaching them to trust.

Moses orders a container of the manna to be set aside permanently (Ex 16.32-34). It does not rot; eventually it will be placed in the Ark of the Covenant (He 9.4).

They have food. But they’ll need water. They complain (Ex 17.2), as we’ve come to expect, not only speaking favorably of Egypt, but accusing Moses of intending to kill them all (Ex 17.3).

Yikes.

For a third time God steps up and provides water, miraculously, from a rock.

What’s the next need? Israel faces attack from the Amalekites (Ex 17.8), and God gives them victory in a clearly miraculous way (Ex 17.15). This is number four.

There’s one more. Moses needs some management training. Apparently he didn’t get any of that in the Egyptian royal house; he’s no delegator, and he’s trying to do everything himself (Ex 18.13). In grace, God has just brought Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, onto the scene, apparently for a family visit (Ex 18.2-7). Moses tells of all that God has done, and Jethro, as a priest, offers the appropriate sacrifice.

But he detects Moses’ lack of management expertise, and he points out a solution (Ex 18.15-23), and Moses recognizes the wisdom of his counsel (Ex 18.24-26).

This is a key moment in Israel’s history; from this brief visit the organization of the nation is set up, and the system is in place for the effective and efficient management of these 2 million people with no permanent residence as yet. God, knowing of the impending forthy-year wilderness trek, has graciously provided, for the fifth time, what Israel will need in order for God’s land promise to Abraham to be fulfilled.

* Some scholars think that number is just impossible, so they note that the word for “thousand” can appear to mean “family” or “clan,” allowing for a much smaller population. I’m inclined to take the number seriously.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash