Page 50 - Pentateuch - Student Textbook

7.3 The Old Covenant

Although the people saw quite vividly the power of God through ten progressively
more severe plagues, and although they were spared the effect of most of the
plagues as God made a clear distinction between them and the Egyptians, and
although the people saw the destruction of Pharaoh’s powerful army in the waters of
the Red Sea, the hardships of the wilderness quickly gave them an excuse to
complain. They did not complain just once. They complained often. In each case God patiently
met their need. In each case he was patiently teaching them more about himself.

After just three days travel, the people grumble. Their journey brings them to Marah where the
water was bitter. Moses cries out to the LORD. He directs Moses to throw a certain piece of
wood into the water, making it fit to drink. God’s gracious provision for them as the God “who
heals” brings certain instructions. “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is
right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring
on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians (15:26).”

Not long after this incident Israel complains again. This time the problem is food. “If only we
had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots
of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought
us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death”
(16:3). God’s answer is manna from heaven. Every day they
could go out and find this type of bread just lying on the ground.
Every day they were to pick up just enough for the day or the
extra would spoil overnight. On the sixth day of the week, they
were to gather enough for the Sabbath day also. God guarantees
the extra would not spoil overnight for this purpose. In all this
God is testing them, refining them, teaching them to obey him.
The lesson continues for all forty years Israel spent in the
wilderness. (Chapter 16)

Fig. 29: Coriander Seed
Not long after this incident, the people are again thirsty with no
water to drink. They grumble to Moses with what is becoming a familiar chorus, “Why did you
bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst (17:3)?” Moses
again cries out to God, and he answers in a marvelous way. He instructs Moses toount Sinai
strike a certain rock, promising to stand before Moses Himself. Moses strikes the rock and
water comes out of it. We must remember the number of people involved in these incidents.
Exodus (12:37) gives the number as 600,000 men on foot, “besides women and children.”
Estimates for the total number of people usually come to 2,500,000. The amount of water
needed for so many people and their animals is no small trickle. Thousands of gallons per
minute came pouring over the desert floor.

The next recorded events are not complaints, but involve problems nevertheless. The
Amalekites attack Israel. Moses stations himself at the top of a hill with his hands raised. Joshua

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