God’s Glory Through the Wilderness

Exodus 15:1-19, Exodus 16:1-21, Deuteronomy 8:2

With every experience, milestone, or situation we rediscover what we cling to. That thing we used to cope or use to run away from our problems? Somehow, it can find its way back into our narrative. If you feel that way, you are not alone! It’s a part of humanity! The Christmas season can remind us of our idols or ties that are close to our identity. 

Israel was not exempt from this. In Chapter 15, Moses leads them out of Egypt into the wilderness. As the Lord, through Moses, closes the Red Sea on Pharaoh and his men, they all praise God for doing what they could not do. They sing their song (Exodus 15:1-2)... 

 “Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,

    “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider1 he has thrown into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and my isong,

and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

When we begin to read into Exodus 16, food begins to run out and their singing of praises switches to complaining and fear. They haven’t even lived in famine yet while in the wilderness but began to worry and wish for their old life out of fear. In a strange turn of events, God promises to rain bread (manna) from the heavens to sustain them even in their grumbling. 

After reading these two situations, I think God’s glory in the Wilderness can be seen in 2 ways; seen in obedience throughout the wilderness and through His provision. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they were not separated from God. But rather they had to draw close to God to sustain them and provide for them. The wilderness stripped away possible avenues for man to do something on his own and instead highlighted God’s power and authority to fulfill their needs. What did it take to be put in the wilderness altogether? A step of obedience that lead them into the unknown. 

Do we believe entering the unknown through obedience is better than the bondage we were once in? It’s easier to look back on the life we once had and long for it than to enter into the hard parts of our walk with Jesus. For the Israelites, they chose obedience to God in leaving Egypt - they were kept in bondage! But what do they long for when things get hard? What do they wish for when they are deep in the wilderness? I think sometimes we live in the bondage of our past comforts that masks ourselves as a better god than the God of the universe himself.  

Wonder:

What is God asking you to do, in obedience, that may be a step into the unknown? How is He calling you to trust Him in that step?