Friday, February 24, 2012

Exodus 16-18: Deliverance by Stages

Exodus 16:16 “This is what the Lord has commanded: Let every man gather of it as much as he will need, an omer for each person, according to the number of your persons; take it, every man for those in his tent.”


I was curious just how an omer correlated to modern day measurements. One omer is equivalent to 10 cups. That’s 10 cups per person of manna!


Exodus 17:1 “ALL THE congregation of the Israelites moved on from the Wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and encamped at Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.”

What jumped out at me was how the Israelites moved on from the Wilderness of Sin…by stages. I have found deliverance of sin habits to be more of a stage by stage or little by little process. Yes, God can and sometimes does deliver a person in a moment as we stand before His throne, but I believe the majority of the time deliverance comes in stages, which allows us to choose God each time a particular temptation comes our way. Each time we choose God, our inner, spirit-man is strengthened and the old man, who already is dead but attempting to revive, is pushed back in his grave.


Exodus 18:11 & 12 “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods. Yes, in the [very] thing in which they dealt proudly [He showed Himself infinitely superior to all their gods]. And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices [to offer] to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.”

One of the many things I love about my God is that He is a Multitasker (something He is teaching me). He delivers His people using mighty and awesome miracles while others watch. When going through a trial, be assured our non-Christian co-workers and friends are watching, watching to see our response to the situation and just how God’s hand of deliverance will manifest. Our greatest witness to others can be Peace emanating from us when everything around us shakes. It’s this witness that shows others that God is real and “Maybe He can do the same for me?” 

Jethro saw what God had done for Moses and the Israelites, and he acknowledged God’s superiority verbally and through sacrifice. Jethro was changed. How many others around us are being changed by what God does for us?

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