Shalom!
Whenever I take a journey with the Lord to Israel, He always brings me to places of the heart, mind, soul and spirit where I cannot communicate. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I can’t. He transforms me so deeply every time I arrive that words fail me. Groans in the Spirit and silence communicate a vitally blank transforming canvas.
But …now He has filled me with thoughts to share about Scripture, Exodus 15-20.
Can you imagine spending three days in a desert without any water, hiking in the hot sun, perhaps with the wind blowing, perhaps with no wind at all, and not needing water? When the Israelites accused God of taking them out into the wilderness to kill them with thirst, can you imagine their degree of exhaustion and fear of death? I can. I once got lost on a hike in the desert. I was found, thank God. Because God brought me help, I and my friends lived, but death felt close. Have you ever experienced moments like that in your lives? Have you ever cried out to God in emotional anguish and heard Him respond with love? That’s what happens when the Israelites cry out to God. Moses gets angry, but God doesn’t. God gives them water. He then brings them to a place with 70 palm trees and 12 springs of water, an over abundance of blessing and graciousness.
Just a sidenote, but it’s interesting that the Israelites had 12 tribes and 70 elders, and that Christ had 12 disciples and 70 singled out followers.
Continuing. God does not give the Israelites the food or the water they need till they cry out in desperation for it. Have you had experiences like that, where you have needed something and God has answered your cry only after you have cried out to Him for help? I have.
Another side note. Moses seems oblivious to the needs of the people. He will soon spend 40 days on the top of the mountain, then 40 days on the bottom of the mountain, and then 40 more days on top of the mountain, fasting. That’s 120 days of fasting without water. God had prepared Moses to live far beyond human needs and he expected his fellow Israelites to be able to live the same way. What does that say about us? What God-breathed capacity is God developing within us to bring us through the coming exodus the entire world may experience?
A final thought. It seems to me that God wanted to make sure the Israelites understood that He would take care of their needs, meaning water and food, even their demands, before He made His own demands of them with the 10 commandments. What a God we serve!
Blessings on everyone!
And much love!
FREEDOM 
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