Today’s passages mark some of the most famous, most beloved scenes of the Old Testament.  The challenge that I have for you today is to read the stories slowly and not skip through them quickly because you already know them.

Bible Passage:  Exodus 13-16

Chapter 13 starts off with the Feast of the Unleavened Bread and the setting apart of the Firstborn to the Lord.  The Israelites were reminded to remember this day that it is the Lord who has brought them out of Egypt.

The journey started and God’s presence was very clear with the pillar of cloud and fire leading them.  But Pharaoh could not be humbled for long and he chose to pursue the Israelites in Chapter 14.  Almost immediately, the chorus of murmurs and cries against Moses and God that we will soon be very familiar with started.

Did God abandoned them?  Of course not!  We marvel at the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea.  This is a story that everyone, and I mean literally EVERYONE, knows.  But do you really know it?  Read Chapter 14 and watch this movie clip of Moses crosing the Red Sea in the iconic film – “The 10 Commandments”.  Then leave a comment and tell me was there any difference between the movie and Bible version.  Of course some artistic licence was taken to interpret the scene but it is interesting…

It is a pretty long clip (around 10 mins) and can be quite slow to download so watch it only after you have finished reading today’s passage.

After the drowning of Pharaoh and his soldiers, the people of Israel celebrated with songs and dancing in Chapter 15.

The youths (back when I was a young youth) used to sing Exodus 15:21

“Sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”

Unfortunately I cannot find a media clip to share it but when I think about it – it is sad that we no longer sing and celebrate how God works in our lives as a group without any reservations any more.

God saved your life!  What do you have to say about it?

Then another familiar incident in Marah where bitter waters turned sweet.  Life is now good.  No more slavery.  No more suffering.  No more bitterness but only sweetness.

But no!  In Chapter 16 – the Israelites had the audacity to complain about food in comparison to what they had in Egypt.  They preferred to have eaten their fill and die in Egypt!

You just cannot understand them.  But when you think about it… there are many times we are the same.  Even though God has blessed us and shown us His grace, we bite the very hand that feeds us.  When the slightest thing goes wrong (in our eyes), we complain (guess Singaporeans are not the only world class complainers – the Israelites in Exodus are very much in the same class).

So God sent the quails and gave Manna to feed the people.

Manna.   Pillar of Cloud and Fire.

What does that remind you of?

Sometimes I hear some members wishing that God would lead them just like how He led the Israelites through the wilderness with a miraculous pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.  For the Israelites, this was a very reassuring sign that God was with them and actively leading them so that they will know exactly where to go.

But for us today, there is no clear guidance or some very clear form of direction.  Or is there?

The most direct way God leads us is through the Bible today.  This is His letter to us.  His instruction manual.  This is how He reveals Himself and the Truth to us.  If we need to know God’s will, we go to the Scriptures.  If we keep aiming toward that, we will end up where God wants us to go.

Naturally the Scriptures does not give us pinpoint directions for every details of our life – such as what job we should work, or what clothes we should wear, or what kind of mattress should we choose (although there are people who insists that it is possible to find even answers for this in the Bible – a novel I am reading now describes  how a President of a country uses the Bible to decide which country should he launch a nuclear airstrike against!).

I digresed.  Sorry.

For such details in our life, we would have to use our heads.  Just as the Israelites had to make their own decisions about many things…. like how much baggage should they load on their animals, how many layers of clothings should they wear on a particular day.

So does God lead His people today?  Yes, He does.  But we do not need a pillar of cloud and fire to show us the way.  It is written for us right before our eyes.

The Bible.  Our daily bread. Our Manna.

So are you still reading the Bible daily.  If you are… great!  If you have stopped and start… keep perservering.  God leads us.