Growin' Up Gregory

For several days now God has provided bread for the Israelites to eat, delivering on His promise to Moses earlier in the week and satisfying their grumblings about hunger.  He has provided for His chosen people in miraculous fashion yet again. In today's verses, Exodus 16:22-26, it is now the sixth day and the people have gathered twice as much food.  So much so that the leaders felt it necessary to report this to Moses.  Moses responded telling the people, "This is what the Lord has said: 'Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord.  Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.' "  So the people did as Moses commanded and set the leftover food aside until morning, and it did not stink or have maggots in it.  Then Moses told them, "Eat it today because today is a Sabbath to the Lord.  Today you won't find any in the field.  For six days you will gathe...

Have you ever found yourself in a dilemma that seemed to have no way out?  Every way you looked had signs of danger.  Any choice you considered risked hurting someone you care about and had great risk with no reward in sight.  Many of us have found ourselves in this sort of pickle, trapped between a rock and a hard place. In Exodus 14, the Israelites found themselves in such a situation.  They were fleeing Egypt on foot in pursuit of freedom after Pharaoh had set them free.  But God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Ex 14:4) and he began to pursue the people with his army of horses, chariots, and horsemen.  The Egyptians caught up with the Israelites between Migdol and the Red Sea.  When the Israelites saw the army coming, they cried out to the Lord and questioned Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?"  (Ex 14:10-11). The Israelites had just witnessed God's infinite power by inflicting...

We have seen through the last couple posts that God has called Moses to do something that seems much too difficult for him to accomplish.  Read Parts 1 and 2 if you haven't already as they pretty much intro this post. Prior to picking up with Moses' next excuse, God gave him several signs in Exodus 4:1-9.  He turned Moses' staff into a serpent, then back to a staff; turned Moses' hand leprous by placing it into his cloak then restoring it in the same manner; then told Moses that if the people would not listen and believe these signs that he could take water from the Nile and pour it on the ground and it would become blood. Yet after not only witnessing, but performing these miraculous signs through God, Moses continues with the excuses.  In Exodus 4:10, Moses says to the Lord, "I am not eloquent...I am slow of speech and of tongue."  God responds to Moses by asking, "Who has made man's mouth?  Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind?  Is ...