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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
15:22-18:27 Journey. Israel journeys from Egypt to Rephidim and responds to difficulties like the need for water (15:22-27; 17:1-7) and food (16:1-36). The narrative also includes two difficult situations the people face while encamped at Rephidim (see 17:1): the external attack by another nation (17:8) and the internal question of how to help the people make decisions according to the Lord's statutes (18:1-27). From Rephidim Israel will make their final short journey to the wilderness of Sinai (see 19:2).
15:22-27 Water Problem: Marah. The people of Israel respond to a lack of water at Marah in a manner similar to their grumbling against Moses at the Red Sea (14:10-12). They do not yet trust that the Lord's presence with them is sufficient for their protection and provision, which will be a recurring struggle in the journey to Sinai (see 16:2-3; 17:2-3) and ultimately lead to the situation through which this generation of Israel will be not be allowed to enter Canaan (Num. 14:1-4).
15:22-24 With the large number of people and livestock coming out of Egypt (see 12:37-38), the inability to find drinkable water is a significant problem (15:22-23). However, Israel has just experienced the Lord's power over the waters of the Red Sea and thus their choice to grumble against Moses about the lack of something to drink (v. 24) is ironic. The signs in Egypt confirmed Moses as the Lord's choice to lead Israel, and Israel needs to faithfully appropriate what has been revealed to them (see vv. 25-26).
15:24-26 grumbled. Though the people of Israel had just seen the power of the Lord unforgettably demonstrated, they nonetheless forgot and failed to trust the Lord. In contrast to their unbelief, Moses cried to the Lord to deliver the people from their distress. the Lord showed him a log. In response to Moses' cry for help, the Lord intervenes by causing the water to become sweet. Although some have proposed a naturalistic explanation for this, it seems more likely that it was entirely the Lord's direct intervention ("the Lord showed" Moses what to do). The purpose of the event at Marah is made clear in vv. 25a and 26: There the Lord made for them a statute and . . . tested them. The statute was to demonstrate, by means of testing, the principle (a rule) that if the people would diligently listen to the voice of the Lord, he would graciously care for them as their healer.
15:25-26 The statute calls Israel to give heed to all that he has commanded (e.g., Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the consecration of the firstborn) and all that he will reveal further, which requires implicitly that the people follow Moses as the one through whom they will "listen to the voice of the Lord." The Lord's reference to himself as your healer indicates that Israel has already been graciously spared from what happened to the Egyptians and that faithfulness is the means by which they will continue to appropriate the blessings of the covenant relationship with the Lord (see 23:25; Deut. 7:15). The statute given here is the seed of that which Moses will give the next generation of Israel before they enter the land (see Deut. 7:12-15).
15:27 Elim (cf. Num. 33:9) was perhaps an oasis in Wadi Gharandel. With its twelve springs and seventy palm trees it signified to Israel once again that, since the Lord is leading them, they should not conclude too quickly that they know the meaning of their circumstances, especially when they cannot yet see how the Lord will work on their behalf (e.g., parting the Red Sea).
16:1-36 Food Problem: Manna. After setting out from Elim, Israel complains against Moses for lack of food; in response, the Lord graciously provides both manna and quail. The provision of manna includes instructions about gathering it that will shape Israel's life in the pattern of work and rest, as will be revealed more fully at Mount Sinai.
16:2 Although the people grumbled against Moses and Aaron, Moses will make it clear that their complaint is really against--and is heard by--the Lord (see note on v. 7).
16:3 The theme by the hand of the Lord describes how the Lord delivered Israel (see 6:1; 7:4-5; 13:3). When the people of Israel wish that they had died by his hand rather than being delivered by it, they show that they have not understood what his power on their behalf reveals about his person and the fulfillment of his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This incident is not the first time they have longed for what they had in Egypt (see 14:12), and it foreshadows another such incident during the period of wandering in the wilderness (see Num. 20:3-5).
16:4 The provision of bread from heaven was meant to signify not simply the satisfaction of Israel's physical needs but also that their whole lives were to be sustained by the Lord and governed by his word: that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. Moses makes this point clear to the next generation (Deut. 8:3), and in response to the request for a manna-like sign shortly after he has fed five thousand, Jesus makes the same point about himself when he says, "I am the bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:41, 43-58).
16:6 Although the plagues are described to Pharaoh as taking place so that the Egyptians would know "that I am the Lord" (see note on 7:5), the Lord first said that the signs would serve a similar purpose for Israel (see 6:7; 10:2), and their complaints against Moses bear evidence that they are still in need of coming to know and appropriate that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt (see also 16:12).
16:7 Moses repeatedly stresses that the people's grumbling is both against the Lord (also twice in v. 8) and heard by him (also vv. 8, 9, 12), regardless of how they choose to describe their situation (see vv. 2-3). Since the people are responding to the Lord's power as if it is disconnected from his person (see v. 3), Moses says that they will see the glory of the Lord (v. 10), which is a manifestation of his presence (see 24:16-17; 40:34-35).
16:15 It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. See note on v. 4. The name "manna" appears to be related by similar sound to the expression "What is it?" (see ESV footnote).
16:18 gathered much . . . gathered little. Paul cites this text in 2 Cor. 8:15 to encourage the Corinthian Christians to give generously for the poor Jewish Christians in Judea; there is no point in hoarding the good gifts of God.
16:20 An integral aspect to Israel showing that they will walk in the law of the Lord (v. 4) is whether or not they will listen to Moses, whom the Lord has chosen to lead them.
16:22-30 The instructions for gathering manna for and resting on the seventh as a holy Sabbath (v. 23) begin to shape Israel in the pattern of regular work and rest that the Lord will reveal further to Moses through the fourth commandment (20:8-11; see also 31:13-17). This pattern embodies trust in the Lord's provision for something Israel has no part in producing; later, when Israel has settled in the land and is depending more on its own labor, the regular Sabbath rest will be seen as an expression of divine mercy.
16:24 The contrast between the manna that people saved until morning on other days (v. 20) and what they kept for the Sabbath (without stink and worms) illustrates that the manna's condition is controlled, as their lives should be, by the word of the Lord (see v. 28).
16:32-34 These verses contain instructions about keeping a jar of manna and placing it before the Lord (vv. 32-33), which is described as being carried out when Aaron placed it before the testimony (v. 34). The "testimony" refers to the two tablets of the Ten Commandments (see 31:18; 34:28-29) that will be placed in the ark (see 25:16), which at this point in the narrative has not yet been built (see 25:10-22; 37:1-9).
16:35 The reference to the fact that Israel ate manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan indicates that at least this verse was written after Israel had finished its wandering in the wilderness (see Josh. 5:12).
17:1-7 Water Problem: Massah and Meribah. Israel grumbles against Moses a third time out of concern for physical provision (see 15:24-25; 16:2-3). The events of this quarrel are similar to those that will take place at the same location and through which Moses will not be allowed to enter Canaan (see Num. 20:2-13).
17:2 The people again quarrel with Moses, who describes their actions as their daring to test the Lord (see also v. 7). After experiencing the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the Lord's provision of both water (15:25, 27) and food (16:13-14), the people of Israel show a hardness of heart like Pharaoh and the Egyptians, which is precisely how Ps. 95:7-9 describes these events.
17:6 at Horeb. See note on 3:1. I will stand before you there on the rock. A further example of the Lord's promise to Moses, "I will be with you" (3:12). The Lord's presence presumably was manifested in the pillar of cloud (see 13:21-22), providing protection for Moses from the quarreling people of Israel, but also as a demonstration of God's power, producing fear and awe among the people. The trustworthiness of God's promise to provide for his people is dramatically demonstrated, as Moses obeys God's command to strike the rock and the Lord provides water for his people. In light of God's promise to stand there "on the rock," some interpreters see a close identification between the presence of God and the rock itself. The command, you shall strike the rock, is thus understood to be God's command to Moses to strike God himself, with the result that God himself is the source of the life-giving water that flowed from the rock. This incident probably provides the background in the NT when Paul says "the rock was Jesus" (1 Cor. 10:4; see note on Num. 20:2-13).
17:7 The place where these events happened will bear names for Israel that reflect these events (Massah means testing and Meribah means quarreling, see ESV footnotes) and thus act as a reminder for the people (see Ps. 95:7-9; cf. Heb. 3:7-4:13).
17:8-16 Passage Problem: Israel Defeats Amalek. While Israel is camped at Rephidim (v. 8; cf. v. 1), the people face their first battle when they are attacked by the people of Amalek, who inhabited the northern Sinai peninsula (Gen. 14:7; Num. 13:29).
17:9 This is the first mention of Joshua, who acts as an assistant to Moses (see 24:13; 33:11). He will be among the few who are faithful in the wilderness (see Num. 14:6-9, 30) and will succeed Moses, leading Israel into Canaan (see Deut. 34:9; Josh. 1:1-9).
17:9-13 The focus on Moses' hand(s) (vv. 9, 11, 12) manifests two things that the people of Israel need to take to heart:
17:14-16 No explicit reason is given for the severity of the Lord's judgment on Amalek. A later reference to the event (Deut. 25:17-19) says that Amalek "did not fear God," having attacked the people of Israel who were trailing behind and tired from the journey. The Amalekites still posed a threat to Israel in the days of Saul and David (1 Sam. 15:3). For a longer discussion of a similar matter, see Introduction to Joshua: The Destruction of the Canaanites.
18:1-27 Judgment Problem: Jethro Advises Moses. After all of Israel's difficulties, this section highlights Jethro's peaceful relationship with Moses (vv. 1-6), his response to what the Lord has done (vv. 7-12), and his counsel (vv. 13-27).
18:1 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law (see 3:1; 4:18). Although it would have been possible to refer to him simply as "Jethro" after 18:1, the narrative highlights his relationship to Moses. He is referred to as "Jethro, Moses' father-in-law" repeatedly in the opening verses (vv. 2, 5, 6) and then most often as "his/Moses' father-in-law" (vv. 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, 17, 24, 27). In light of the difficulty of both Egypt and the journey to Rephidim, Jethro's coming to meet Moses displays a relational posture of peace and encouragement, similar to when Aaron met Moses "at the mountain of God" (see v. 5) on his return from Midian (see 4:27-31).
18:2 Zipporah was last mentioned traveling with Moses on the way back to Egypt (see 4:20, 24-26), and the narrative does not include a description of the situation in which Moses sent her home (probably for her safety). The interchange between Jethro and Moses appears to signify a relationship of peace and goodwill.
18:3-4 In contrast to the place names that have marked Israel's grumbling with Moses and testing of the Lord (see 15:23; 17:7), this aside in the narrative mentions the names of Moses' sons. This serves to remind Moses (and Israel) of his time as a sojourner (18:3; see 2:22) in another land and that Yahweh, the God of his father, was his help (18:4; see 3:6).
18:5 Since the provision of water from a rock takes place at Horeb (see 17:6) while Israel is camped at Rephidim (17:1, 8), the reference to Moses being encamped at the mountain of God seems to indicate that the events of this chapter occur at the same place. It is from here that Israel will make the short trip to the base of Mount Sinai (19:2).
18:8-12 After simply hearing about what the Lord had done on Israel's behalf, Jethro's words and actions represent a more faithful response than came from many of those who had experienced the events in Egypt (not to mention Egypt itself, as well as Amalek). When he says, "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods" (v. 11), he echoes the purpose that the Lord said the plagues were to have for both Israel (6:7) and Egypt (7:5, 17). When Jethro brings a burnt offering and sacrifices and eats before God with Moses, Aaron, and the elders, he prefigures the pattern of life that the Lord will reveal further at Mount Sinai (see Deut. 12:5-7).
