Fri.’s Devo - God’s Provision

Read: Exodus 15:19-17:7; Matthew 22:1-33; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 6:20-26 When the Israelites saw what God did to the Egyptians in the sea, Miriam grabbed a tambourine and led the people in praise and dancing. They sang, “Sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and the rider he has hurled into the sea.” *** They traveled three days looking for water and when they finally found water at Marah, it was bitter. The people complained and Moses cried out to the Lord. He showed him a piece of wood and Moses threw it into the water and the water became pure. God told them that if they listened to the Lord and did what was right in his sight and obeyed his commands that they would not suffer any of the diseases he set on the Egyptians. *** They came to the wilderness of Sin exactly one month from when they left Egypt. The whole community complained about Moses and Aaron because they had no food to eat. God told ones he was going to rain down food from heaven for them. It would be a test to the people. For five days they were only to gather what they would need for the day. On the sixth day they were to gather enough for two days because on the seventh day there would be no bread from heaven (they would call manna). *** As Aaron told the people this, God’s glory shone in a cloud. He told them they in the evening they would have meat, and in the morning they would have bread. That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning the dew evaporated and the ground was blanketed with a flaky substance. Moses told them to gather two quarts a person for their daily amount. Those who gathered more and kept it till the next day woke up to maggots. But on the sixth day, the extra they gathered did not spoil but kept for the Sabbath day. God told Moses that they must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you. *** God told Moses to get a jar and preserve two quarts of the manna in it as a testimony. It would not turn to maggots. The people ate this manna for forty years until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. *** They came to Rephidim and there was no water. The people cried out against Moses and was ready to stone him. Moses went to the Lord for help. The lord told him to go before the people and strike the rock that was oat Mt. Sinai. Water would come gushing out and the people would have water to drink. Moses named the place Massah which means “test” and Mariah which means “arguing”. *** In Matthew, Jesus gave a parable about the kingdom of heaven. In his parable a king arranged a marriage for his son and invited many to the wedding party. Those invited made light of his invitation and some even seized his servants and treated them spitefully killing a few of them. When the king found out he was furious and told his servants to go out to the highways and byways and invite as many as they could until the place was filled. He provided wedding garments for all. But when the king came out he saw a man who chose not to wear his garment. When the king asked him why, he had no reply. The king ordered him to be bound and cast into outer darkness where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then he said, “many are called but few are chosen,” *** This was the second time he had said that phrase. He said it in Matthew 20:16. The call of salvation is to all but only the “chosen” will respond to it. God knows beforehand who those are, but because he is just and fair, he offers it to all . No one can say he is prejudiced or unjust. *** The man who was thrown out was an imposter. He wanted the benefits of God without the covering of Jesus’ blood which is our garment of salvation. *** The Pharisees were constantly trying to trick Jesus and have a reason to arrest him. They asked him if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not. Jesus called them hypocrites because they were just like the unfair Romans. They put unfair taxes on the people just like the Romans. He asked them to show him the tax money then asked whose picture was on the coin. They said it was Caesar’s, so Jesus told them to render to him what was due him and render to God what was owed him. The people marveled at his answer. *** Then they asked Jesus a veiled question to see what he thought about the resurrection since that was such a “hot topic” among the religious sector. He explained that the scriptures taught that God was a God of the living, not the dead. Once again the crowd was amazed at his answer and the religious people were baffled. *** Lord, I thank you that you give us the right answer at the right time. Help us to trust you for our daily bread and know that you have prepared for this seventh day for us in advance. We put all our trust in you.