Sun.’s Devo - Tests

Read: Exodus 15:19-17:7; Matthew 22:1-33; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 6:20-26 Miriam and the women danced and played their tambourines as they sang that God had triumphed over their enemies by throwing them into the sea. *** Moses led the people into the Wilderness of Shur which means “behold”. They looked for water for three days and could find none. They complained to Moses and God had him find a piece of wood that when he threw it into the water, it became potable. Then, God told them what he wanted them to “behold” from this. If they would listen carefully to what God says and obey his words then they would be free from all the disease that he brought upon the Egyptians because he is their healer. *** Their next test was in the Valley of Sin. They had been traveling for a whole month and had run out of bread. They complained that they were going to die, and that they should have stayed in Egypt. God told Moses he was going to rain down bread from heaven for them. They were to gather a certain amount every day which would be a test to see if they could obey. On the sixth day they were to gather for two days. In the evening, God would give them meat to eat. When he said this, the congregation looked toward the wilderness and saw the glory of the Lord in the cloud. *** That evening, God sent quails that covered the camp and in the morning there was frost on the ground that they had never seen before. Moses told them this was the bread God had promised them. They were to gather enough to last a day for their families. Whatever they gathered, it was enough. Some of them gathered for the next day too and it turned to worms and stunk. Moses was upset with them because they couldn’t believe and obey. *** On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much, because the next day was the Sabbath. Those that didn’t obey and gather enough for two days found no frost the next day. The people called this Manna which was like a seed but tasted like wafers made with honey. *** God had Moses gather a pot of manna to preserve for their generations as a Testimony of how God cared for them in the wilderness. *** They traveled on to Rephidim which means “balusters” where there was no water. They complained to Moses once again and talked of stoning him. God told him to take an elder with him and his staff and God would stand upon the rock in Horeb. Moses was the smite the rock and water would come out of it. Moses obeyed and the elders witnessed it. He renamed the place Massah meaning “enduring burden” and Meribah meaning “strife.” The people had become an enduring burden to him because of their striving with the Lord and always questioning if God was with them or not. *** In Matthew, Jesus continued to teach about his kingdom. A king prepared a great wedding feast for his son, but when it was all prepared, he found no one on his list wanted to come. They were all preoccupied with their own lives to celebrate with him. Some insulted and killed his messengers, so he sent his army out to kill the murderers and burn down their towns. Then he invited those who weren’t worthy of his invitation. The servants brought in anyone they could find who would come and filled the banquet hall. *** When the king came in, he found one guest who wasn’t wearing the outer robe and had him kicked out into outer darkness. The king made the statement that many were invited but few were elected. *** We are experiencing this as we see the leaders of huge churches debunked and those who are not serious about following Jesus, falling by the wayside. The new crop of people that will come in will be the unqualified by our standards, but honored by God’s They will be elected by God to carry on God’s work on earth. *** The man with out the proper clothes wasn’t wearing the robe of righteousness meaning he was not saved. He was not allowed to celebrate with believers. *** The Pharisees met to discuss how to trap Jesus in to saying something they could arrest him for. They gathered some of the men who supported Herod and went to Jesus with their question. They asked Jesus if he thought it was right to pay taxes to Caesar or not. He asked them why they were trying to trap him. Then, he took a coin and asked them whose picture was on it. When they told him Caesar’s, he told them to give to Caesar what was his, and give to God what belonged to him. They went away scratching their heads. *** Next, the Sadducees took their turn. They didn’t believe in the resurrection, so they asked him a question around that. They knew that Moses taught that if a man died without children, the deceased brother was to marry the widow and have a child for his brother. Their question was: If she marred him and he died and this happened through all seven brothers, whose wife would she be in the resurrection? *** Jesus knew that this question had nothing to do with their desire to understand the law, but their desire to trap him about the question of resurrection, so he went straight to the point. He told them that their problem was they didn’t understand how powerful God was. When a person dies, and is raised, he will not be married. And, concerning the resurrection…God said that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. he was the God of the living and not the dead. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be raised to life again. The crowds were amazed at Jesus’ teaching and the Sadducees were silenced. *** Lord, your truth cannot be silenced. Truth speaks louder than lies. May we hear your truth above the lies.