Today's Scripture Reading (September 30, 2021): Exodus 13
If only I lived when Jesus was still ministering on
the earth. If I could only have seen him walk on water or feed the five
thousand. Maybe if I were able to be present when Elijah had his battle on the
top of Mount Carmel. If I could have been there and seen that happen, then I wouldn't struggle with my faith today, and following Jesus would be so easy. Have you ever
heard someone say that or maybe admitted that yourself? I think perhaps we all have. Faith would be so easy if only I could see the miracles. Then I would believe.
But that is not really true. Exodus said that God was
always present with Israel. God would not be a vague presence that would be with them in spirit, but a physical promise that the presence of
God would go before them, leading them visibly. During the day, he would be with them as a pillar or column of cloud
moving ahead of them.
At night, his presence would be seen as a column of fire. But the promise was that as long as the Israelites were in the wilderness,
God would be there, never leaving his place, visibly leading at the front of the people.
Think of it, through every moment; God was there. Whenever Israel would set out during
the day, a pillar of cloud would go in front of them. On that night, when Moses
parted the water, and the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, it would be a pillar
of fire that moved in front of them. And when they stayed camped in the wilderness for a time, the pillar would remain at the center of the
community. But, when a nightmare woke you up in the middle of the night, if
you left your tent and just looked over toward the center of the community, you
would physically see the fire of God standing there, keeping watch over the
Israelites by night.
With that reality, you would think that the
Israelites would have had no problem with belief. But that wasn't true either. When Moses went up on Mount Sinai, the
people lost faith and built a golden calf to represent God. Why? Wasn't a moving column of cloud and a pillar of fire
enough to prove that
God was walking with them. When Israel was given the opportunity to move into
the Promised Land, the land that had been occupied by their forefathers,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, before they moved into Egypt, the presence of God in a column of cloud
or a pillar of fire was not enough to get the people to want to take the
land God was giving to them. Even though the presence of God was visibly with them, the Israelites didn't have the faith to follow him.
Pastor David Guzik phrases it this way; "Israel could draw great assurance
from this visible evidence of God's presence. Nevertheless, there were still
many occasions after this when they seemed to doubt, to rebel, and to act as if
God was distant." Their faith was no better than ours, even though they
could see God. Singer/songwriter David Meece in the 1980s, tells the story this
way.
Moses led the children
out of Pharaoh's hand,
Across the Red Sea like
God had planned,
Well, you'd think that
when he opened up that mighty sea,
That all the people
would surely believe
But you can heal the
sick, Raise the dead
Turn the sky from a blue
to red.
It don't matter what
they hear or what they see.
Some people they never
believe.
David
Meece
Some
People They Never Believe
Meece is right; regardless of what
happens, "some people they never believe."
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 14
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