This week’s Parashat contains the Red Sea Moment and Israel’s physical freedom. It also has Israel being tested by God 3 times. At the same time Israel is testing God. Israel has just plundered Egypt for 210 years of slavery. God has given them their back pay with interest. The FIRE OF GOD has come down and protected Israel from Egypt. Pharaoh and his army was destroyed. Three days later the people have run out of water. They come to the Oasis of Marah and the water is bitter. The people complain to Moses not God. Moses goes to God and God tells him to throw a piece of wood into the water.

The water becomes good to drink and God does not get upset with the Children of Israel. God then tells the Israelites

“He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”

God did not punish them He actually gave them a PROMISE. God took them to the place called Marah which means bitter. God is giving them PROMISES THAT THE BITTERNESS IS GONE.

30 days later the people complain about food. They complain to Moses not to God. God them tells the people they will have bread in the morning MANNA and meat in the evening QUAIL. God says He is going to test them. God them gives them laws about the MANNA which are impossible to mess up. They have to collect 2 quarts of MANNA per person per day. They must collect double on Friday as there will not be any MANNA on Saturday. If the people collect to much it would shrink down to 2 quarts. If they did not collect enough it would expand to 2 quarts. The MANNA would only last 2 days on the Sabbath. The only thing they could mess up on was keeping MANNA longer than they should. God gave them training wheel laws. God is reprogramming them from living under Pharaoh’s laws.

The people are tested again when they run out of water one more time. They complain to Moses and not God.

“So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded. “Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?” But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

God told Moses to strike the ROCK and water gushed out. From this moment forward the people do not have a lack of water until their last year in the wilderness. The ROCK Moses struck was called MIRIAM’S WELL. This rock supplied water for the Israelites until Miriam died.

The next event that happens is the Amalekites attack them from behind. Look at the difference at the way the Israelites act when under attack. They never complained about the attack. They had faith in God for the big things. They were not able to trust God for the every day things. They were not able to trust Him for their daily bread. Do you trust God for the big things? Are you able to trust Him for the small mundane everyday things? God has a desire to be a part of every aspect of your life. Are you going to let Him or are you going to spend 40 years in the wilderness? His goal is to get you into the Promised Land.