Beshalach בְּשַׁלַּח - When He Sent Out
Exodus:13:17-17:16
Reading #5 - Exodus 15:27–16:10
15:27 They came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They encamped there by the waters.
16 They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 2 The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; 3 and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by Hashem’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
4 Then Hashem said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”
6 Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening, you shall know that Hashem has brought you out from the land of Egypt. 7 In the morning, you shall see Hashem’s glory, because he hears your murmurings against Hashem. Who are we, that you murmur against us?” 8 Moses said, “Now Hashem will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because Hashem hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Hashem.” 9 Moses said to Aaron, “Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come close to Hashem, for he has heard your murmurings.’” 10 As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, Hashem’s glory appeared in the cloud.
Today’s Meditation:
Imagine bread from the sky (verse 16:4). Can you even believe that Hashem loves His people (and us) so very much that He heard their hunger pains and blessed them with bread literally from the sky? I never thought of it this way before, but that’s how it covered the ground. If our Elohim can send bread from the sky and part the waters of the sea so that thousands of people can walk through it, well, I guess He can do anything. I encouraged you to take a moment to reflect on how deep and how high Hashem’s love for us is. No matter how rough things get, if we are following Him with complete faith, He will meet our needs, even in miraculous ways.
Today’s Challenge:
Hashem is getting ready to test His people. Yes, He delivers this miraculous bread from heaven (actually for forty years), but He also sets a Law. Only gather enough on the 6th day of the week to last you that day and the Shabbat. The rest will rot. How tempting it would have been to gather more. Think of it, you are starving, and you never want you or your family to starve again. So, you naturally want to gather as much information as possible. However, Hashem says not to do that. What faith and courage it would take to obey Him.
Do you have a situation in your life where God has blessed you, but you still yearn for more? I challenge you to put your trust in Him for your future and to accept with gratitude what He has given you now. He will provide all you need if you ask Him.
