After the Hebrew people were liberated from slavery in Egypt, after
they crossed safely through the Red Sea and escaped Pharaoh’s army,
after all the ways God had cared for them, there came a time when they
grew weary of it all and longed for the days before their liberation.
The
whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron
in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died
by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the
fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into
this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Ex. 16:2-3)
The story of the Exodus is one of the world’s great stories of
liberation. Liberation, though, no matter how marvelous it may be, is
still change. And change is hard. Liberation is particularly hard. It
means taking responsibility. It means being at risk. It means paying a
price. Freedom does not exist without cost, and the cost of freedom in
ongoing. The temptation as old as humanity itself is to trade freedom
for slavery in order to avoid paying the price.
In the story from Exodus, God provided manna for the people to eat, but
there was more to God’s provision of bread than met the eye. Doing so
was not simply a gift for the hungry people. Nor was it just a way to
get them to stop their complaining. It was a test.
“I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people
shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test
them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.” (v.4)
I’ve never noticed that detail before, that manna from heaven was not
only a gift; it was a test. Liberation from slavery and deliverance
from Pharaoh were not only given to the Hebrew people by God; they were a
test.
Freedom is a test—a test to see what we will do with it. So what will
we? Are we up to the responsibility? The risk? The price? God makes
great promises. Even promises must be accepted. Big promises must be
acted upon.
Peace,
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