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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY-
God doesn't bless us just to make us happy; He blesses us to make us a blessing.
GOD IS THE INVISIBLE LOCOMOTIVE*
On my way to a conference in Colorado, I was driving uphill along a major interstate when I overtook a freight train going the same direction at a slower speed. The train was being pushed uphill by two locomotives that sounded as if they were straining at full power. I'm a flatlander from the Midwest. Is this how trains move in mountainous terrain? I wondered.
A few minutes later, I gradually came alongside the front of the nearly mile-long string of cars. There I found five more locomotives pulling the train. Seven engines in all! Where I come from, I rarely see more than three. That train was a lesson for me. I had been under serious strain for some time. I was feeling tired and was wondering whether I could persevere under the pressure. How like God, I thought. When I am pushing a load uphill with all the strength I have and feel like my energy level is depleted, he wants me to know that he is in the lead pulling with power far greater than mine.
-- Richard Mylander, St. Cloud, Minnesota. Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 2.
EXODUS 15
The Lord who triumphs (1-21). When they walked by sight, Israel complained (14:10-12); but when they believed God and saw His mighty hand at work, they praised Him. Redemption should lead to rejoicing (Luke 15:1—24).
This first recorded song in Scripture is a pattern for true worship, for it emphasizes the Lord, who He is, and what He has done for His people. He saves His people (vv. 1—10), guides them to their inheritance vy. 11—13), glorifies His name (vv. 14-17), and reigns forever (v. 18). Today, let God be your strength, your song, and your salvation (v. 2; see also Ps. 118:14; Isa. 12:2).
The Lord who heals (22-28). The people went from rejoicing to Complaining! It is easy to sing when the circumstances are comfortable, but it takes faith to sing when you are suffering. God tests us in the everyday experiences of life to see whether we will obey Him. He is able to change our circumstances, but He would rather change us (Phil. 4:10-13).
The Lord who refreshes (27). Life is not always battles and bitter waters. God brings us to the refreshing oases from time to time, and for this we should praise Him. However, we can never claim our inheritance if we linger at Elim. We are pilgrims, not residents.
With the Word - Warren W. Wiersbe
Thomas Nelson Publishers
Nashville
“Used by permission of Thomas Nelson, Inc.”
Exodus 15:1-27
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
"I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.
[2] The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him. *
[3] The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.
[4] Pharaoh's chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh's officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.
[5] The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.
[6] "Your right hand, O Lord,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, O Lord,
shattered the enemy.
[7] In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.
[8] By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood firm like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
[9] "The enemy boasted,
'I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.'
[10] But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
[11] "Who among the gods is like you, O Lord?
Who is like you--
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
[12] You stretched out your right hand
and the earth swallowed them.
[13] "In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.
[14] The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
[15] The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people of Canaan will melt away;
[16] terror and dread will fall upon them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone--
until your people pass by, O Lord,
until the people you bought pass by.
[17] You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance--
the place, O Lord, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.
[18] The Lord will reign
for ever and ever."
[19] When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. [20] Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. [21] Miriam sang to them:
"Sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea."
[22] Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. [23] When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) [24] So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"
[25] Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the Lord made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. [26] He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you."
[27] Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.
