IV. The Preservation of Israel in the Wilderness..15:22-18:27
Exo 15:22
So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.Exo 15:23
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.Exo 15:24
And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?Exo 15:25
And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,Exo 15:26
And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.Exo 15:27
And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.Exo 16:1
And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto 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.Exo 16:2
And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:Exo 16:3
And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.Exo 16:4
Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.Exo 16:5
And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.Exo 16:6
And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:Exo 16:7
And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?Exo 16:8
And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.Exo 16:9
And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.Exo 16:10
And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.Exo 16:11
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,Exo 16:12
I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.Exo 16:13
And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.Exo 16:14
And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.Exo 16:15
And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.Exo 16:16
This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.Exo 16:17
And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.Exo 16:18
And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.Exo 16:19
And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.Exo 16:20
Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.Exo 16:21
And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.Exo 16:22
And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.Exo 16:23
And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.Exo 16:24
And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.Exo 16:25
And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.Exo 16:26
Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.Exo 16:27
And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.Exo 16:28
And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?Exo 16:29
See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.Exo 16:30
So the people rested on the seventh day.Exo 16:31
And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.Exo 16:32
And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.Exo 16:33
And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.Exo 16:34
As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.Exo 16:35
And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.Exo 16:36
Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.Exo 17:1
And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.Exo 17:2
Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?Exo 17:3
And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?Exo 17:4
And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.Exo 17:5
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.Exo 17:6
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.Exo 17:7
And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?Exo 17:8
Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.Exo 17:9
And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.Exo 17:10
So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.Exo 17:11
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.Exo 17:12
But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.Exo 17:13
And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.Exo 17:14
And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.Exo 17:15
And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:Exo 17:16
For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.Exo 18:1
When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt;Exo 18:2
Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,Exo 18:3
And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:Exo 18:4
And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:Exo 18:5
And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:Exo 18:6
And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.Exo 18:7
And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.Exo 18:8
And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.Exo 18:9
And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.Exo 18:10
And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.Exo 18:11
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.Exo 18:12
And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.Exo 18:13
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.Exo 18:14
And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?Exo 18:15
And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:Exo 18:16
When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.Exo 18:17
And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.Exo 18:18
Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.Exo 18:19
Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:Exo 18:20
And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.Exo 18:21
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:Exo 18:22
And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.Exo 18:23
If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.Exo 18:24
So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.Exo 18:25
And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.Exo 18:26
And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.Exo 18:27
And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.