To The Word – Day 18

₁Then the LORD said to Moses, ₂“Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the Red Sea, near Baal Zephon. ₃The king will think that the Israelites are wandering about in the country and are closed in by the desert. ₄I will make him stubborn, and he will pursue you, and my victory over the king and his army will bring me honour. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” The Israelites did as they were told.

₅When the king of Egypt was told that the people had escaped, he and his officials changed their minds and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites escape, and we have lost them as our slaves!” ₆The king got his war chariot and his army ready. ₇He set out with all his chariots, including the 600 finest, commanded by their officers. ₈The LORD made the king stubborn, and he pursued the Israelites, who were leaving triumphantly. ₉The Egyptian army, with all the horses, chariots, and drivers, pursued them and caught up with them where they were camped by the Red Sea near Pi Hahiroth and Baal Zephon.

₁₀When the Israelites saw the king and his army marching against them, they were terrified and cried out to the LORD for help. ₁₁They said to Moses, “Weren't there any graves in Egypt? Did you have to bring us out here in the desert to die? Look what you have done by bringing us out of Egypt! ₁₂Didn't we tell you before we left that this would happen? We told you to leave us alone and let us go on being slaves of the Egyptians. It would be better to be slaves there than to die here in the desert.”

₁₃Moses answered, “Don't be afraid! Stand your ground, and you will see what the LORD will do to save you today; you will never see these Egyptians again. ₁₄The LORD will fight for you, and there is no need for you to do anything.”

₁₅The LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out for help? Tell the people to move forward. ₁₆Lift up your stick and hold it out over the sea. The water will divide, and the Israelites will be able to walk through the sea on dry ground. ₁₇I will make the Egyptians so stubborn that they will go in after them, and I will gain honour by my victory over the king, his army, his chariots, and his drivers. ₁₈When I defeat them, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”

₁₉The angel of God, who had been in front of the army of Israel, moved and went to the rear. The pillar of cloud also moved until it was ₂₀between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The cloud made it dark for the Egyptians, but gave light to the people of Israel, and so the armies could not come near each other all night.

₂₁Moses held out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind. It blew all night and turned the sea into dry land. The water was divided, ₂₂and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides. ₂₃The Egyptians pursued them and went after them into the sea with all their horses, chariots, and drivers. ₂₄Just before dawn the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw them into a panic. ₂₅He made the wheels of their chariots get stuck, so that they moved with great difficulty. The Egyptians said, “The LORD is fighting for the Israelites against us. Let's get out of here!”

₂₆The LORD said to Moses, “Hold out your hand over the sea, and the water will come back over the Egyptians and their chariots and drivers.” ₂₇So Moses held out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its normal level. The Egyptians tried to escape from the water, but the LORD threw them into the sea. ₂₈The water returned and covered the chariots, the drivers, and all the Egyptian army that had followed the Israelites into the sea; not one of them was left. ₂₉But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides.

₃₀On that day the LORD saved the people of Israel from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw them lying dead on the seashore. ₃₁When the Israelites saw the great power with which the LORD had defeated the Egyptians, they stood in awe of the LORD; and they had faith in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

₁Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:

₁₉The Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. But when the Egyptian chariots with their horses and drivers went into the sea, the LORD brought the water back, and it covered them.

₂₀The prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took her tambourine, and all the women followed her, playing tambourines and dancing. ₂₁Miriam sang for them:

₂₂Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they walked through the desert, but found no water. ₂₃Then they came to a place called Marah, but the water there was so bitter that they could not drink it. That is why it was named Marah. ₂₄The people complained to Moses and asked, “What are we going to drink?” ₂₅Moses prayed earnestly to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood, which he threw into the water; and the water became fit to drink.

There the LORD gave them laws to live by, and there he also tested them. ₂₆He said, “If you will obey me completely by doing what I consider right and by keeping my commands, I will not punish you with any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the LORD, the one who heals you.”

₂₇Next they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees; there they camped by the water.

₁The whole Israelite community set out from Elim, and on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt, they came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. ₂There in the desert they all complained to Moses and Aaron ₃and said to them, “We wish that the LORD had killed us in Egypt. There we could at least sit down and eat meat and as much other food as we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert to starve us all to death.”

₄The LORD said to Moses, “Now I am going to make food rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way I can test them to find out if they will follow my instructions. ₅On the sixth day they are to bring in twice as much as usual and prepare it.”

₆So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt. ₇In the morning you will see the dazzling light of the LORD's presence. He has heard your complaints against him — yes, against him, because we are only carrying out his instructions.” ₈Then Moses said, “It is the LORD who will give you meat to eat in the evening and as much bread as you want in the morning, because he has heard how much you have complained against him. When you complain against us, you are really complaining against the LORD.”

₉Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community to come and stand before the LORD, because he has heard their complaints.” ₁₀As Aaron spoke to the whole community, they turned towards the desert, and suddenly the dazzling light of the LORD appeared in a cloud. ₁₁The LORD said to Moses, ₁₂“I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them that at twilight they will have meat to eat, and in the morning they will have all the bread they want. Then they will know that I, the LORD, am their God.”

₁₃In the evening a large flock of quails flew in, enough to cover the camp, and in the morning there was dew all round the camp. ₁₄When the dew evaporated, there was something thin and flaky on the surface of the desert. It was as delicate as frost. ₁₅When the Israelites saw it, they didn't know what it was and asked each other, “What is it?”

Moses said to them, “This is the food that the LORD has given you to eat. ₁₆The LORD has commanded that each of you is to gather as much of it as he needs, two litres for each member of his household.”

₁₇The Israelites did this, some gathering more, others less. ₁₈When they measured it, those who gathered much did not have too much, and those who gathered less did not have too little. Each had gathered just what he needed. ₁₉Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it for tomorrow.” ₂₀But some of them did not listen to Moses and saved part of it. The next morning it was full of worms and smelt rotten, and Moses was angry with them. ₂₁Every morning each one gathered as much as he needed; and when the sun grew hot, what was left on the ground melted.

₂₂On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four litres for each person. All the leaders of the community came and told Moses about it, ₂₃and he said to them, “The LORD has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to him. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.” ₂₄As Moses had commanded, they kept what was left until the next day; it did not spoil or get worms in it. ₂₅Moses said, “Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to the LORD, and you will not find any food outside the camp. ₂₆You must gather food for six days, but on the seventh day, the day of rest, there will be none.”

₂₇On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they did not find any. ₂₈Then the LORD said to Moses, “How much longer will you people refuse to obey my commands? ₂₉Remember that I, the LORD, have given you a day of rest, and that is why on the sixth day I will always give you enough food for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day and not leave his home.” ₃₀So the people did no work on the seventh day.

₃₁The people of Israel called the food manna. It was like a small white seed, and tasted like biscuits made with honey. ₃₂Moses said, “The LORD has commanded us to save some manna, to be kept for our descendants, so that they can see the food which he gave us to eat in the desert when he brought us out of Egypt.” ₃₃Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, put two litres of manna in it, and place it in the LORD's presence to be kept for our descendants.” ₃₄As the LORD had commanded Moses, Aaron put it in front of the Covenant Box, so that it could be kept. ₃₅The Israelites ate manna for the next forty years, until they reached the land of Canaan, where they settled. ₃₆(The standard dry measure then in use equalled twenty litres.)

₁The whole Israelite community left the desert of Sin, moving from one place to another at the command of the LORD. They made camp at Rephidim, but there was no water there to drink. ₂They complained to Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses answered, “Why are you complaining? Why are you putting the LORD to the test?”

₃But the people were very thirsty and continued to complain to Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? To kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

₄Moses prayed earnestly to the LORD and said, “What can I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

₅The LORD said to Moses, “Take some of the leaders of Israel with you, and go on ahead of the people. Take along the stick with which you struck the Nile. ₆I will stand before you on a rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” Moses did so in the presence of the leaders of Israel.

₇The place was named Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites complained and put the LORD to the test when they asked, “Is the LORD with us or not?”

₈The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. ₉Moses said to Joshua, “Pick out some men to go and fight the Amalekites tomorrow. I will stand on top of the hill holding the stick that God told me to carry.” ₁₀Joshua did as Moses commanded him and went out to fight the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ₁₁As long as Moses held up his arms, the Israelites won, but when he put his arms down, the Amalekites started winning. ₁₂When Moses' arms grew tired, Aaron and Hur brought a stone for him to sit on, while they stood beside him and held up his arms, holding them steady until the sun went down. ₁₃In this way Joshua totally defeated the Amalekites.

₁₄Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write an account of this victory, so that it will be remembered. Tell Joshua that I will completely destroy the Amalekites.” ₁₅Moses built an altar and named it “The LORD is my Banner”. ₁₆He said, “Hold high the banner of the LORD! The LORD will continue to fight against the Amalekites for ever!”

₁Moses' father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and the people of Israel when he led them out of Egypt. ₂So he came to Moses, bringing with him Moses' wife Zipporah, who had been left behind, ₃and Gershom and Eliezer, her two sons. (Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a strange land”; so he had named one son Gershom. ₄He had also said, “The God of my father helped me and saved me from being killed by the king of Egypt”; so he had named the other son Eliezer.) ₅Jethro came with Moses' wife and her two sons into the desert where Moses was camped at the holy mountain. ₆He had sent word to Moses that they were coming, ₇so Moses went out to meet him, bowed before him, and kissed him. They asked about each other's health and then went into Moses' tent. ₈Moses told Jethro everything that the LORD had done to the king and the people of Egypt in order to rescue the Israelites. He also told him about the hardships the people had faced on the way and how the LORD had saved them. ₉When Jethro heard all this, he was happy ₁₀and said, “Praise the LORD, who saved you from the king and the people of Egypt! Praise the LORD, who saved his people from slavery! ₁₁Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods, because he did this when the Egyptians treated the Israelites with such contempt.” ₁₂Then Jethro brought an offering to be burnt whole and other sacrifices to be offered to God; and Aaron and all the leaders of Israel went with him to eat the sacred meal as an act of worship.

₁₃The next day Moses was settling disputes among the people, and he was kept busy from morning till night. ₁₄When Jethro saw everything that Moses had to do, he asked, “What is all this that you are doing for the people? Why are you doing this all alone, with people standing here from morning till night to consult you?”

₁₅Moses answered, “I must do this because the people come to me to learn God's will. ₁₆When two people have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide which one of them is right, and I tell them God's commands and laws.”

₁₇Then Jethro said, “You are not doing it the right way. ₁₈You will wear yourself out and these people as well. This is too much for you to do alone. ₁₉Now let me give you some good advice, and God will be with you. It is right for you to represent the people before God and bring their disputes to him. ₂₀You should teach them God's commands and explain to them how they should live and what they should do. ₂₁But in addition, you should choose some capable men and appoint them as leaders of the people: leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They must be God-fearing men who can be trusted and who cannot be bribed. ₂₂Let them serve as judges for the people on a permanent basis. They can bring all the difficult cases to you, but they themselves can decide all the smaller disputes. That will make it easier for you, as they share your burden. ₂₃If you do this, as God commands, you will not wear yourself out, and all these people can go home with their disputes settled.”

₂₄Moses took Jethro's advice ₂₅and chose capable men from among all the Israelites. He appointed them as leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ₂₆They served as judges for the people on a permanent basis, bringing the difficult cases to Moses but deciding the smaller disputes themselves.

₂₇Then Moses said goodbye to Jethro, and Jethro went back home.