Chapter 17 — ISRAEL'S DESERT JOURNEY

The Israelites traveled in the desert for three days. They had not been able to find water that was fit to drink, so they were suffering from thirst.SRme 1.499

"The people complained to Moses and asked, 'What are we going to drink?'SRme 1.500

"Moses prayed earnestly to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood, which he [Moses] threw into the water; and the water became fit [good] to drink.SRme 1.501

"There [in the desert] the Lord gave. . .[the Israelites] laws to live by, and there. . .[the Lord] also tested them. [The Lord] 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'" (Ex. 15:24-26).SRme 1.502

The hearts of the Israelites seemed to be evil and full of unbelief. The people were not willing to accept the hard life in the desert. When the Israelites met difficulties, they thought each difficulty was impossible to overcome. Their trust in God failed. They could see nothing before them but death.SRme 1.503

"In the desert they all complained to Moses and Aaron and 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'" (Ex. l6:2, 3, TEV).SRme 1.504

The Israelites really did not suffer from hunger. They had all the food they needed. But they were worried about the future. They did not understand how they could live very long on the food they brought from Egypt. Their lack of trust in God made them imagine that during their long period of travel in the wilderness their children would starve to death.SRme 1.505

The Lord permitted the Israelites' food supply to get low. The Lord also allowed the Israelites to have other difficulties so they would follow Him again. God was the One who had been helping them, and He wanted them to believe in Him. God was ready to help them. If the Israelites would call upon Him in their need, He would give them signs of His love and never-ending care.SRme 1.506

But the Israelites trusted God only when they could see continual proof of His power. If the Israelites had a firm trust in God, they would have accepted cheerfully the difficulties and suffering. They would have remembered the wonderful way the Lord had delivered them from slavery.SRme 1.507

God promised that if they would obey His commandments, no disease would happen to them. God said, "I am the Lord, the one who heals you" (Ex. 15:26). For the Israelites to think that they and their children might die from hunger after God had made this promise, was sinful unbelief. They had suffered greatly in Egypt by being forced to overwork. Their children had been killed. In answer to the Israelites' earnest prayers, God mercifully delivered them. He promised to be their God, to take them to Himself as a people, and to lead them to a large and good land.SRme 1.508

But the Israelites were ready to faint every time they met a small problem on the way to that good land. They had suffered much in their work as slaves of the Egyptians. But now the Israelites could not bear to suffer in the service of God. Every time they had a problem, they became discouraged and doubted God. The Israelites complained about God's faithful servant,SRme 1.509

Moses. They blamed Moses for all their troubles. The people said they wished they had stayed in Egypt where they had plenty of meat and could eat until they were full.SRme 1.510