THE LORD PROVIDES FOR HIS PEOPLE

PROCLAMATION

“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.  And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter … And the people murmured against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’  And he cried unto The Lord; and The Lord showed him a tree, which when he cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet …”  Exodus 15:22-25 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After they crossed the Red Sea, they celebrated with songs of praise unto The Lord. (Exodus 15:1-21)  Then the Israelites went three days into the wilderness of Shur without water.  When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water because it was bitter, and the people began to murmur against Moses. (Exodus 15:22-24)  He prayed to The Lord and He showed Moses a tree which when he cast it into the waters of Marah, the water changed from bitter to sweet. (Exodus 15:25)  When they left Marah they came to Elim, where they found twelves wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped by the waters of Elim. (Exodus 15:27)

 

APPLICATION

The Lord God not only protected His people, but He also provided for them.  God also offers us protection and provisions.  He is able to supply all of our needs. (Philippians 4:19)  He knows what we need before we even ask for it. (Matthew 6:8)  God cares for His own.  He can change bad to good, and bitter to sweet.  He doesn’t do more for us because of our behavior.  He said, ‘If My people, which are called by My name …;’ if we would humble ourselves, and pray, and seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, then He would hear us. (2 Chronicles 7:14) 

 

JACOB'S PROPOSAL LEADS TO PROSPERITY

PROCLAMATION

“And he said, ‘What shall I give thee?  And Jacob said, ‘Thou shall not give me anything; if thou will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.  I will pass through all thy flock today, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown sheep among the sheep, and all the spotted and speckled among the goats; and of such shall be my hire.’”  Genesis 30:31-32 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Jacob worked for Laban for fourteen years, seven before he married Leah, and seven more to marry Rachel.  During that time Jacob fathered twelve children, four with his wife, Leah, two with Rachel’s servant Bilhah, two with Leah’s servant, Zilpah, then three more with Leah, and one with his wife Rachel. (Genesis 29:31 to Genesis 30:24)  When Jacob wanted to leave in order to provide for his own family, Laban did not want him to go because he had been blessed by him being there. (Genesis 30:25-28)  Jacob caused Laban’s wealth to increase but he had gained nothing of his own or for his family.  They agreed to divide the herds of sheep, goats, and cattle between them, with the spotted and streaked animals going to Jacob and the solid color ones remained with Laban. (Genesis 30:32-35)  This appealed to Laban because he would get all of the pure breed animals.  Jacob moved his animals three days journey away, but he continued to tend both his and Laban’s herds and he grew exceedingly prosperous. (Genesis 30:43)

 

APPLICATION

It has been said that The Lord God works His wonders in mysterious ways for us to behold.  Our blessings do not always come in the way that we expect them, or from the source that we expect.  We should just be grateful that we are blessed and not concern ourselves with how it happens.  The Lord God knows our needs before we even ask Him. (Matthew 6:8)  All we need to do is to put God first and seek Him and His righteousness, and our needs will be provided to us. (Matthew 6:33 and Luke 12:31)

 

THE LORD GOD WILL MAKE A WAY

PROCLAMATION

“At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans.  When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, for The Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army … so they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents … and ran for their lives.  The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank.  Then they took silver and gold and clothes and went off and hid them.”  2 Kings 7:5-8 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

After Elisha asked The Lord God to blind the Arameans who attacked him and he led them into the city of Samaria, The Lord opened their eyes and they saw where they were.  The Lord told the king of Israel not to kill them, but to feed them and let them go. (2 Kings 6:18-23)  Then there came a great famine to the area. (2 Kings 6:25)  There were four men with leprosy sitting by the gate at the entrance to the city and starving. (2 Kings 7:3-4)  They decided that rather than just sit there and starve to death, it would be better for them to go to the camp of the enemy to surrender and be fed or be killed.  So, they got up and left the city and when they got to the camp, they found that it had been abandoned.

APPLICATION

There are times when things seem very bleak and hopeless to us.  We forget that God is still in control.  He can protect us and provide for us.  He can cause our enemies to leave us alone.  He can provide food for us when we are hungry.  When we have come to the end of our resources, He can make a way out of no way.  He can use the people that we come into contact with to be a blessing for us.  We should thank The Lord God daily for the things that He has done, is doing, and will do for us as He blesses us.

WATER FROM HEAVEN WITHOUT RAIN

PROCLAMATION

“For this is what The Lord says: ‘You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, for you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.’”  2 Kings 3:17 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

After king Ahab died, Mesha king of Moab rebelled against Israel. (2 Kings 3:5)  So, Joram king of Israel sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah to join with him against Moab along with the king of Edom. (2 Kings 3:6-9)  Joram had done evil in the eyes of The Lord (2 Kings 3:2-3) but Jehoshaphat did that which was right in the eyes of The Lord. (1 Kings 22:43)  Wicked people can benefit from friendship with the righteous.  In their journey through the desert of Edom there was no water for them or their animals. (2 Kings 3:9)  So the three kings sought out the prophet Elisha, who only agree to meet with them out of his respect for the God-fearing king of Judah, Jehoshaphat. (2 Kings 3:11-14)  Elisha told them that The Lord would will fill the valley with water for them and their animals.  He also told them that they would defeat the Moabites.  They were told to dig ditches for the water which they had requested. (2 Kings 3:16)  The next morning the land was filled with water. (2 Kings 3:20)

APPLICATION

The Lord God will provide.  He can perform miracles and bless His own.  He can make a way out of no way.  He can make water appear in the desert without rain.  He can protect us from our enemies, and He can help us to defeat them.  We must prepare for the blessings which we have requested.   When we pray for something, we must believe that we will receive it, and act like it is already done. (Mark 11:24)

THE LORD GOD WILL PROVIDE

PROCLAMATION

“So he did what The Lord had told him.  He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.   The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.”  1 Kings 17:5-6 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

The prophet Elijah delivered a message from The Lord God to king Ahab and told him that there would be no rain or dew in the land for the next three years. (1 Kings 17:1)  Then The Lord told Elijah to leave there and go to an area just east of the Jordan river. (1 Kings 17:2-3)  The Lord told him that he would drink from the brook and that the ravens would bring him food. (1 Kings 17:4)  So, Elijah did that which The Lord God told him to do.  When the brook dried up, The Lord told him to go to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and He would have a widow woman supply him with food. (1 Kings 17:7-9)  Again Elijah did what The Lord God told him to do and He provided for him.  He even allowed Elijah to be a blessing to the widow woman and her son. (1 Kings 17:10-23)

APPLICATION

Believers know that The Lord will provide.  He will supply all of our needs. (Philippians 4:19)  He knows what we need even before we ask Him for them. (Matthew 6:8)  When our “brooks have dried up” and human logic says that we have come to the end, The Lord God can replenish us with His “living water” or He can direct us to another source to sustain us.  The very breath of life that we enjoy comes from Him (Genesis 2:7) and it is through Him that we live, move, and have our very being. (Acts 17:28)  Our very life is both a miracle and a blessing from The Lord God, and we should thank Him daily.  We are also blessed as He provides for our needs.

THE LORD GOD WILL PROVIDE FOR HIS PEOPLE

Proclamation:

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.  Tell them,’ ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread.  Then you will know that I am The Lord your God.’”  Exodus 16:11-12 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  When the Israelites saw the mighty hand of The Lord God displayed against the Egyptians they feared The Lord, (Exodus 14:29-31) and then they began to sing praises unto Him. (Exodus 15:1-21)  Moses then led them into the desert and soon they forgot about the miracles they had just witnessed, the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the drowning of Pharaoh’s army, and began to murmur against Moses. (Exodus 15:22-24)  The Lord God changed the bitter water of Marah into water that was fit to drink. (Exodus 15:25)  Then He rained down bread, manna, from heaven for them to eat in the morning (Exodus 16:4-5 and 16:31) and provided them with meat, in the form of quail, in the evening. (Exodus 16:13)  He did this for them daily, except on the Sabbath. (Exodus 16:21-27)  They wandered about in the desert from place to place as The Lord God directed them.  In one place where they camped there was no water and The Lord God provided water for them out of a rock. (Exodus 17:1-7)

Application:

Oh, how soon we forget what The Lord has done for us.  We treat The Lord God like the worldly people treat each other by asking, like the Janet Jackson song, “What have you done for me lately?”  The people of God should not ask Him that question.  We know that our very existence, waking up, each breath and heartbeat are all blessings from God.  Not to mention that we are blessed to have some material things, our family and friends, and those who love us.  The Lord God has provided us an abundance of blessings, blessings upon blessings. (Proverbs 28:20)  We may not have or get all that we want, but He will supply all of our needs. (Philippians 4:19)