“And Moses said to them, ‘Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.’ But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.” – Exodus 16:19-20
With the benefit of hindsight (and greater knowledge of God), it’s easy to look back and mock the Israelites for being foolish. Over and over again, God gave clear instructions that they immediately disobeyed. Over and over again, they suffered the consequences for their stubborn refusal to just obey God. God said don’t store the manna overnight but they refused to listen and stored some, “just in case.” Of course, it rotted because you can’t store up God’s blessings for future use unless He says so. How foolish, we think to ourselves.
But are we different??? God has given us many clear instructions but most followers of Jesus choose to ignore at least some of them.
- Make disciples. Do you?
- Flee temptation. Will you?
- Love one another. Are you?
- Don’t gossip. Have you?
- Turn the other cheek. Do you?
- Strive for unity. Are you?
- Avoid sexual immorality. Have you?
- Value others above yourself? Do you?
You get the idea. Whenever you read about the foolishness of the ancients – whether Israelites in the desert or Pharisees in the Temple – ask yourself, “Am I different? Or am I the Israelite? Am I the Pharisee?” Rather than answer for yourself, let God’s Spirit answer for you. Then #FollowJesus