Day 24 – January 24, 2022

Exodus 16-18 

16

Manna and Quail

​¹ Now they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. ² Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. ³ The children of Israel said to them, “Would we had died, smitten by the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread to the full. For you brought us out into this desert to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread out of heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. ⁵ So it shall be on the sixth day, they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

  ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron said to all the congregation of the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know the Lord brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ In the morning you shall see the Lord’s glory; for He hears your complaints against God. But what are we, that you complain against us?” ⁸ Also Moses said, “The Lord’s glory shall be seen when He gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints you make against Him. But what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against God.”

⁹ Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before God, for He has heard your complaints.’ ” ¹⁰ Now when Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the desert, and behold, the Lord’s glory appeared in the cloud. ¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know I am the Lord your God.’ ”

¹³ So it was that quail came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. ¹⁴ But when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the desert, was a small round substance, white like coriander seed, like frost on the ground. ¹⁵ So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is this?” For they did not know what it was. Thus Moses said to them, “This is the bread the Lord gives you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord has ordered, ‘Let every man gather it for his family, one omer according to the head count and number of souls among you. Each one should gather it with those who share your tents.’ ”

¹⁷ Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. ¹⁸ So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Each one gathered according to the need of those sharing the tent with him. ¹⁹ Moses then said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” ²⁰ Notwithstanding, they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. So Moses was angry with them. ²¹ Thus they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need, and when the sun became hot, it melted.

²² So it was, on the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. ²³ Then he said to them, “This is the word the Lord has spoken: ‘Tomorrow is the Sabbath, a holy rest to the Lord. Bake what you will bake, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains to be kept until morning.’ ” ²⁴ So they laid it up till morning as Moses commanded them; but it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. ²⁵ Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶ Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none.”

²⁷ Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? ²⁹ Behold, for the Lord has given you this day as the Sabbath; therefore, on the sixth day He gives you bread for two days. Let every man remain in his house; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ Thus the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ Now the children of Israel called its name manna, and it was white like coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. ³² Then Moses said, “This is the thing the Lord commanded: ‘Fill an omer with the manna to be kept for your generations, so they may see the bread you ate in the desert when the Lord led you out of the land of Egypt.’ ” ³³ Moses then said to Aaron, “Take a golden pot, put one full omer of the manna in it, and lay it up before God to be kept for your generations.” ³⁴ As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testimony to be kept. ³⁵ Thus the children of Israel ate the manna forty years until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of Phoenicia. ³⁶ Now an omer was the tenth part of three measures.

17

Water from the Rock

​¹ Now all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the Wilderness of Sin, according to their encampments and by the word of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. ² Therefore the people contended with Moses, saying, “Give us water, that we may drink.” Moses then said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?” ³ Thus the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why is it you brought us up out of Egypt to kill us, our children, and our cattle with thirst?” ⁴ So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go before this people and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand the rod with which you struck the river and go. ⁶ Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it so the people may drink.” So Moses did so before the children of Israel. ⁷ Thus he called the name of that place Temptation and Abuse, because of the abusive language of the children of Israel and because they tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

  Victory over Amalek

⁸ Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. ⁹ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for yourself some mighty men and go out, and set the army in array against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses said to him and set the army in array against Amalek. Then Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ And so it was, when Moses held up his hands, that Israel prevailed; but when he let down his hands, Amalek prevailed. ¹² Now Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and one on the other; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ¹³ So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ Now Moses built an altar and called its name The-Lord-My-Refuge; ¹⁶ for with a secret hand the Lord wars with Amalek from generation to generation.

18

Jethro’s Visit and Counsel

​¹ Now Jethro the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about all God did for Moses and for Israel His people—that the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt. ² Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he sent her back ³ with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, “I was a sojourner in a foreign land”) ⁴ and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father is my help, and He rescued me from the hand of Pharaoh”); ⁵ and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the desert, where he encamped at the mountain of God.

⁶ Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and two sons with her.” ⁷ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. Thus they greeted one another, and he brought them into the tent. ⁸ Then Moses told his father-in-law all the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to all the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them out of the hand of Pharaoh and from the hand of the Egyptians. ⁹ Then Jethro was amazed at all the good things the Lord had done for Israel, whom He delivered out of the hand of Pharaoh and from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ Then Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who delivered you out of the hand of Pharaoh and from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know the Lord is great above all the gods; for this reason they did not prevail over them.” ¹² Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for God, for Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

¹³ So it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. ¹⁴ So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?” ¹⁵ Then Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to seek judgment from God. ¹⁶ When they have a dispute, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the ordinances of God and His laws.” ¹⁷ So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ Both you and these people with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.

  ¹⁹ “Now listen to me; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people that you may bring their concerns to God. ²⁰ Teach them God’s ordinances and laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the works they are to do. ²¹ Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men such as fear God, just men, hating covetousness; and set them over the people to be rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²² Let them judge the people at all times. Then every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will relieve and help you. ²³ If you do this thing, God will strengthen you; then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”

²⁴ So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all he said. ²⁵ Thus Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²⁶ They judged the people at all times; all the hard cases they brought to Moses, but the small ones they judged themselves. ²⁷ Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he returned to his own land.

Psalms 25 

​¹ Of David.

Judge me, O Lord, for I walk in my innocence,

And by hoping in the Lord, I shall not weaken.

² Prove me, O Lord, and test me,

Try my reins and my heart in the fire.

³ For Your mercy is before my eyes,

And I was well-pleasing in Your truth.

⁴ I have not sat down with vain councils,

Nor will I go in with those who transgress the law.

⁵ I hate the assembly of evildoers,

And I will not sit with the ungodly.

⁶ I will wash my hands in innocence;

So I will go about Your altar, O Lord,

⁷ That I may hear the voice of praise

And tell of all Your wondrous works.

⁸ O Lord, I love the beauty of Your house,

And the place where Your glory dwells.

⁹ Do not destroy my soul with the ungodly,

Nor my life with men of blood,

¹⁰ In whose hands is lawlessness;

Their right hand is full of bribes.

¹¹ But as for me, I walk in my innocence;

Redeem me and have mercy on me.

¹² For my foot stands in uprightness;

In the churches I will bless You, O Lord.

Proverbs 5:1–6 

​¹ My son, hold fast to wisdom

And incline your ear to my words,

² That you may guard good thinking;

And I command you with the perception of my lips.

³ Do not join yourself to a base woman,

For honey drips from the lips of a prostitute,

Or for a season she is pleasing to your taste;

⁴ Afterward, however, you will find her more bitter than gall

And sharper than a two-edged sword.

⁵ For feet lacking discernment lead those using her down into Hades with death;

Her footsteps are not planted,

⁶ For she does not travel the ways of life;

And her paths are slippery and not easy to discern.

Matthew 15:21–39

A Gentile Shows Her Faith

²¹ Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

²² And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

²³ But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵ Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

²⁶ But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

²⁷ And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus Heals Great Multitudes

²⁹ Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.

³⁰ Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.

³¹ So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Feeding the Four Thousand

³² Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

³³ Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”

³⁵ So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

³⁶ And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.

³⁷ So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.

³⁸ Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.³⁹ And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.