Daily Manna
Do Not Provoke God
Saturday, December 9, 2023
Key Verse
“Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” (Psalm 78:19).
TEXT — Psalm 78:10-20
Message
Negative comportment in times of hardship leads to consequences of a worse nature, as the wandering Israelites learnt in the wilderness during their journey to the land promised them by God. They were impatient with Him when the “light” challenges of hunger and thirst came. They fretted and asked blasphemous questions that suggested that God could no longer take care of the basic needs of the millions He had saved from Egypt.
They lived with a short memory that failed to remind them of the power that freed them from cruel Egyptian servitude, commanded the Red Sea to part for them, brought them water from the rock and fed them in their millions, young and old, with food from heaven. The same Lord also fought their wars for them and prevented the enemy nations from annihilating them. Certainly, these were reflective of the unfathomable sovereignty of a Deity capable also of saving them from hunger and thirst.
The unbelief of the Israelites provoked the Lord. He threatened to disown them. At times, they were defeated by smaller neighbours. On other occasions, they suffered leanness rather than enjoying fatness. Their thoughtless reaction to the wilderness challenges brought more sorrow than the problems they grumbled about and did not trust the Lord to take care of.
It pleases the Lord when, in the midst of transient need, we show gratitude for the good things He has done and continues to do in our lives. We should develop a retentive memory that recollects when He “remembered us in our low estate” (Psalm 136:23). That is the stage when we should praise and serve Him, instead of confronting Him with complaints and murmurs.
Thought for the day
When in need, pray to God; do not murmur.
BIBLE
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OBADIAH
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