Your heavenly Father. {Mt 6:26}
God’s people are doubly His children, they are His offspring by creation, and
they are His sons by adoption in Christ. Hence they are privileged to call Him,
‘ Our Father which art in heaven.’ Father! Oh, what precious word is that.
Here is authority: ‘ If I be a father, where is mine honour?’ If ye be sons,
where is your obedience?
Here is affection mingled with authority; an authority which does not provoke
rebellion; an obedience demanded which is most cheerfully rendered — which would
not be withheld even if it might.
The obedience which God’s children yield to Him must be loving obedience. Do
not go about the service of God as slaves to their taskmaster’s toil, but run in
the way of His commands because it is your Father’s way.
Yield your bodies as instruments of righteousness, because righteousness is
your Father’s will, and His will should be the will of His child.
Father! — Here is a kingly attribute so sweetly veiled in love, that the
king’s crown is forgotten in the king’s face, and His sceptre becomes, not a rod
of iron, but a silver sceptre of mercy — the sceptre indeed seems to be
forgotten in the tender hand of Him who wields it.
Father! — Here is honour and love. How great is a father’s love to His
children! That which friendship cannot do, and mere benevolence will not
attempt, a father’s heart and hand must do for his sons. They are his offspring,
he must bless them; they are his children, he must show himself strong in their
defense. If an earthly father watches over his children with unceasing love and
care, how much more does our heavenly Father?
There is heaven in the depth of that word — Father! There is all I can ask;
all my necessities can demand; all my wishes can desire. I have all in all to
all eternity when I can say, ‘ Father.’
Quick study, kjv [note how Israel had a Father in His treatment of them!]
Ex 16:1 ¶ And 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.
Ex 16:2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained
against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
Ex 16:3 And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that we had died by
the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat
and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this
wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
Ex 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from
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.
Ex 16:5 "And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what
they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."
Ex 16:6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At
evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of
Egypt.
Ex 16:7 "And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He
hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain
against us?"
Ex 16:8 Also Moses said, "This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat
to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD
hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your
complaints are not against us but against the LORD."
Ex 16:9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, "Say to all the congregation of the
children of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your
complaints.’"
Ex 16:10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of
the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold,
the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
Ex 16:11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Ex 16:12 "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. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’"
Ex 16:13 ¶ So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp,
and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.
Ex 16:14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the
wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
Ex 16:15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another,
"What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them,
"This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.
Ex 16:16 "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Let every man
gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according
to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his
tent.’"
Ex 16:17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some
less.
Ex 16:18 So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had
nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had
gathered according to each one’s need.
Ex 16:19 And Moses said, "Let no one leave any of it till morning."
Ex 16:20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left
part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry
with them.
Ex 16:21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his
need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.
Ex 16:22 ¶ And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as
much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation
came and told Moses.
Ex 16:23 Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow
is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake
today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that
remains, to be kept until morning.’"
Ex 16:24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did
not stink, nor were there any worms in it.
Ex 16:25 Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the
LORD; today you will not find it in the field.
Ex 16:26 "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is
the Sabbath, there will be none."
Ex 16:27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh
day to gather, but they found none.
Ex 16:28 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My
commandments and My laws?
Ex 16:29 "See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives
you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place;
let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."
Ex 16:30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
Ex 16:31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like
white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
Ex 16:32 ¶ Then Moses said, "This is the thing which the LORD has
commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it, to be kept for your generations, that they
may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you
out of the land of Egypt.’"
Ex 16:33 And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot and put an omer of manna in
it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations."
Ex 16:34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the
Testimony, to be kept.
Ex 16:35 And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they
came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of
the land of Canaan.
Ex 16:36 Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.
Ex 17:1 ¶ Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on
their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of
the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to
drink.
Ex 17:2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, "Give us
water, that we may drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you contend with
me? Why do you tempt the LORD?"
Ex 17:3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people
complained against Moses, and said, "Why is it you have brought us up out of
Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"
Ex 17:4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "What shall I do with
this people? They are almost ready to stone me!"
Ex 17:5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go on before the people, and take
with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with
which you struck the river, and go.
Ex 17:6 "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, that the people
may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Ex 17:7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of
the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD,
saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
Ex 17:8 ¶ Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Ex 17:9 And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose us some men and go out, fight
with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of
God in my hand."
Ex 17:10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And
Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Ex 17:11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel
prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Ex 17:12 But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it
under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on
one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until
the going down of the sun.
Ex 17:13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the
sword.
Ex 17:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the
book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out
the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."
Ex 17:15 And Moses built an altar and called its name,
The-LORD-Is-My-Banner;
Ex 17:16 for he said, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war
with Amalek from generation to generation."
Ex 18:1 ¶ And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of
all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the LORD had
brought Israel out of Egypt.
Ex 18:2 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife,
after he had sent her back,
Ex 18:3 with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he
said, "I have been a stranger in a foreign land")
Ex 18:4 and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, "The God of
my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh");
Ex 18:5 and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife
to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
Ex 18:6 Now he had said to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am
coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her."
Ex 18:7 ¶ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and
kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went
into the tent.
Ex 18:8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to
Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had
come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.
Ex 18:9 Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the LORD had done for
Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
Ex 18:10 And Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out
of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has
delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
Ex 18:11 "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; for in
the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them."
Ex 18:12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and
other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of
Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
Ex 18:13 ¶ And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the
people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening.
Ex 18:14 So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people,
he said, "What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you
alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?"
Ex 18:15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to
me to inquire of God.
Ex 18:16 "When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge
between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws."
Ex 18:17 So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is
not good.
Ex 18:18 "Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear
yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to
perform it by yourself.
Ex 18:19 "Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will
be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the
difficulties to God.
Ex 18:20 "And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show
them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.
Ex 18:21 "Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as
fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be
rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of
tens.
Ex 18:22 "And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be
that 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 bear the
burden with you.
Ex 18:23 "If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be
able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace."
Ex 18:24 So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that
he had said.
Ex 18:25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads
over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties,
and rulers of tens.
Ex 18:26 So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they
brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.
Ex 18:27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to
his own land.
