A.R. Allen: Lines to a Daughter--Any Daughter

One of the things that you really should know

Is when to say "yes," and when to say "no."

It's terribly, terribly risky to guess

At when to say "no" and when to say "yes."

Girls who are slaving for Woolworth and Kress

Lament for the day when they might have said "yes,"

Others are crying at night apropros

Of moments when clearly they should have said "no."

Woolworth and Kress were inexpensive stores.

There aren't any textbooks, there aren't any rules,

The subject's neglected in orthodox schools.

Experience helps, but you seldom remember

Your April mistakes by the first of November.

You can't be consistent; there's often a reason

For changing your mind with a change in the season.

You may be quite right in accepting at seven

Suggestions you'd better refuse at eleven.

Perhaps you'll consider these tentative hints:

"No" to a dirndl of highly glazed chintz,

"Yes" to the bashful young man at the dance,

"No" to the man who's been living in France,

"Yes" to a walk in the park in the rain,

"Yes" if he asks for a chance to explain,

"No" to all slacks unless you're too thin,

"No" to that impulse to telephone him,

"Yes" to a baby, and "no" to a bore,

"No" if you're asked if you've heard it before,

"Yes" to the friend when she says, "Don't you think

  Rabbit is just as becoming as mink?"

"Yes" to a Saturday, "no" to a Monday,

"Yes" to a salad and "no" to a sundae,

"No" to a wastrel and "yes" to a ranger,

"No" to a toady, and "yes" to a stranger

(That is providing you use some discretion),

"No" to three cocktails in rapid succession,

"No" to magenta and chocolate brown,

"Yes" to a whisper and "no" to a frown,

"No" if he's misunderstood by his wife,

"Yes" if you want it the rest of your life.

Remember, my darling, careers and caresses

Depend on your choices of "noes" and of "yesses."

From Harper's Magazine, February, 1947. 

America is Great Because She is Good

An inspiring and patriotic poem by a French political thinker, Alexis de Tocqueville, who visited U.S. prisons and toured America during the 19th century to better understand our democracy and way of life. I found this excerpt in William J. Bennett's book, "The Moral Compass: Stories for a Life's Journey." 

I sought for the greatness

and genius of America

in her commodious harbors

and her ample rivers,

and it was not there;

in the fertile fields

and boundless prairies

and it was not there;

in her rich mines

and her vast world commerce,

and it was not there.

Not until I went into the churches of America

and heard her pulpits

aflame with righteousness,

did I understand the secret

of her genius and power.

America is great

because she is good,

and if America ever ceases to be good,

America will cease to be great.

--Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)

Attribution link

Robert Frost: The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

From Complete Poems of Robert Frost. Copyright, 1930, 1949, by Henry Holt and Company, Inc. 

The Laws at Mt. Sinai

In Exodus 21 – 23, Moses received the laws on Mt. Sinai. At first, some of these laws seem irrelevant to multicultural and modern societies, but there are timeless questions, such as how to determine justice, mercy, and restitution during times of crisis? As I was reading, I tried to recognize the nature of God and the moral lesson or parameter to follow for each (rather than focus on what law was broken).

The categories of law deal with the topics of servants, personal injury, negligence, theft, property damage, dishonesty, immorality, civil and religious obligations, and Sabbaths and feasts.

Servants (Ex. 21:1-12)

1. If you have a servant, he should work 6 years and then go free on the 7^th year without having to pay. If the servant was married when he arrived, then he and his wife can both go free together. If children were born during the years of servanthood, then the wife and children stay with the master, since they are his property, but if the man chooses to stay with them, then he can declare his love to the master, wife, and children. The master will pierce his ear and claim him for the rest of his life (to own him, but also to pledge protection and loyalty to him and his family).
2. If a man sells his daughter into servanthood, she is not to go free on the 7^th year as men do. Her relatives can redeem her. If the master wants her to be with his son, then he must grant her the full rights of a daughter. She must never be sold to foreigners.
3. If a master takes a servant as his wife, he is required to provide her with food, clothing, and marital rights for her entire life, even if he is not pleased with her and takes a second wife. If he doesn’t provide her with all three of these things, she is free to leave without paying any money.

Personal Injury (Ex. 21:12-36)

1. A murderer is to be put to death unless the act was not intentional.
2. If a man kills and it was an accident, he should flee to a designated place, but if he “schemes and plots to kill” then “take him away from my [the Lord’s] altar” and put him to death.
3. To protect the family, these people are in error and should be put to death: Anyone who attacks his father and mother; anyone who kidnaps and sells the victim; anyone who curses his father or mother.
4. If men quarrel and one is injured to the point he can’t get up and walk, the one who injured him must pay the injured man for his time and see that he is completely healed.
5. If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and he or she dies as a result, he must be punished.
6. If men are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely, then the offender is fined whatever the husband demands and the court allows!
7. If there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise. (The idea here, I believe, is to show remorse and restitution for the offense.)
8. If a man hits a servant and destroys an eye or tooth then the servant goes free to compensate for it.
9. If a bull gores a man to death, then it should be stoned to death and its meat not eaten, but the owner of the bull is not held responsible. If the owner has been warned and there is a habitual problem of the bull killing people, then the bull and the owner are to be put to death (!). However, is payment is demanded (by the judges or family) then the owner can redeem his life by paying.

Negligence

1. If a man uncovers a pit or fails to cover a pit back up and an ox or donkey (for example) falls into it, then the owner pays for the loss. He pays the owner and the dead animal becomes his.
2. If a man’s bull injures the bull of another man and it dies, they are to sell the living one and divide the money and dead animal equally. But, if the bull had the habit of injuring, then the owner must pay animal for animal, and the dead animal will be his.

Theft (Ex. 22)

1. Theft of an ox or sheep requires the thief to pay back 5 head of cattle for the ox and 4 sheep for the sheep.
2. If a thief is caught breaking in and struck and he dies, then the defender is not guilty of bloodshed. But, if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed.
3. A thief must make restitution, and if he has nothing to give, then he must be “sold” to pay for the theft (work off debt). It he stole an animal, then he must pay back double.

Property Damage

The guilty party pays restitution: a reparation made by giving an equivalent or compensation for loss, damage or injury caused; indemnification.

Synonyms: recompense, amends, compensation, requital, satisfaction, repayment; redress--the setting right of what is wrong, relief from wrong or injury, to correct or reform; atonement.

Dishonesty

1. If borrowed goods are stolen, the thief pays back double.
2. If a man takes a virgin, he must pay the “bride price.” If the father refuses to give her to the man, then he still must pay the bride price.

Civil & Religious Obligations

1. Do not allow a sorceress to live.
2. If a person has sexual relations with an animal, put the person to death.
3. Whoever sacrifices to any other “god” other than the Lord, “must be destroyed.”
4. Do not mistreat aliens/foreigners or oppress them, for you were aliens/foreigners in Egypt.
5. Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do, they will cry out to Me [the Lord]. I will hear their cry and become angry. I will kill you with the sword. Your wives will become widows and children orphans.

  Laws of Justice & Mercy (Ex. 23:1-9)

1. Do not spread false reports.
2. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.
3. Do not follow the crowd by doing wrong.
4. Do not side with a poor man in his lawsuit by showing favoritism.
5. If your enemy's ox or donkey is wandering off and you see it, take it back to him.
6. Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
7. Do not have a false charge or put an innocent or honest person to death. God says, "I will not acquit the guilty."
8. Do not accept a bribe--it blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
9. Do not oppress an alien/foreigner because you were once an alien/foreigner in Egypt. This is the 3rd time the Lord has given this instruction about being kind to aliens/foreigners.

 Sabbaths & Feasts (Ex. 23:14-19)

1. Sow your land and gather its yield for 6 years, but during the 7th year, let it rest and lie fallow so the poor of your people may eat. 
2. Work for 6 days, but on the 7th day, you need to rest, as well as your ox and donkey, servants, and any foreigners who are guests, so they can be refreshed. 
3. Pay attention to all of the instructions I [the Lord] have given; make no mention of names of other gods. 
4. Three times a year, hold feasts that are dedicated to the Lord: The Feast of Unleavened Bread (eat bread with no yeast for 7 days), the Feast of Harvest (bring the firstfruits of your labor), and the Feast if Ingathering (at the end of the year to celebrate the harvest).

MICAH 6:8

Covenants and Treaties in the Ancient Near East

The first covenant relationship in the Old Testament is seen between God and Noah in Genesis 6:18 and it extends throughout the Old Testament until Jeremiah explains how God promises there will be a "new covenant written on human hearts," as promised in the book of Jeremiah 31:31-37.

Unlike contracts (which emphasize a performance of terms) a covenant, or treaty, relies on personal loyalty within a relationship. (for example, Jacob and Laban), or Abraham and Abimelech). As in the latter example, sometimes the two parties are unequal in power, so the following elements were often used:

1. Covenants are person-oriented, based on a desire for relationship.
2. The stronger party usually initiates the relationship.
3. Terms are not negotiated but based on the grace of the stronger party.
4. Obligations are kept out of loyalty.
5. Covenants are usually in effect indefinitely.
6. Breaking a covenant involves damaging the relationship.

Ancient Near East (ANE) history documents the use of covenant treaties among suzerains and vassals during the Hittite Empire from about 1450 to 1200 B.C.  This practice is also written about in the Old Testament books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, and in Joshua 24.

Preamble (Names the Suzerain "sovereign")	Ex. 20:1	Deut. 1:1-5	Josh. 24:2
Historical Prologue (History of Relationship)	Ex. 20:2	Deut. 1:6 through 4:49	Josh. 24:2-13
Basic Stipulations	Ex. 20:3-17	Deut. 5 through 11	Josh. 24:14-15
Detailed Stipulations	Ex. 21 - 23	Deut. 12 through 26
Deposit/Public Reading (Money brought and a public reading)	Ex. 25:16	Deut. 31:9-13, 24-26	Josh. 24:26
List of witnesses (names or objects identified as "witnesses")	Ex. 24:4	Deut. 31:16-30	Josh. 24:22, 27
Cursings and Blessings		Deut. 28:1-68	Josh. 24:19-20
Public Oath or Ceremony	Ex.24:1-11	Deut. 27

These notes and explanations are from the textbook, They Spoke from God: A Survey of the Old Testament (250-253). 

This helps explain the loyalty that the Sovereign God was requiring of the Israelites. The covenant relationship was different than a legalistic agreement. If a party breaks a legal contract, it is not binding and the offended party can leave. But in a covenant agreement, the injured party is hurt and grieved. The covenant, however, continues as long as the initiator wills it.

In this case, the initiator was God. This is the message of the story and relationship between God and the Israelites throughout the Old Testament. Although they had grieved the Lord and would continue to sin, God was required to be loyal and faithful to His promises and to be present with His people.

This relationship is extended in the New Testament as well, and it is referred to in many passages. Eventually it would be changed to a "new covenant" between God and all mankind (for example: Luke 22:20, Hebrews 8:7-13, Ephesians 2:11-13).

Words Kill, Words Give Life (Proverbs 18:21)

The title of this blog entry came from a proverb and sermon I heard in church today. I can't take credit for it or the message, but I'm sharing it so I can come back to it and remember it!

Words kill,

words give life;

they're either poison or fruit--

you choose. 

(Proverbs 18:21-The Message Bible)

The tongue has the power of life and death,

and those who love it will eat its fruit.

(Proverbs 18:21-NIV)

WORDS...

1. Have power.

2. Are a choice.

3. Will bear fruit.

And a music video with POWERFUL words! You can watch it,

or just close your eyes and listen to it. The words are amazing,

"Through it all, through it all, my eyes are on You. 

And through it all...my eyes are on You... and it is well...with me."

Abundant Living: The Ten Commandments

Mount Sinai

In Exodus 20, God spoke to the Israelites from Mount Sinai. He reminded them of how He brought them out of slavery in Egypt and how He desires to stay in their presence and to be their Lord God. By God declaring these “rules,” it is as if He is explaining that this relationship requires holiness, and these commandments will guide them in how to live an abundant life, in His presence, with His protection and provision for generations to come. God describes himself in verses 5-6:

“...I am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments” (vv. 5-6).

1. Do not have other gods before Me.
2. Do not make an idol of anything and bow down to it or worship it.
3. Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God because He punishes those who do that.
4. Remember to dedicate a Sabbath day of rest—do all your work on 6 days, and then set a 7th day apart as a holy day devoted to God. Even the Lord created the heavens and earth, the seas, and everything in them in 6 days and then rested on the 7th day and declared it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life.
6. Do not murder.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10. Do not covet, or be jealous, or your neighbor’s house, his wife, his male or female slave, his livestock, or anything that belongs to him.

After God spoke (Exodus 20:1-17), the people were afraid and told Moses that they would listen to Moses, but they were afraid for God to speak to them directly. Moses assured them to not be afraid. Moses explained that God was putting them to a test so they would be afraid, but the fear of God would produce in them an unwillingness to sin. The people remained at a distance from the cloud where God was, but Moses approached the thick darkness where God was so he could receive more instructions and laws.

In Exodus 21-24, and throughout Exodus to chapter 40, God gives instructions to Moses. 

The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain
and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets
with the law and commands
I have written for their instruction."
(Exodus 24:12)

(Luke 10:25-28)

Mt. Sinai: A Holy Place

Exodus 19

Number 8. Mount Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula

On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt, they came to the Desert of Sinai. They camped in front of the mountain.

The Lord called to Moses from the mountain and told him to remind the people of Israel:

‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Ex. 19:4-6)

Moses went back and summoned the elders and explained all the words to them. They replied, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses took their answer back to the Lord.

Then the Lord explained how he would come to Moses in a dense cloud and communicate to Moses through the cloud audibly so the people would hear God speaking to Moses and they would trust Moses.

They were instructed to go make themselves clean because God would appear in three days. They needed to consecrate themselves by washing their clothes and practicing abstinence. They were also warned to not approach the mountain. If they got too close to the mountain, they would be stoned or shot with arrows. Only when the ram’s horn was sounded would they be allowed to approach the mountain.

On the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. (Ex. 19:16-19)

The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to come to the top of the mountain with Aaron. The others were warned to put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy, and to not ascend it, or the Lord “will break out against them.”

Observations:

1. When the Lord declared Mt. Sinai “holy,” then He warned the people to not defile it with anything “unholy” or it would bring on the wrath of God. This included priests, or religious ministers, who were supposed to have consecrated themselves unto the Lord.

For Christians, this means all of us. We are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that [we] may declare the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9) Although the God of the Old Testament sounds unapproachable, He became approachable through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. As Messiah, Jesus bridged the gap between mankind and the Holy of Holies.

2. God came to the people with thunder, lightning, a thick cloud, and a loud trumpet blast. In the New Testament, it is said that when the Lord returns to the earth (the Second Coming), He will appear with a loud command and with the trumpet call of God, “and the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Wisdom from Jethro: Appoint Capable Men

Moses had a father-in-law named Jethro, the priest of Midian. Moses and his wife, Zipporah, had two sons named Gershom (“a foreigner in a foreign land”) and Eliezer (“My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh”). It says in Exodus 18 that Moses had sent his wife and sons back home with Jethro for safety, and now Jethro brought them back to Moses in the wilderness.

Jethro was delighted to hear of everything God had done for Moses and the Israelites by bringing them out of Egypt and sparing them. He brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

The next day, Jethro observed how Moses sat as a “judge” for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. Jethro advised him that what he was doing was not good.

“You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.

But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” (Ex. 18:18-23)

Moses listened to his father-in-law and chose capable men and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. If the cases seemed too difficult, they brought them to Moses, but the simple ones they decided for themselves.

Afterwards, Jethro returned to Midian.

H.W. Longfellow: Rain in Summer

How appropriate in this unbelievably rainy July to find a poem on rain! These verses are meant to be read out loud so you can enjoy the rhyming pattern and meter. I read that some say this poem is full of gloom, but I think it simply captures the bittersweet emotions that rain can bring. The first 15 lines are happy!

Rain in Summer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) HOW beautiful is the rain!  After the dust and heat,  In the broad and fiery street,  In the narrow lane, How beautiful is the rain! How it clatters along the roofs,  Like the tramp of hoofs!  How it gushes and struggles out  From the throat of the overflowing spout!  Across the window-pane It pours and pours;  And swift and wide,  With a muddy tide,  Like a river down the gutter roars, The rain, the welcome rain! The sick man from his chamber looks  At the twisted brooks;  He can feel the cool  Breath of each little pool;  His fevered brain Grows calm again,  And he breathes a blessing on the rain.  From the neighboring school  Come the boys,  With more than their wonted noise And commotion;  And down the wet streets  Sail their mimic fleets,  Till the treacherous pool  Ingulfs them in its whirling And turbulent ocean.  In the country, on every side,  Where far and wide,  Like a leopard’s tawny and spotted hide,  Stretches the plain, To the dry grass and the drier grain, How welcome is the rain! In the furrowed land  The toilsome and patient oxen stand;  Lifting the yoke-encumbered head, With their dilated nostrils spread,  They silently inhale  The clover-scented gale,  And the vapors that arise  From the well-watered and smoking soil. For this rest in the furrow after toil  Their large and lustrous eyes  Seem to thank the Lord,  More than man’s spoken word.  Near at hand, From under the sheltering trees,  The farmer sees  His pastures, and his fields of grain,  As they bend their tops  To the numberless beating drops Of the incessant rain.  He counts it as no sin  That he sees therein  Only his own thrift and gain.  These, and far more than these, The Poet sees!  He can behold  Aquarius old  Walking the fenceless fields of air;  And from each ample fold Of the clouds about him rolled  Scattering everywhere  The showery rain,  As the farmer scatters his grain.  He can behold Things manifold  That have not yet been wholly told,—  Have not been wholly sung nor said.  For his thought, that never stops,  Follows the water-drops Down to the graves of the dead,  Down through chasms and gulfs profound,  To the dreary fountain-head  Of lakes and rivers underground;  And sees them, when the rain is done, On the bridge of colors seven  Climbing up once more to heaven,  Opposite the setting sun.  Thus the Seer  With vision clear, Sees forms appear and disappear,  In the perpetual round of strange,  Mysterious change  From birth to death, from death to birth,  From earth to heaven, from heaven to earth; Till glimpses more sublime  Of things, unseen before,  Unto his wandering eyes reveal  The Universe, as an immeasurable wheel  Turning forevermore In the rapid and rushing river of Time.  I enjoyed the 4th stanza's illustration: "The sick man...can feel the cool breath of each little pool...his fevered brain grows calm again, and he breathes a blessing on the rain..." An Irish Blessing Hummell Favorites on Pinterest, "Umbrella Kids" (with torn umbrella!)

Manna in the Wilderness

On the Way to Canaan

In Exodus 16, the Israelites set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin (a.k.a. Wilderness of Sin), between Elim and Sinai. The "Sin" here does not have the same meaning of the English term "sin," but of a semitic "god of the moon" who was worshiped in ancient times.

The community grumbled to Moses and Aaron because of their lack of food, especially meat, which they had even when they were in slavery in Egypt. The Lord explained to Moses that He would rain down bread from heaven for the people. Their instructions were to gather it daily for 6 days, but on the 6th day to gather twice as much so they could eat leftover manna on the 7th day, a "sabbath" day.

On the way to the Promised Land

When they continued to complain, Moses and Aaron explained that the Lord hears their grumbling, and it is not to them that they are complaining, but to the Lord God.

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.’” (Ex. 16:11-12)

They were supposed to only keep what they could eat (one omer, which is 1/10 of an ephah) because in the morning it would spoil. Some of them disobeyed, and the food would stink or get maggots in it.

In the mornings, they all gathered as much manna as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, the manna melted away. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them,

“This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’” 

So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it.

“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”

Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” So the people rested on the seventh day.

The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’” (Ex. 16:21-32)

The Israelites continued to eat manna for 40 years, until they came to the border of Canaan. It is believed that the preserved omer of manna was kept in the Ark of the Covenant for many generations, but it was not there in the time of King Solomon (1 Kings 8:9). 

Water From the Rock

The trial of eating manna in the wilderness was a form of testing for the Israelites. They were supposed to obey the instructions of Moses and Aaron and in doing so, they were obeying God. 

After they traveled from place to place through the Desert of Sin, they camped at Rephidim (see map above), but there was no water for the people to drink (Ex. 17:1). Again, they quarreled with Moses, who replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.”

"Water From the Rock" Stained Glass Window

So Moses did this in front of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah (“testing”) and Meribah (“quarreling”) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

My observation here is that God was trying to teach the Israelites (and really all of us, today) of God's enduring presence (along the journey in the desert), God's provision (manna, quail, water--food), and God's protection (during the battle with the Amalekites). 

In Exodus 17:8-15, the Israelites were attacked at Rephidim by the Amalekites. Moses ordered Joshua to fight them with the sword. As long as Moses could raise his staff and hold it up, they were winning. When he got tired, Aaron and Hur held his hands up for him, one on each side, until sunset.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” 

Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”

I'm looking for an inspiring visual of "The Lord is My Banner," but so far, I have these!