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In Exodus 16–18, just one month into their journey after the miraculous Red Sea crossing, the Israelites were back to their old ways—complaining. They were not applying the trust principle that God was teaching them. Instead of trusting in His provision, they grumbled to Moses about their hunger, demanding meat and bread. Moses, in turn, went to the Lord on their behalf, but he also made it clear that their complaints were not seen by God as against him but against God Himself.

Despite their lack of faith, God graciously provided for them. He sent quail in the evening and manna in the morning. However, in God’s true form, He didn’t allow the Israelites to go forward without learning; He attached a teachable moment to His provision. They were instructed to gather only what they needed for the day and not to store leftovers for the next day. Yet, many disobeyed, hoarding excess food out of fear that God would not provide again. Their lack of trust resulted in spoiled, foul-smelling manna—a lesson connected to their failure to rely on God's faithfulness.

Nestled into this Trust-in-God narrative, He establishes the seventh day as a day of rest. God set apart the Sabbath as a memorial to remind the Israelites that He alone is the Creator, the one true God, and that He alone is worthy of their devotion.

Reading this, I was left wondering: When people refuse to take a Sabbath—choosing instead to work to “gather more”—does the lack of trust in God’s provision “stink to high heaven”?

As the Israelites’ lack of faith continued, their grumbling escalated into outright quarreling with Moses. Instead of praying and trusting that God would provide, their unchecked attitudes revealed their doubt that God was even with them.

This convicted me to ask: How often do my unchecked negative attitudes reflect a lack of trust in God? What do my complaints, frustrations, or anxieties reveal about what I truly believe in those moments?

One final lesson worth mentioning comes from Jethro’s visit to Moses in chapter 18. Seeing how overwhelmed Moses was with handling every issue raised among the people, Jethro gave him crucial advice in delegation. If Moses was ever going to successfully lead the people forward, he needed to empower others by entrusting them with responsibilities. If we ever expect to lead people, we need to empower capable individuals to take some of the burden from us.

But there’s another lesson here—leadership is a two-way street. While Moses had to learn to share the burden, the Israelites also had a responsibility. They had to support their leader by stepping into the roles God was calling them to fulfill.

Wow, there were a ton of takeaways in this passage today!

  • It’s important that we trust in God’s daily provision—hoarding or worrying about tomorrow only leads to rot, both physically and spiritually.
  • Practice honoring God through the principle of rest—a life that never pauses for rest and holding back to allow God to provide will eventually break down.
  • Make sure you are guarding your attitude—unchecked negativity reveals our doubt that God is God and deserving of our submission.
  • Be a part of a healthy leadership model—godly leadership requires both wise delegation and willing participation.