Exodus 16:10 What Did They See?

Exodus 16:10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.

Have you ever experienced something and you just had to exclaim, “What did I just see?” I know I have. There have been many surprises in my life, things I never thought I would see, or that I could even have imagined seeing before I saw them. Some were natural events. Some weren’t.

When I walked into the domed building housing the Terracotta Army in Xi’an, in central China, my jaw dropped. I stood with tears in my eyes. I had heard about this archeological site from my parents. They had visited years before and shared briefly about their visit. But to stand there and see these terracotta statues, larger than life. It was almost more than I could take.

I saw in that moment the genius of humanity. And the futility of humanity’s efforts. The craftsmanship was almost unbelievable. Over two thousand years ago these artifacts were crafted as part of a burial ritual for their emperor. They were impressive.

But their view of the afterlife certainly fell short of reality. Their vain hope of immortality apart the LORD fell short. But the beauty of their effort is astounding. Like the pyramids of Egypt, they are worth seeing. The pyramids are still on my bucket list.

Our text tries to put into words something that can’t be put into words. The Israelites have made it out of Egypt by the grace of God. They have already begun complaining, like children in the back seat on a long trip. I can almost hear them saying, “Are we there yet?” But they were complaining about the drive-thru food. They were missing the home cooked meals.

The LORD was putting them through a simple training program. Would they be obedient to a very simple set of instructions. He was going to provide food in a certain way. Would they believe what He had said?

And as the instructions are being given, the people look toward the desert and see something that they identify as the glory of the LORD showing up in a cloud. What did they see, exactly? We don’t know. They see something that lets them know that the LORD is present.

But does that keep them on the straight and narrow? Nope! They can’t even take a day off when told to do so. Gather manna for six days, then don’t gather the next. Don’t save any from day to day. The LORD will provide it every day, double on the sixth day, and it won’t rot on the seventh. Simple, right?!?

But this was a people who had lived an enslaved life. They had no opportunity for freedom. They couldn’t complain without severe repercussions. Remember the bricks without straw!

So now they can complain, but they really don’t know the One they are complaining about. And then He shows up in a cloud in the desert. Yikes! But even this didn’t cause them to do what they were supposed to do! Even the visible presence of the Creator of the Universe didn’t change their decisions.

We would like to think that we should have been different than they were, that we would have been obedient. After all, they saw the LORD’s glory. But we have the opportunity to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives today. Not see Him at a distance, but live with Him right here right now.

Should His presence help us make the right choices? Does His presence help us make the right choices?