Obedience or Disobedience?

The entire Israelites community departed from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, which was between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt. The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!"

Then The Lord said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow My instructions. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days. Exodus 16:1-5

What I don't understand is: if they took their flocks with them why did they not slaughter animals to eat? In understand needing bread but not meat.

Again God's provision came with a test. God wanted to see what the people would do with His instructions. They were not to gather more than 2 quarts per household and not to keep it overnight unless it was the sixth day so that they had plenty for the Sabbath which was now being instituted.

In these days, when most work for wages this is foreign, they had to depend on God for their daily bread. Yet in the provision was a test. Would people do as they were commanded or make their own rules.

I notice more and more that these days people make their own rules. The road sign may say 60 but people travel at a speed according to their need, I am in a hurry to get home, I left home too late and have to speed. The end justifies the means. Just as the Israelites came to grief so will we if we continue to live for ourselves. Someone will die for our determination.

Jesus already has paid the price for our freedom, He liberates us from the need to do our own thing, He empowers us to honor The Lord in all we do, be it in what we take from life or what we must give, as in taxes. All of life is a test. Amen!