27. WHO DO WE GO TO IN THE TIME OF NEED?Can complaining change your fate? Possibly.
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Have you ever needed to pay the rent, vehicle taxes, or get the car fixed and you had no idea where you would get the money? It would not be an exaggeration to guess that most of us have been in that situation before! Well, what do you typically do if you need money, food, or something else? One thing is for sure, we start to feel stress. We may even cry, get angry, or complain. And for most of us, we would probably call our friends or family to borrow money. But should our first instinct be to ask other people to help us? After all the lessons we have studied together, you should easily be able to guess that the answer is no. We should first go to God because He always provides. Let’s start by reading a story about a man named Ayhan who grasped this truth.
It was a typical hot July day. Not exactly the kind of day that someone would think of buying a leather jacket, much less hope to sell one. But as the tourists descended from the boat, Ayhan thought that today was the day.
Business had been slow lately and he desperately needed to sell a jacket or two to pay the bills. In fact, every summer was like this. However Ayhan never thought of changing professions or trying to sell something different because things seemed to always work out. During the summer, he never had employees because he just didn’t have enough money to pay them. So he stepped out into the heat and started looking for potential customers.
“Are you looking to buy leather?” He asked a tourist who was passing by.
“No thank you.” the tourist responded.
“Well at least he said something to me. It is better than being ignored,” Ayhan thought to himself.
Ayhan continued to search for hours and as 9 pm drew near, he decided to give up for the day. He walked into his shop, cleaned up, and was getting ready to leave. When he was in the back putting the broom and mop away he heard the bells on the door ring signaling that someone had entered the store.
“Hello, may I help you sir?” he asked.
“Yes as a matter of fact you can! I was told you sell high quality leather jackets and wanted to look at them. Do you still have time or are you closing?” the tall, well-dressed foreigner asked.
“Of course I have time. In fact, I was expecting someone.” Ayhan replied.
The foreigner thought this remark was quite odd because it was apparent that Ayhan was getting ready to leave, but he brushed it aside and proceeded to look at the jackets. The tourist knew what color and style he wanted, so it didn’t take long for Ayhan to find 3 jackets. The foreigner stood there looking at the jackets, asking questions about each one.
“What kind of leather is this? Will it need to be repainted? Was it made in Turkey? How about the price?”
The questions continued one after the other. But Ayhan was used to this. He learned a long time ago that foreigners need a little time and sometimes a little push to purchase something.
“I think I will get the brown one with the fur collar.”
“Excellent choice! In the winter, the zipper will keep the wind out and the fur collar can be pulled up to keep your neck warm.” Ayhan said.
The tourist bargained a little for the price and paid. When he was about to leave the shop, he noticed that the streets were mostly empty and so he turned to Ahmet and asked,
“I don’t want to be rude, but you said your were waiting for someone. Almost everyone has left and it has been over an hour since I arrived. Who were you waiting for?”
“I was waiting for you.” Ayhan replied.
“But how could you know that I was coming? We have never met.” The tourist inquired.
“You are right! But I believe that everyday God will bring me customers. It doesn’t usually happen when I want it to, but it always happens when I need it to because He always provides!"
“Now I understand, have a good evening and thank you for the jacket.”
Since we started studying together, we have seen many aspects of God’s character. He is the Creator of the Universe, the Judge of the wicked, Caller of the faithful, Savior of the righteous, Revealer of Dreams and Protector of His people. He is holy, but so concerned about humanity that He sends us messages through His prophets. He even visited Abraham in the flesh to tell him about Isaac and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Unfortunately, many people still do not recognize God as any of these things. Sometimes the very people who should remember who He is forget. That brings us to this lesson. After everything the Israelites had experienced, you would think that they would have trusted God to provide everything for them. But that wasn’t the case. Lets start by reading Exodus chapter 16 verses 1-3:
1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
What? This can’t be happening! The Israelites have just witnessed some of the greatest miracles ever. God brought plagues upon the Egyptians, while protecting the Israelites. He freed them from slavery and protected them from the Pharaoh’s army. And if those things didn’t convince them of His power, He divided the Red Sea in half and allowed them to walk across on dry land. Surely, this would be enough proof that God could also provide food! But according to the Scriptures, that wasn’t the case. As the growls of their stomachs increased, all they could think about was the food they ate in Egypt. They were basically saying that they would have rather died in Egypt as slaves than suffer hunger as free people. How will God deal with this? Let’s continue reading verses 4 and 5:
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.
For those of us who have kids, these verses may be a little easier to understand. How many times have you responded to your children’s complaining by giving them exactly what they wanted? Well that is what God is doing here. Just as parents know the tendencies of their children, God knows the tendencies of humanity. He knew that when the going got tough, they would want to give up. So He took it upon himself to prove to them once again that He was all they needed. But instead of just giving them food, He provided it with some conditions. They were to collect a certain amount of food for five days and on the sixth day twice as much. If they followed His commandment they would have food, but more importantly it would show that they trusted him and wanted to listen to him. Let’s pick up the story in verse 8:
8 And Moses said, When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.
After Moses told the Israelites that God would provide food and under what conditions, he wanted to make something very clear. Their complaints were not against Moses and Aaron. They were against God. It is the same with us! When we complain about our situation, we are basically saying that God has abandoned us and isn’t concerned about us; He isn’t faithful and hasn’t done His job. In addition, by choosing to complain instead of asking God directly we lose an opportunity for God to answer our prayers.
So Moses told Aaron what God said and Aaron in turn told the Israelites. Just then, like a flash of lightning, God appeared in the cloud that had protected them since they arrived at the Red Sea. In verse 12 He said,
12 I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.
Why did God provide them with food? So that they would know who God was and that He would provide all their needs. They had no reason to complain, no reason to worry, and no reason to doubt. And just as we have seen before, God kept his promise! The story continues in Exodus chapter 16 verses 13-19:
13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people 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, It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent. 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.
Let us imagine the first morning. It started with a few distant murmurs and as the news spread their was a loud tumult. Families exited their tents and saw people carrying baskets as if they were harvesting crops. Men, women, and children ran throughout the camp gathering the white, sweet substance. Their shouts of joy were mixed with tears.
"God did it. He kept his promise. He rained down bread from heaven. Now we won't starve. Praise be to God!"
It was a scene repeated over and over again because, as we will read, this “bread” was to be their main source of food for a long time. It is interesting to note here that the food was 100% from God. The Israelites didn’t do anything to get it. They didn’t plow the soil, sow seed, water or weed. All they had to do was go out in faith and pick it up off the ground every morning. There was only one rule, they were not allowed to save any for the next day. Do you think they listened? Let's find out in verses 20 and 21:
20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
Everyday the Israelites were reminded that this “bread” was from God. When they went out morning after morning, it proved to them that God supplied all their needs. If they tried to keep it over night, their attempts would end in failure. After so many years of slavery, the descendants of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham had learned to depend upon their Egyptian masters for food. As a result, they had forgotten the faith of their ancestors and how to trust and depend on God. These two things were very important because only faith and dependence upon God would enable them to keep the covenant of Abraham alive. But the story isn’t over. God wanted to give them something else that had been taken from them, namely rest. Let's read verses 22-26:
22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, This is what the LORD has commanded: Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning. 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.
God not only provided the Israelites with food, He gave them a day of rest. A weekly holiday that had existed since the beginning of time. If you remember, God created everything in six days and on the seventh day He rested. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy. He gave it to humanity as a gift! God was simply reminding the Israelites that they too were to rest. By resting they would have energy to travel and work the other six days. But more importantly, it was another way for them to show that they trusted Him to provide for them. Sometimes we feel like we need to work everyday to make a living, but God is telling us here that we need to completely trust and depend on Him. By resting on the seventh day, we are showing God that we believe He is our Provider. And just as He provided a double portion of “bread” on the sixth day and kept it from spoiling, so to can He provide enough for us. So the Israelites did what God said, right? Wrong! Let's read about it in verses 27-31:
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the LORD said to Moses, How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
There is an old saying; “there is always a bad apple in every bunch.” It seems there were quite a few bad apples among the Israelites because a group of people went out on the Sabbath and disobeyed God. But just as God said, they didn’t find any of the “bread” they named “manna.” Let’s finish reading the story Exodus chapter 16 verses 32-36:
32 Moses said, This is what the LORD has commanded: Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt. 33 And Moses said to Aaron, Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations. 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept. 35 The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)
Just in case the Israelites forgot what God had done for them and to provide proof of His miracle, God commanded them to save a jar of manna. The jar of manna was then placed in a safe location. We will learn more about that in later lessons. Let’s close with short illustration.
It takes a disciplined spirit to endure the monastery on Mount Serat in Spain. One of the fundamental requirements of the new monks is that they must maintain silence. Opportunities to speak are scheduled once every two years, at which time they are allowed to speak only two words. One young initiate in this religious order, who had completed his first two years of training, was invited by his superior to make his first two-word presentation.
"Food terrible," he said.
Two years later the invitation was once again extended. The young man used this forum to exclaim,
"Bed lumpy."
Arriving at his superior's office two years later he proclaimed,
"I quit."
The superior looked at this young monk and said,
"You know, it doesn't surprise me a bit. All you've done since you arrived is complain, complain, complain.”
When you find yourself getting stressed, worried and angry about your situation, don’t get caught in the trap of complaining. Remember that God provides!
Questions for Discussion:
1. Have you ever done something that you know God didn’t want you to do? What was the result?
2. Why is it so hard to go to God first when we need something?
3. Have you ever had an experience like Ayhan? What did God do for you?
4. Why did the Israelites not listen to God?
5. Is it starting to become clear to you that only God can change your circumstances? That depending on Him is the only safe
way to survive in our dangerous world?
It was a typical hot July day. Not exactly the kind of day that someone would think of buying a leather jacket, much less hope to sell one. But as the tourists descended from the boat, Ayhan thought that today was the day.
Business had been slow lately and he desperately needed to sell a jacket or two to pay the bills. In fact, every summer was like this. However Ayhan never thought of changing professions or trying to sell something different because things seemed to always work out. During the summer, he never had employees because he just didn’t have enough money to pay them. So he stepped out into the heat and started looking for potential customers.
“Are you looking to buy leather?” He asked a tourist who was passing by.
“No thank you.” the tourist responded.
“Well at least he said something to me. It is better than being ignored,” Ayhan thought to himself.
Ayhan continued to search for hours and as 9 pm drew near, he decided to give up for the day. He walked into his shop, cleaned up, and was getting ready to leave. When he was in the back putting the broom and mop away he heard the bells on the door ring signaling that someone had entered the store.
“Hello, may I help you sir?” he asked.
“Yes as a matter of fact you can! I was told you sell high quality leather jackets and wanted to look at them. Do you still have time or are you closing?” the tall, well-dressed foreigner asked.
“Of course I have time. In fact, I was expecting someone.” Ayhan replied.
The foreigner thought this remark was quite odd because it was apparent that Ayhan was getting ready to leave, but he brushed it aside and proceeded to look at the jackets. The tourist knew what color and style he wanted, so it didn’t take long for Ayhan to find 3 jackets. The foreigner stood there looking at the jackets, asking questions about each one.
“What kind of leather is this? Will it need to be repainted? Was it made in Turkey? How about the price?”
The questions continued one after the other. But Ayhan was used to this. He learned a long time ago that foreigners need a little time and sometimes a little push to purchase something.
“I think I will get the brown one with the fur collar.”
“Excellent choice! In the winter, the zipper will keep the wind out and the fur collar can be pulled up to keep your neck warm.” Ayhan said.
The tourist bargained a little for the price and paid. When he was about to leave the shop, he noticed that the streets were mostly empty and so he turned to Ahmet and asked,
“I don’t want to be rude, but you said your were waiting for someone. Almost everyone has left and it has been over an hour since I arrived. Who were you waiting for?”
“I was waiting for you.” Ayhan replied.
“But how could you know that I was coming? We have never met.” The tourist inquired.
“You are right! But I believe that everyday God will bring me customers. It doesn’t usually happen when I want it to, but it always happens when I need it to because He always provides!"
“Now I understand, have a good evening and thank you for the jacket.”
Since we started studying together, we have seen many aspects of God’s character. He is the Creator of the Universe, the Judge of the wicked, Caller of the faithful, Savior of the righteous, Revealer of Dreams and Protector of His people. He is holy, but so concerned about humanity that He sends us messages through His prophets. He even visited Abraham in the flesh to tell him about Isaac and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Unfortunately, many people still do not recognize God as any of these things. Sometimes the very people who should remember who He is forget. That brings us to this lesson. After everything the Israelites had experienced, you would think that they would have trusted God to provide everything for them. But that wasn’t the case. Lets start by reading Exodus chapter 16 verses 1-3:
1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
What? This can’t be happening! The Israelites have just witnessed some of the greatest miracles ever. God brought plagues upon the Egyptians, while protecting the Israelites. He freed them from slavery and protected them from the Pharaoh’s army. And if those things didn’t convince them of His power, He divided the Red Sea in half and allowed them to walk across on dry land. Surely, this would be enough proof that God could also provide food! But according to the Scriptures, that wasn’t the case. As the growls of their stomachs increased, all they could think about was the food they ate in Egypt. They were basically saying that they would have rather died in Egypt as slaves than suffer hunger as free people. How will God deal with this? Let’s continue reading verses 4 and 5:
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.
For those of us who have kids, these verses may be a little easier to understand. How many times have you responded to your children’s complaining by giving them exactly what they wanted? Well that is what God is doing here. Just as parents know the tendencies of their children, God knows the tendencies of humanity. He knew that when the going got tough, they would want to give up. So He took it upon himself to prove to them once again that He was all they needed. But instead of just giving them food, He provided it with some conditions. They were to collect a certain amount of food for five days and on the sixth day twice as much. If they followed His commandment they would have food, but more importantly it would show that they trusted him and wanted to listen to him. Let’s pick up the story in verse 8:
8 And Moses said, When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.
After Moses told the Israelites that God would provide food and under what conditions, he wanted to make something very clear. Their complaints were not against Moses and Aaron. They were against God. It is the same with us! When we complain about our situation, we are basically saying that God has abandoned us and isn’t concerned about us; He isn’t faithful and hasn’t done His job. In addition, by choosing to complain instead of asking God directly we lose an opportunity for God to answer our prayers.
So Moses told Aaron what God said and Aaron in turn told the Israelites. Just then, like a flash of lightning, God appeared in the cloud that had protected them since they arrived at the Red Sea. In verse 12 He said,
12 I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.
Why did God provide them with food? So that they would know who God was and that He would provide all their needs. They had no reason to complain, no reason to worry, and no reason to doubt. And just as we have seen before, God kept his promise! The story continues in Exodus chapter 16 verses 13-19:
13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people 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, It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent. 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.
Let us imagine the first morning. It started with a few distant murmurs and as the news spread their was a loud tumult. Families exited their tents and saw people carrying baskets as if they were harvesting crops. Men, women, and children ran throughout the camp gathering the white, sweet substance. Their shouts of joy were mixed with tears.
"God did it. He kept his promise. He rained down bread from heaven. Now we won't starve. Praise be to God!"
It was a scene repeated over and over again because, as we will read, this “bread” was to be their main source of food for a long time. It is interesting to note here that the food was 100% from God. The Israelites didn’t do anything to get it. They didn’t plow the soil, sow seed, water or weed. All they had to do was go out in faith and pick it up off the ground every morning. There was only one rule, they were not allowed to save any for the next day. Do you think they listened? Let's find out in verses 20 and 21:
20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
Everyday the Israelites were reminded that this “bread” was from God. When they went out morning after morning, it proved to them that God supplied all their needs. If they tried to keep it over night, their attempts would end in failure. After so many years of slavery, the descendants of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham had learned to depend upon their Egyptian masters for food. As a result, they had forgotten the faith of their ancestors and how to trust and depend on God. These two things were very important because only faith and dependence upon God would enable them to keep the covenant of Abraham alive. But the story isn’t over. God wanted to give them something else that had been taken from them, namely rest. Let's read verses 22-26:
22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, This is what the LORD has commanded: Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning. 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.
God not only provided the Israelites with food, He gave them a day of rest. A weekly holiday that had existed since the beginning of time. If you remember, God created everything in six days and on the seventh day He rested. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy. He gave it to humanity as a gift! God was simply reminding the Israelites that they too were to rest. By resting they would have energy to travel and work the other six days. But more importantly, it was another way for them to show that they trusted Him to provide for them. Sometimes we feel like we need to work everyday to make a living, but God is telling us here that we need to completely trust and depend on Him. By resting on the seventh day, we are showing God that we believe He is our Provider. And just as He provided a double portion of “bread” on the sixth day and kept it from spoiling, so to can He provide enough for us. So the Israelites did what God said, right? Wrong! Let's read about it in verses 27-31:
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the LORD said to Moses, How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
There is an old saying; “there is always a bad apple in every bunch.” It seems there were quite a few bad apples among the Israelites because a group of people went out on the Sabbath and disobeyed God. But just as God said, they didn’t find any of the “bread” they named “manna.” Let’s finish reading the story Exodus chapter 16 verses 32-36:
32 Moses said, This is what the LORD has commanded: Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt. 33 And Moses said to Aaron, Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations. 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept. 35 The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)
Just in case the Israelites forgot what God had done for them and to provide proof of His miracle, God commanded them to save a jar of manna. The jar of manna was then placed in a safe location. We will learn more about that in later lessons. Let’s close with short illustration.
It takes a disciplined spirit to endure the monastery on Mount Serat in Spain. One of the fundamental requirements of the new monks is that they must maintain silence. Opportunities to speak are scheduled once every two years, at which time they are allowed to speak only two words. One young initiate in this religious order, who had completed his first two years of training, was invited by his superior to make his first two-word presentation.
"Food terrible," he said.
Two years later the invitation was once again extended. The young man used this forum to exclaim,
"Bed lumpy."
Arriving at his superior's office two years later he proclaimed,
"I quit."
The superior looked at this young monk and said,
"You know, it doesn't surprise me a bit. All you've done since you arrived is complain, complain, complain.”
When you find yourself getting stressed, worried and angry about your situation, don’t get caught in the trap of complaining. Remember that God provides!
Questions for Discussion:
1. Have you ever done something that you know God didn’t want you to do? What was the result?
2. Why is it so hard to go to God first when we need something?
3. Have you ever had an experience like Ayhan? What did God do for you?
4. Why did the Israelites not listen to God?
5. Is it starting to become clear to you that only God can change your circumstances? That depending on Him is the only safe
way to survive in our dangerous world?