The Middle East enjoys its turmoil and strife as a way to honor one god or another. In this long history, dating back to the beginning of civilizations, the Arab states and others in the neighborhood rise and fall on sets of beliefs, each with its own theology and loyalty. Continually warring, capturing, and enslaving one another makes for colorful history. Put God in the mix as the ancient Jews did, and learn about Him, them, and yourself.

Ancient scripture tells the stories, the truth of which remains relevant and resonates with

Moses, the Leader of God’s People

us in our contemporary cultures. As the story goes, the powerful Egyptians carried contingencies of conquered nationalities across borders to be the slave labor that built the country’s infrastructure and famous statues and memorials, like the pyramids. During the reign of the Pharaohs, culminating with the rule of Ramses II, as many as 600,000 Jewish families made up a large portion of the slave population of Egypt.

In the Bible, their strange story weaves the Book of Exodus, depicting the escape and return of the Jewish people to their homeland after as much as four hundred years of captivity. The story of Moses, leading the people to their “Land of milk and honey,” makes for instructive reading in the way God interacts with those who follow Him.

From Exodus 15: ²² Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. ²⁴ And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵ And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, ²⁶ saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” [1]

This brings an idea worth studying, believing, and applying to life—“For I am the Lord, your healer.” This serves as part of our motivation in pursuing health God’s way. We firmly believe the principles built on the stories of God’s intervention in this story and in the testimonies of people across the centuries, carrying up to our day. God still heals. Trust Him and see what happens. And then, share your story with us in the pages of Eat, Drink, and Go Veggie. Be well.