THE WATER SUPPORTER

Time with Jesus - Thursday, 14 February 2013

Hi all,

They tell me that we all need 2.5 litres of water per day to support life satisfactorily. I’m not completely certain of this number. However, I suspect that if we were wandering round in the wilderness with the Israelites, the figure would be about right. Now that’s the same as the amount required to fill an Olympic Sized Swimming pool. (I checked on Google). How would we get all that water to the Israelites? Build a pipeline? Good suggestion. Not much use in the year ±1500BC. To quote my late father; it’s another “canackeler”! It’s also our meditation today.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland  

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Thursday, 14 February 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	The Water Supporter
Logistics is not exactly my favourite topic. However, over the past fifty years or so, it has become a necessary part of life. Perhaps the best illustration of this is petrol for the car (gas for the automobile for the Yank’s). Those who have only an “itsy-bitsy” knowledge would be careful to fill up before the car ran out of “juice”. No one I know is keen on spending half the night somewhere between Laingsburg and Beaufort West because the “tank ran dry”. For much the same sort of reason, the housewife generally ensures, there is sufficient to eat every day. Hungry children are inclined to be a bit grumpy! Oddly enough, husbands don’t like it either. Several years ago, I went on a course on what was called, “Supply Side Management”. I found it was just another word for planning ahead. Mind you, I need to be careful. There are professors of this stuff out there, who would have my guts for garters, if they thought I was demeaning their expertise. This forward planning stuff helps you get prepared for each and every eventuality, most of which alternatives, are never likely to occur anyway. One much loved model was called, “Just in time” (JIT). The theory was, that as the last one was taken away, the next one arrived in the warehouse. I liked this theory. It’s wonderfully God-fearing. Only God can arrange anything that works like that, 100% of the time. By coincidence, I went to the course at about the same time as I was reading the book of Exodus. Almost everything in that book occurred JIT. At the time, I had the idea, that Jesus was the best JIT specialist, this world has ever known. He is never early or late. With timing accurate to the nearest tenth of a millisecond, things were there as needed. Now that’s JIT. For me it now stands for “Jesus is Terrific”. By way of explanation, if there were 2 million people each needing 2,5 litres of water per day – It was very hot; they would need 5 million litres of water per day. Now that’s a lot of water. In simple terms, that’s 2,5 million plastic milk containers? Where would you carry them? Certainly not on a Coke Lorry! Now we’ve all heard the story of the manna in the Wilderness. It was there every morning on cue. There was never too much or too little. On Friday’s there was enough to collect for two days. There was none on the Sabbath. What is not mentioned is water supply. Obviously, it wasn’t a problem through most of the journey. Why or why not, I asked myself? Then the penny dropped! It was not mentioned, because it wasn’t a problem (after Marah). So who was their water supporter? Only God could handle such a demand. Just don’t ask me how. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			20 The LORD spoke to Aaron. He said, "You will not receive any part of the land I am giving to Israel. You will not have any share among them. I am your share. I am what you will receive among the people of Israel. Numbers 18:20 NIrV 25 Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth. 26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever. 27 Those who desert Him will perish, for You destroy those who abandon You Psalm 73:25-27 NLT 5 LORD, You alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. 6 The land You have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance! Psalm 16:5-6 NLT 24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." 25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lament 3:24-25 ESV 111 Your written instructions are mine forever. They are the joy of my heart. 112 I have decided to obey your laws. They offer a reward that never ends. Psalm 119:111-112 GW A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah. 1 O God, You are my God; I earnestly search for You. My soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 NLT 6 I lie awake thinking of You, meditating on You through the night. 7 Because You are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings. 8 I cling to You; Your strong right hand holds me securely. 9 But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin. They will go down into the depths of the earth. Psalm 63:6-9 NLT 16 My lover is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies. 17 Before the dawn breezes blow and the night shadows flee, return to me, my love, like a gazelle or a young stag on the rugged mountains. SoS 2:16-17 NLT	They wandered through the desert, for nearly forty years. There were two million people, is what it now appears. Six hundred thousand menfolk, their children and their wives Made up the total number. That’s what my maths derives. And then there were the animals; the many flocks and herds. The cost of feeding all of them can’t be expressed in words! The people lived on manna; it was their daily food. They ate it boiled, or baked, or fried, or on occasions, stewed! The problem would be water. The people had to drink. To keep the people healthy and living in the pink, Would be a major factor. So how much was required, To keep the people going before they all expired? It’s difficult to estimate; the land was hot and dry. They had their “air conditioning” from God up in the sky. The fiery pillar warmed them, right through the long cold nights; The cloud that covered them by day kept their conditions right. But they all needed water, three litres each per day. About six mega litres approximately – say. Now that’s a lot of water. Enough to fill a boat, The size of the Titanic or keep the thing afloat. I’ve wondered where it came from. There wasn’t much around. It couldn’t be a trickle that came up from the ground. For God it was no problem. He speaks and instantly, They’d always have enough to drink no matter where they’d be. But did the Lord bring rain clouds? I don’t think it was so. The Bible then would tell us, so everyone could know. They’d need a daily miracle. The manna came that way. But water doesn’t come in blocks; not even in that day! And what about the buckets that they would have to fill? That’s also not an option to satisfy this bill. The only way to do it, as far as I can tell, Was that they didn’t draw it, from any desert well. Perhaps just like the jar of oil that didn’t once run dry, The Lord filled their containers with a similar supply? I know I am not certain. It’s only just a guess. But how could the Creator fix their little mess? If you know something better, please won’t you tell us all? The problem has been stated. My friends, it’s now your call. Jim Strickland  Written 14th February 2012