God is Our Gracious Provider
Exodus 16:2–15 ESV
Before we go to our text …
Something Apostle Paul said …
- 1 Corinthians 10:11 … 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our [c]admonition[instruction], upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
- Which “things” are Paul referring to?
- Things/events in the Old Testament.
The point Paul is making is that the history of the ancient Israelites was recorded as a warning and instruction for believers.
That history includes the things/events we’ll read about in our text for today … SO keep that principle in mind as we go through the text for today …
Let’s read Exodus 16:2–15 …
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.”
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.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 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.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
11 And the Lord said to Moses, 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.’”
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. Exodus 16:2–15 ESV
What about that passage stands out for you the most?
There are quite a few …
BUT I want to focus on three:
- the grumbling of the Israelites
- Moses’s response … to the grumbling
- God’s response … to the grumbling
1. Re: the grumbling of the Israelites …
- Exodus 16:2-3 … 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.”
- The passage begins by telling us that the “whole congregation” grumbled against Moses and Aaron. This will become a repeated pattern throughout Israel’s wilderness journey. And it is a shocking response, especially so soon after their deliverance through the Red Sea.
- That said … notice what Moses said …
2. Moses’ response to the grumbling …
- Exodus 16:6-8 … 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 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.”
- As far as Moses was concerned … the grumbling was NOT against him and Aaron, BUT against God (Note Ex.16:7 and 8)
- How soon they forget, we may think. And what’s worse, they are not just forgetting what the Lord did for them, but they are remembering wrongly what it was like in Egypt. Ultimately, they have forgotten that God revealed to them that he can be trusted. Now that the journey has got a little rocky, they start to think that God is not who he says he is. At the heart of their grumbling is a misjudgment of their circumstances. But worse yet, they have misjudged God’s character. Instead of seeing him as the God who delivered them from slavery into life, they begin to believe that he has brought them into the wilderness to die.
- As we listen to this story, we need to be careful about where we place our focus.
3. God’s response to the grumbling …
- Exodus 16:4-8 (in context)
- 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.”
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- (Context) 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.”
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- Notice that there is no gap between the people’s grumbling (vv.2-3) and God’s response (beginning in v.4).
- As surprising as Israel’s grumbling may be, God’s response is even more surprising.
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- He does not abandon them.
- He does not send them back to Egypt.
- He does not answer their complaint with rejection.
- He plans to feed them.
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- Because God’s grace is greater than we can imagine.
- God is still the gracious Provider.
- God could have been hurt … upset … offended … and let them suffer a little longer … BUT He didn’t.
- God is not like Man.
- God is good … and gracious … He is faithful when we are faithless
- 2 Timothy 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
- His love for them (and us) is unconditional … it is not conditioned by our behaviour … it does not depend on our behaviour.
- God is going to give them what they need … their daily bread … whether they deserve it or not.
CONCLUSION
A. As we conclude …
1 Corinthians 10:1-11 … Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our [c]admonition[instruction], upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
B. As we read through the text for today … it would be easy to focus only on Israel’s poor response and miss the far more important response — the Lord’s response.
C. It would also be easy to keep Israel’s grumbling at a distance, as if we would never do that. But their grumbling is a mirror held up to us as well. And with humility, we can admit that we often respond in similar ways when our own wilderness becomes difficult. This story is not given to leave us wallowing in self-condemnation. It is given to show us how the Lord responds to his people in their weakness, and to encourage us to keep moving forward. God is a gracious provider … and God’s grace is greater than we can imagine.