Bread in the Wilderness

your Bible to Exodus chapter 16. We are continuing in our series through this wonderful book

Exodus 16 · chapter mention

about the God who saves. Exodus 16, we're looking at the whole chapter this morning,

but I'll begin by reading verses 1 through 12.

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. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and

Aaron in the wilderness. 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?

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. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as

they gather daily. 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, 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? 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. 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. 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.

And the Lord said to Moses, 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. Let's pray. Father, we pray that as we look into this passage this morning

that we would know that you are the Lord our God. We pray that we would see you as the God who saves

and sustains. And we pray that you would strengthen our faith and hope in you that we may trust you.

In Jesus' name, amen. Have you ever found yourself facing a wilderness? A wilderness is an unwelcoming

place, a harsh and barren landscape, seemingly no protection from the heat of the day,

and the shivering cold of the night. Maybe you've faced, or maybe you're facing a literal wilderness,

hunger, thirst, homelessness. You don't know where your next meal is coming from.

Maybe you've lived in a wilderness of loneliness, isolation, grief, uncertainty.

Rejection. Maybe you've come to New Haven from somewhere far away where you felt at home and

where you were flourishing, and you've come here and you haven't quite found it to be a city that

opens its arms to you. And you wonder, can I really find a place here? Can I flourish here? Will I ever feel

at home? The motto of the state of Connecticut is qui transtulat sustenet, which means he who

transplanted still sustains. And if you look at the seal of the state of Connecticut, it has the motto

along with three grape vines. It actually goes all the way back to 1639 when Connecticut was a British

colony. And one historian wrote, the vine symbolized the colony brought over and planted here in the

wilderness. And the motto expresses our belief that he who brought over the vine continues to sustain it.

Those God saves, he also sustains. That's the idea behind the motto of our state, and that's also the

main idea of this section in Exodus chapter 16, 17, and 18. We've seen how God saved the Israelites.

Exodus 16 · chapter mention

He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. He brought them through the Red Sea waters, and they sang a song

of victory. But now they face a wilderness ahead. Today we're looking at how God supplies bread for

their hunger. Next week we'll look at how God supplies water for their thirst. Two weeks from now we'll look at

how God gives them help when they're facing conflicts within and without.

And in all these episodes we'll see that the same God who saves is also the God who sustains.

Now today I want to look at this passage in two parts. I want to look at the people's grumbling,

and I want to look at the Lord's provision.

So first the people's grumbling. Did you notice how often that word grumbling appeared in those

first 12 verses? I counted at least eight times. But I want you to notice three things about the

people's grumbling. First notice how quickly the people started grumbling. Verse 1 says that it was

on the 15th day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.

In other words, it was only one month after the Exodus because the Exodus, the Passover, was the

14th day of the first month, and now it's the 15th day of the second month.

And think about all that God had done for the Israelites during that one month. He had delivered them

from centuries of cruel bondage under Pharaoh. He had spared them from the judgment on the firstborn

in their households. He had accompanied them with a pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by

night. He had parted the Red Sea and saved them from the Egyptian army that was pursuing them and

wanted to kill them. And then after a journey into the desert, God led them to a place called Elim

where there were 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees. Sounds like a pretty nice oasis in the desert.

But what are the people doing? They're grumbling, whining, complaining. Now, they weren't just

lamenting some legitimately hard circumstances, and that's not wrong. They weren't turning to the Lord

and crying out to Him for help. That would have been a good thing. They quickly became angry and bitter

and hopeless, and they said, we wish we had died back in the land of Egypt. Now, do they really mean

that? I don't know. Do you really mean what you say when you're angry and bitter and hopeless and you

say all kinds of things? The Israelites were a little bit like toddlers. If you've ever spent time with

young children, you know that you can go from spending the whole day at the beach and you have hot dogs or a

picnic lunch and you get ice cream from the ice cream truck, and then you finally say it's time to go home

and there's a complete meltdown. Right? You've just had this great day.

I mean, don't you remember all the things that happened to us today?

In Deuteronomy, Moses describes that wilderness period as the time of Israel's infancy or sort of toddlerhood.

He says, in the wilderness, the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son.

God was patient in bearing with his children's tendency to quickly grumble and rebel and complain.

That's the first thing about their grumbling. Notice how quickly it happened. But second,

notice how their perspective became distorted in the process. Their memory of the past,

their perspective on the present, and on the future.

You know, last week we looked at that great song of praise that they sang to the Lord when they

stood on the other side of the Red Sea and they sang the song of joy and victory.

You know, it seems like they stopped singing that song pretty quickly.

They started singing a different song.

They started singing about those happy golden years back in Egypt when we sat by the meat pots and ate

all the bread we wanted. That's an interesting way to remember the land of slavery.

Now, the Israelites probably ate meat sometimes in Egypt. They owned livestock after all.

But that was a pretty distorted memory of the past.

They only remember a tiny fraction of what it really was.

And then, they say to Moses and Aaron,

you have brought us into the wilderness to kill us and starve us to death.

Even though in the wilderness, they had actually come closer to God than ever before.

They had seen his power and seen his glory and experienced his saving grace

in more powerful ways than they ever had in their entire life.

And they were on their way to the promised land.

They were closer to their final destination than ever before.

And yet, they look around.

And they say, you've brought us here to kill us.

Now, it's not even clear whether they had run out of food yet.

Next week, we're going to look at the water passages.

And there, it actually says they had no water or the water was bitter.

They were thirsty.

Here, it doesn't even say they ran out of food.

It just says they started grumbling.

Psalm 78 says they tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.

You know, the Bible distinguishes between good desires and sinful cravings.

As human beings, we have good desires, right?

You get hungry, you need food.

You get thirsty, you need water.

You get tired, you need rest.

Those are legitimate desires.

But sometimes, a legitimate desire becomes a sinful craving.

And a sinful craving has a bottomless pit like the pit of hell.

It's never satisfied.

It's never satisfied because it's a space that can only be filled with God himself.

And when you're trying to fill that space with anything else, it'll never fill the hole.

And so, the Bible says we have to put sinful cravings to death because they're idolatries.

They're pursuing something else as if it's going to satisfy us like only God can.

And it says we need to bring to God our legitimate desires and ask him for help and for what we need.

You know, it's very easy for Acts, in the book of Acts, chapter 7, it says this.

Acts 7 · chapter mention

It says,

That's an interesting way to put it.

They were facing the wilderness, but in their hearts, they turned back to Egypt.

You see, God had gotten them out of Egypt.

And we've just seen that.

But in some ways, that was the easy part because he still had to get Egypt out of them.

Now, it's very easy for our perspective on the past, present, and future to become distorted

in the midst of trying circumstances when we're in the middle of a wilderness.

Several years ago, some family researchers conducted a study of several hundred unhappily married people.

They started with a representative sample from a larger nationwide survey.

They then followed up with him five years later.

Here are some of their conclusions.

Unhappily married adults who divorced were no happier five years after the divorce

than were equally unhappy couples who remained together.

And two-thirds of unhappily married people who remained married

reported marriages that were happy five years later.

Many of these had endured serious problems, including alcoholism, infidelity, verbal abuse,

emotional neglect, depression, illness, and work and money troubles.

Unhappy spouses who divorced had no greater sense of overall happiness,

no greater sense of personal mastery,

no less hostility,

no higher sense of purpose in life,

and no more self-acceptance or self-esteem than unhappily married people who stuck with their marriages.

They had slightly more depressive symptoms,

and they reported a good deal more alcohol consumption.

The only situation where divorce generally increased psychological well-being

was when the marriage had been characterized by ongoing physical violence.

Now, these are generalizations,

and there's much more that could be said from the Bible

about marriage and divorce in specific cases.

But this isn't a sermon on marriage and divorce.

I'm simply trying to make a general point.

When we're in the wilderness,

our perspective can easily become distorted.

We say the grass always seems greener on the other side.

One husband who was quoted in that study said,

you just have to remember

that the greener grass

is actually just astroturf.

So they grumbled quickly.

Their perspective was distorted.

And third, notice to whom their grumbling was directed.

The people did not bring their complaints to the Lord.

In fact, they don't talk to God at all.

They grumbled against their spiritual leaders.

Psychologists call this displacement.

You're angry about one thing,

but you take it out on somebody else

who might be completely unrelated

or only tangentially relevant to the situation.

So here, they grumble against Moses and Aaron.

And Moses says, Moses calls their bluff.

Moses says, why us?

Your beef is with the Lord.

Let's be honest here.

God has heard your grumbling,

and God is going to answer you.

Now, every so often,

people have an issue with one of the pastors

or with the elders.

And you know what?

As pastors, we sometimes fall short.

And sometimes we need you,

and we need each other.

That's why we have a team of elders here.

Sometimes we need other people to lovingly correct us

and to sharpen us and challenge us

and broaden our perspective.

We should never be above

receiving constructive criticism.

Now, it's not always easy for us to do,

so it's helpful if you can be both gentle and clear

if you have a concern.

But you know, sometimes people don't just give

constructive criticism and thoughtful concerns.

Sometimes people grumble

against one spiritual leader

and then another spiritual leader.

Sometimes they go from one church

to another church to another church,

and they always have a beef

with whoever's in charge.

And the issue is not actually

about whoever's in charge.

The issue is with the Lord.

And if that's you,

if you acknowledge that

you tend to be discontented

and fault-finding

and bitter

toward your spiritual leaders

or toward your spouse

or toward your boss,

whoever they may be,

the question is,

is there really an issue

between you and God?

And you need to deal with that with God.

You need to acknowledge what the issue is,

and you also need to acknowledge

that you have no right

to hold on to a beef with God.

You did not create the universe,

and you do not hold it together.

And you don't have the right

to carry around your beef with God

and spew it out on everyone else

who represents God's authority

over you

or who comes close

to love you.

But you know what?

There's good news.

Look at how God responds

to the people's grumbling.

He doesn't pay them back

as they deserve.

The good news is that

in Jesus Christ,

you have a heavenly father.

Not just a boss,

not just an authority figure

way up there.

You have a heavenly father

in Jesus Christ.

And he knows your needs.

And he hears your grumbling.

And he loves you anyway.

Like a parent loves their kid

no matter how many times

they grumble.

You just can't stop loving them.

And God is committed to you.

And you can approach,

he says,

that through his son,

Jesus Christ,

you can approach

his throne of grace

and you can ask him

and help in your time of need.

Not because you deserve it,

but because he's merciful

and gracious.

And Jesus says,

if you ask your father

in heaven for bread,

he won't give you a stone.

Isn't that what we see here

with the Israelites?

We see not just the people's

sinful grumbling,

we also see the Lord's

sustaining and gracious provision.

That's the second half

of this passage.

I mean,

the amazing thing

about this episode

and really the whole

wilderness experience

is God doesn't give

the people what they deserve.

He doesn't repay them

tit for tat.

He doesn't say,

okay,

you're complaining against me,

I'll leave you alone.

You fend for yourself

and you see how that turns out.

No,

he doesn't.

He doesn't say,

okay,

I'll give you starvation rations.

I'll keep you barely alive,

but I'll give you

half-rotten,

low-quality food.

Fit for grumblers.

No.

Look at what he does.

Verse 13,

in the evening,

quail came up

and covered the camp.

And in the morning,

dew lay around the camp.

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.

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.

So they got quail

in the evening.

Quail was considered

a delicacy

in ancient Egypt.

Every spring,

the quail would fly north

from Egypt

to the Sinai Peninsula.

Sometimes,

because of flying

such a long way

and because of the wind currents,

they'd flop on the ground.

They'd be all over the place.

And it seems like

the Lord providentially

arranged that

and to provide

a filling meal

for the Israelites

that very evening.

But the quail

isn't the main point

of the story.

That didn't happen every day.

It seemed to be

just an occasional thing.

The main point

or the main provision here

is the miraculous manna.

the bread from heaven

that came every morning.

And this bread

wasn't low quality.

It wasn't just

the cheap stuff.

It says it was

a fine flake-like thing

as fine as frost

on the ground.

Verse 31 says

it tasted like wafers

made with honey.

Now,

I have never made wafers,

but I'm told

that they take

a lot of time to make.

And so people

didn't make them

back then

because they were

sort of like a delicacy.

You'd only get them

in the king's court.

You just would make

ordinary bread.

But here God

gives them wafers

that taste like honey.

Now, honey,

there were no beekeepers

back then.

You had to go

into the wild

to get honey.

You were lucky

if you found honey.

Honey was, again,

sort of a special

kind of food.

And so God says to them,

you know,

if back then

they heard

that it tasted

like wafers

made with honey,

people would say,

ooh,

that's delicious.

Mmm.

That's good.

It was miraculous

and providential.

It was tasty

and nutritious

and it was sufficient

and sustaining.

Now, I want to focus

on three aspects

of the sufficiency

of God's provision

for the rest

of our time

this morning.

First,

there was enough

for every one.

Verse 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,

that's about a half gallon,

according to the number

of the persons

that each of you

has in his tent.

And the people

of Israel did so.

They gathered

some more,

some less.

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.

Now, there's two things

that are clear.

One is,

some gathered more

than others.

The second thing is,

in the end,

everyone had just enough.

What it doesn't explain

is,

how did that happen?

Some gathered more

than others,

but in the end,

everyone had just enough.

Now, it's possible

that God directly

ensured that

no matter how much

you gather,

when you put it

in the measuring vessel,

it comes out

to exactly half a gallon.

But it's also possible

that the people

had a hand

in sharing

with one another.

Verse 16 says,

take an omer

according to the number

of the persons

that each of you

has in his tent.

In other words,

each tent

that would be like

an extended family

or perhaps even

a larger clan

was responsible

to see

that everyone

in the tent

got fed.

And so,

if there were

young children,

they might not

gather as much

and they also

might not eat as much.

If there were

elderly people

who had trouble

getting around,

right,

they might not

gather so much.

Able-bodied people

might gather more.

But within the tent,

they all find

a way to share.

Now,

it doesn't say

that here,

but the Apostle Paul

quotes verse 18

in a very interesting

context

that goes along

with that.

He quotes it

in 2 Corinthians 8

2 Corinthians 8:14

verse 14.

And it's a chapter

where Paul

is encouraging

Christians

who have an abundance

to share with

Christians

who have a need.

So he says,

your abundance

at the present time

should supply

their need

so that their

abundance

may supply

your need,

that there may be

fairness

or equality.

As it is written,

whoever gathered

much had nothing

left over

and whoever gathered

little had no lack.

Paul says,

just like with

the manna,

some gather

more than others

but in the end

everyone gets

just enough

within the tent.

that's how

God's grace

is supposed

to work

within the church.

When God

blesses you

with abundance,

share generously

with your brothers

and sisters

in Christ.

Maybe that's

financial abundance.

Maybe that's

a house

that you can

welcome someone

into.

Maybe that's

relational abundance

that you can

help people

who are alone

or lonely

make connections.

Maybe it's

spiritual growth

and things

that you're

learning

that you can

teach to others.

On the other

hand,

if you find

yourself in

need,

gather what

you can.

Everybody has

a part to do.

Nobody just

sat around

and did

nothing.

But look

to your brothers

and sisters

in Christ

for help.

And this

should happen

on all kinds

of levels.

It should happen

within Christian

families.

From one

brother or

sister to

another,

within local

churches,

between local

churches,

and even

between churches

in different

parts of the

world.

Because that's

what Paul is

talking about

in 2 Corinthians

8,

is one church

in one part

of the world

that has an

abundance helps

another church

in another part

of the world

that has a

lack.

And there's

an exchange

back and

forth of both

financial and

spiritual blessings

and care.

many years

ago this

church fell

on hard

times.

At that

time we

barely had

enough money

to pay our

pastor and

to pay the

rent on the

building that

we were

renting.

We weren't

here.

We didn't

own a

building.

And another

church from a

different part

of the country

helped us.

They sent us

several thousand

dollars each

year for two

years to help

us get our

feet on the

ground.

world.

Now that

was so long

ago that

hardly any of

us were here.

There's a few

people who are

here who can

probably remember

that.

But thank God

for that church

from far away

who knew about

our need and

helped us.

And thank God

that we're now

in a place where

we can be

generous.

last year we

gave 20% of

our annual

church budget

to local and

global missions

including two

church plants

Shoreline in

New London and

the Ethiopian and

Eritrean ministry

that meets right

here.

And God has

blessed us as a

church in many

ways so that we

can help others

get on their

feet and grow

and be strong.

I don't know

what that looks

like for you.

Right?

We need to be

doing that for

one another here

as well.

Right?

Maybe you have a

financial need.

We have a

deacon's

benevolence fund

where the

deacons try to

use discernment

to help people

with needs as

best we can.

And to see that

everybody's doing

their part and

doing their

responsibility.

Paul said

there was enough

for everyone.

Second, there was

also enough for

every day.

verse 19,

Moses said to

them,

let no one

leave any of

it over till

the morning.

Now this was

in some ways

the first test.

If you look

back at verse

four, God

had said,

the people need

to gather one

day's portion

every day that

I may test

them whether

they will walk

in my law or

not.

God did not

explain every

detail of his

plan for the

Israelites in

advance.

He did not

lay out their

entire itinerary

through the

wilderness and

then say to

them, here's

all my reasons

for doing all

these things,

do you accept?

No.

He was teaching

the people to

trust him one

day at a

time.

Because trusting

God doesn't just

mean following

him when you

understand all

his reasons and

can see all of

his ways.

Trusting God

means trusting

him when you're

afraid and when

you feel desperate

and when you

feel tempted.

As a parent, I

have to teach my

kids to trust me

even when I

can't explain all

my reasons to

them.

To trust me

because I love

them and at

least for now,

I'm wiser than

them.

And how much

more so with

God?

He is our

ultimate provider.

He doesn't

always give us

what we want.

He won't always

give you what you

expect, but he

will always provide

what we need.

That's one of the

lessons the Lord

was drilling into

the head of his

people over and

over.

For 40 years,

they ate the

manna until they

came to the

promised land.

At the end of

their journey

across the

wilderness,

Moses said,

remember the

whole way the

Lord your God

has led you

these 40 years.

that he might

humble you,

testing you to

know what was

in your heart.

He humbled you,

he let you hunger,

and he fed you

with manna,

that he might

make you know

that man does

not live by bread

alone,

but by every word

that comes from

the mouth of the

Lord.

Lord.

You see, every day

the manna was a

test.

Would the people

trust God or

not?

Every morning,

they had to get

out of bed.

Say, if you

wait till the

afternoon, if you

wait till the

sun is hot, the

manna melts, and

you're hungry.

God's teaching

them some

principles about

working diligently.

Get up out of

bed and do

something.

But every

night, God

wanted them also

to go to sleep

in peace and

trust that the

next morning, the

manna would be

there all over

again.

Now, of course,

the Israelites

didn't all, some

of them failed

this test, right?

Verse 20.

They did not

listen to Moses.

Some left part

of the manna till

the morning, and

it bred worms and

stank.

But you see,

every day, the

manna was a

sign.

God saying to

his people, you

can trust me.

I'm here again

and again and

again and

again.

I'm your father

in heaven.

I see you.

I'm providing

for you.

I haven't left

you, and I

won't forsake

you.

Now, what's the

lesson for us

here from this

daily provision

of manna?

Some people have

attempted to apply

this principle

directly.

They say,

I will trust

God day by

day.

Therefore, I

won't save.

whatever money I

get, I will

spend, maybe

give a little

bit.

I won't

bother planning

for the future

because God

provides for his

people day by

day.

Now, the

problem with that

attitude is that

you are not an

Israelite in the

wilderness.

wilderness.

The manna

happened for

40 years, and

then they got to

the promised land

and it stopped,

and it has never

started again.

And when they

got to the promised

land, they were

responsible to

cultivate the land

and to store up

their crops.

And in the book

of Proverbs, it

says, he who

gathers money

little by little

makes it grow.

It even says,

look at the

ants.

The ants store

up their

provisions in

the winter or

in the summer,

so they have

provisions in

the winter.

In the same

way, there's

wisdom in

saving.

So the lesson

here is not

don't save and

don't plan for

the future.

Sometimes we

don't plan for

the future because

we're too afraid

and we're trying

to avoid looking

into the future

because we're too

overwhelmed and

afraid.

And if that's

how you feel,

then that's where

you need to pray.

And that's

where you need

to find a

brother or

sister in

Christ and

say, I

need some

help.

I don't

just need

some money,

but I also

need someone

to help me

make a good

plan about

how I can

go forward.

So the

lesson of the

manna is

not that we

shouldn't plan,

it's not that

we shouldn't

save, but

that it's

every day to

depend on the

Lord and

to give

thanks to

him.

To wake

up every

morning and

pray like

Jesus taught

us to pray

in the

Lord's

prayer,

give us

each day

our daily

bread.

God.

You know, you

can't grow and

thrive by eating

spiritual

leftovers, by

relying on

yesterday's

spiritual

provision.

Every day we

need to wake

up and

commit our

day to the

Lord in

prayer.

And every

evening we

can lay

down and

say, thank

you, Lord.

As I go to

sleep, I

trust you,

because you're

the God who

neither slumbers

nor sleeps,

and you'll be

there for me

in the

morning.

There is

enough for

everyone, there's

enough for

every day.

Finally, verse

22 to 30 teach

us that there was

enough for every

Sabbath, every

day of rest.

On the

sixth day they

gathered twice as

much bread,

verse 22, two

omers each.

When all the

leaders of the

congregation

came and told

Moses, 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.

So they lay

it aside till

the morning as

Moses commanded

them, and it

did not stink, and

there were no

worms in it.

Moses said, eat

it today.

For today is a

Sabbath to the

Lord.

Today you won't

find it in the

field.

Six days you

shall gather it,

but on the

seventh day, which

is a Sabbath, there

will be none.

Not surprisingly,

verse 27, on the

seventh day, some

of the people

nevertheless went

out to gather, but

they found none.

What's God teaching

the people here?

He's giving them a

gift.

He's giving them

one day every week

where they can rest

and receive and

rejoice.

Now, some of the

people didn't want

that, right?

First they tried to

hoard and keep

manna overnight, and

now they try to

overwork and keep

working every day and

never, ever stop.

One person said, a

grumbling heart under

deprivation becomes a

greedy heart under

abundance.

But God says, six

days you shall work.

Work hard, but one

day you shall rest.

Why?

The reason is because

you're not slaves

anymore.

When the people of

Israel were slaves in

Egypt, they had no

days off.

There was no such

thing as a weekend in

ancient Egypt, especially

if you were a slave.

Pharaoh never gave

them days off.

And God wants the

Israelites to know, I

am not a harsh task

master like Pharaoh.

I want you to work

hard in my kingdom, but

I also want you to

rest with peace and

joy.

I want to give you a

day to celebrate and a

day to receive and a

day to know that I'm

your creator and you're

just a creature and you

can let go.

Now, how does this one

apply to us?

Well, Christians have

debated whether the

Sabbath is also, continues

to be a commandment under

the new covenant in

Christ.

But regardless of whether

you think it's a

commandment in the same

way as it was in the Old

Testament or a different

way, the Sabbath is

written into the pattern

of creation.

And Jesus himself said

the Sabbath was made for

man, for human beings,

for our blessing, for our

benefit.

Even if it's not a law,

why would we reject a

good gift from God?

That's meant for our

sustaining provision.

Now, I don't know what the

details will look like for

you.

You might need to

reorganize your schedule

during the rest of the

week.

The Israelites did some

extra cooking on the

sixth day so they could

rest on the seventh day.

Maybe you'll do Sunday.

That's the traditional

Christian day of rest.

Maybe you'll do Saturday

dinner to Sunday dinner,

like the evening and

morning thing.

Maybe you have to work on

Sunday, so maybe you try

to take a different day.

I think there's some

Christian freedom in how we

work out the details.

But can you receive the

Sabbath as a gift from the

God who has saved you and

the God who continues to

sustain you?

It's part of how God

sustains us.

It's by giving us rest and

giving us joy.

So there's enough for

everyone, there was enough

for every day, and there

was enough for every

Sabbath because those God

saves, he also sustains.

The end of the passage

tells us that the people of

Israel kept one omer of

manna, one half gallon,

one day's serving of manna

in the Ark of the Covenant

before the testimony.

It was a perpetual reminder of

God's faithfulness to the

people in the wilderness.

Now, we don't have that

anymore.

It's gone, disappeared

somewhere through the ages.

But you know what?

We have something even

better.

We have a reminder of an

even greater provision than

the manna.

Jesus Christ said, the bread of

God is he who comes down from

heaven and gives life to the

world.

He says, I am the living bread

that came down from heaven.

I am the bread of life.

Jesus Christ came into the

world not just to sustain us

physically, but to rescue us

and sustain us spiritually.

And as we take the Lord's

supper, which is what we're

going to do in just a minute,

the bread that we pass out is

not the bread of life.

Jesus himself is the bread of

life, but it's an enduring

testimony.

It's a regular reminder that

Jesus is faithful, that God is

faithful to all his promises,

that we can trust him and he

will sustain us.

When we feed on him by faith

with thanksgiving, that just as

he brought the Israelites through

the wilderness, he will walk with

us and sustain us through whatever

the wilderness we face today.

The same God who saves us will

continue to sustain us.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your

provision for the Israelites in the

wilderness.

We thank you for your kindness to

them, for not repaying them as

their grumbling deserved.

We thank you for your faithfulness

to us.

Lord, we thank you above all that

while we were still sinners, your

son Jesus Christ died for us.

And Lord, that is our hope.

That is our confidence.

We pray that we would trust you,

that you are enough.

And you are our provider.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.