Exodus 16:1-30 - Satisfied Beneficiaries

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

Amen. Thank you all. Don't get too concerned. I'm not preaching.

Ron is pretty under the weather with a cold this weekend, but I am thankful for many things,

including that he is still going to preach, but so that you can hear him for as long as possible.

I'm going to read a rather lengthy passage, the one that he's preaching this morning for him before he comes to preach.

So we're in Exodus chapter 16, the beginning of Exodus 16.

Exodus 16 · chapter mention

The people of God, having come out of Egypt, are now headed towards the promised land.

This is in the middle of their journey, Exodus 16 at verse 1.

They set out from Elam, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin,

which is between Elam 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.

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.

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 Persians 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.

And Moses said to them,

Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.

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.

Morning by morning they gathered it,

each as much as he could eat.

But when the sun grew hot, it melted.

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,

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 laid 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 will not find it in the field.

Six days you shall gather it,

but on the seventh day,

which is a Sabbath,

there will be none.

On the seventh day,

some of the people went out to gather,

but they found none.

And the Lord said to Moses,

How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?

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.

So the people rested on the seventh day.

This is God's Word.

Amen.

I will say that my voice,

the condition of it,

has nothing to do with yesterday.

Because pretty much for the whole day yesterday,

I was not yelling.

I was weeping.

But,

maybe I've just

come to manhood finally,

in my later years.

You know,

we've just celebrated,

probably most of us have overdosed,

on

turkey,

on dressing,

mashed potatoes,

football,

and I must say,

probably very happily so.

And,

you know,

we've been celebrating Thanksgiving over this week,

and honestly,

I think it's probably one of my favorite holidays.

Because it doesn't generate the controversy.

I mean,

everybody's good for giving thanks.

And to give thanks

is a great thing.

I mean,

yes,

we celebrate it because

back in the early 1600s,

the pilgrims came,

and the reason they did it

was because

they had been used to setting apart

days

of,

for thanksgiving,

you know,

all through their history.

And so,

you know,

now it's our federal holiday,

as was instituted by Abraham Lincoln

back in 1863.

And so,

I really appreciate

that our country

would set aside a day

to acknowledge

the great gifts

we have been given.

gifts that come to us

from

some other place.

You know,

being thankful

is one of those

virtues

that we try to

instill

in our children.

You know,

from day one,

maybe you would think

I was cruel

that I wouldn't give up

their cup of milk

until they said thank you.

But when we come to the scriptures,

when we think about

thanksgiving,

thanksgiving runs

from the beginning

all the way through

to the end.

And what we see

in the scriptures

when it talks about

thanksgiving

is something

different

from what

we

celebrate.

We,

we probably,

and many of you may have

as custom

for thanksgiving,

you sat around the table

and started to think

about all those things

you're thankful for.

And we have plenty.

We live

in

great

abundance.

And so there's

so much

for us to be thankful for.

But when we look

at thanksgiving

in the scriptures,

that's

not exactly

what they're

talking about.

In Romans 1,

and I mentioned

this in an

article

from the branches

this last month,

there's an interesting

passage

that Paul quotes

when he starts

talking about

the fallen nature

of man

and the rebellion

of man

against God

and talking about

them exchanging

the glory

of God

for images

of creation

and images

of themselves.

In one of the places

there,

he says,

and they did not

honor him as God

or give thanks.

Now,

why

did he throw

that in there?

Apparently,

to the

apostle Paul,

there was

something

about

giving thanks

that was

foundational

to

faith,

that is

foundational

to how

we relate

to God.

And when we

fail

to give

thanks,

we are,

we're probably

committing

much,

much,

much greater

sin

than we

think.

So,

what I want

us to do

is to,

this passage

in Exodus

is a great

story.

And so,

I pull it up

because one

of the best

ways we can

see how

we are called

to give

thanks is

to look and

see how

people did

it badly.

grumbling,

and that

here,

in this

story,

what we

have is a

great example

of grumbling,

which we

could say is

really the

opposite of

thanksgiving.

You know,

in this

story,

Israel has

just within

the month,

they have

left Egypt,

witnessed,

they have

witnessed

all of the

plagues,

they have

witnessed

the destruction

of the

strongest army

of that time

in the world

in the middle

of the sea.

They witnessed

the water's

part in

them being

able to

walk across

a dry

ground.

they

witnessed

all of

this

just in

the last

couple weeks.

This is not

way back in

their history.

This is just

yesterday.

And so

now they're

heading

from

Egypt

to the

mountain

where they're

going to

meet God,

their covenant

God,

the God of

their father,

Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob.

But now

as they

go out,

they're

running into

some

discomfort.

I mean,

they're out

in the

wilderness,

and the

wilderness is

not a fun

place to

be.

They've

already

struggled

with water

just in

the last

chapter.

They finally

got to a

place where

there was

water,

but it

was bitter,

and they

couldn't

drink it.

And so

miraculously,

God

supplies

a purifier

for this

water

right before

their eyes.

And so

they've just

witnessed that

as well

as all of

the rest.

So now

they come

a little bit

farther,

and the issue

is food.

in the text

says there

in verse

two,

that the

whole

congregation

grumbled

at Moses,

which really

kind of

represents a

ramping up

of their

discomfort,

because in

the last

chapter,

it just

talked about

the people

were complaining

and grumbling,

but now it's

not just

some,

it's the

whole lot

of them.

Everybody

is grumbling

and complaining.

And you've

got to feel

for these

folks.

I mean,

they're in

a barren

wasteland.

Their supplies

are running

out.

You know,

what are they

supposed to

do?

And so

this is,

their grumbling

is over

a very

serious

situation.

But then

there's,

in verse

four,

there's a

word that

might even

appear to

be,

at least

to me,

it appears

a bit

disturbing.

Because in

verse four,

we see

what God

says.

He promises

to Moses,

he's about

to provide

for the

people,

but then he

makes a

statement,

it says,

that I

might test

them to

see whether

they will

walk in

my law

or not.

So what

is this

test?

What is

he doing?

It's not

a test.

I mean,

the test

results are

not for

God.

He knows

what he's

going to

get.

But this

is a

test he's

putting them

under very

intentionally

so that

they might

know,

know

themselves.

So there

are two

things that

occur here

that also

occur for

us in

life

that will

unveil

probably more

quickly than

anything else

the true

nature of

our hearts.

us.

And the

first one

is hardship.

And the

second is

restraint.

And Israel

got both.

Out here in

the middle of

the wilderness,

the first part

of this test

that God is

putting them

under is

hardship.

You know,

and as soon

as they leave,

they are

redeemed from

Egypt,

they're redeemed

from their

slavery,

they get

through the

Red Sea,

and now

things begin

to head

south.

Or if

you're from

Alabama,

you say

things begin

to head

north.

And so

how did it

go for them?

How did

they respond?

Well,

not,

not too

good.

They

complain.

They come

to Moses,

they complain,

but the

worst part

of it

is that

they

accuse

God

of

malevolence.

They

accuse

God

of being

evil.

They're

basically

saying,

why didn't

you just

kill us

in Egypt?

It would

have been

so much

simpler.

if you're

going to

bring us

out here

in the

middle

of the

wilderness

to let

us die

of thirst,

why did

you go

through all

that trouble?

Why did

you just

kill us

back there?

And then

look at

their memory.

It's

becoming

very selective.

They

say,

we remember

when we

used to

sit by

the

meat

pots

and

ate

bread

to

the

full.

You

were

slaves?

You

forgetting

that?

You

cried out

for 400

years to

be set

free,

and that's

what you're

reminiscing

about?

and it's

bringing

back all

these warm

fuzzy

memories?

So on

one hand,

you know,

they've got

this selective

memory.

The other,

they just

want to

die.

Of course,

they really

don't want

to die,

and they

really don't

want to

go back

to Egypt.

Maybe

they're just

being a

bit

dramatic.

But

they are

living

in many

ways the

same way

we do

with the

philosophy,

what have

you done

for me

lately?

Didn't

matter about

yesterday in

the water

deal.

Didn't

matter about

last week

in the

Red Sea.

Didn't

matter about

the weeks

before,

how we

came out

of Egypt

with all

this new

loot,

gold,

silver.

We

plundered

the people.

We

didn't

even raise

a sword.

Didn't

matter.

What have

you done

for me

lately?

What about

right now?

I'm

uncomfortable

right now.

So where

are you?

That's the

first test.

Their

hardship,

their

discomfort.

The second

one comes

in the form

of restrictions.

Moses

tells them

when he

comes,

he tells

them,

look,

this is how

the Lord's

going to

provide for

you.

He's

making

this

promise

and God

is going

to take

care of

all of

their

sustenance

needs.

But what

he does

is that he

puts a

couple

restrictions

on it,

especially

around

the

Sabbath.

And so

what they're

told is

that in

the evenings

you're going

to get

quail,

but in

the morning

there's

going to

be this

stuff,

which if

you remember

as Will

was reading

the text,

it's called

manna,

which basically

means what

is it?

They didn't

know what it

was,

they didn't

know what

to call it,

and they

said,

well,

let's go

have big

breakfast of

what is

it?

and they

were to

collect

only one

day's

worth

for six

days.

Now,

you have

to understand

that these

kind of

restrictions,

this kind

of restriction

for this

people was

strange,

because these

were agricultural

people.

And when

you're an

agricultural

person,

you live

by the

rule that

you store,

you store

up,

because harvest

only comes

a couple

weeks out

of the

year.

And so

everything you

grow,

you store

it away,

you pack

it away,

and so

that's what

they would

normally

think.

But that's

not the way

God wanted

to relate

to them.

He wanted

to relate

to them

as their

covenant

God,

upon whom

they would

depend

daily

for all

their needs.

And so

he tells

them for

six days,

just gather

up,

you get an

omer,

basically a

jar,

gather up

what you

need for

that day.

And for

all the

people,

everybody

had enough.

Everybody

had plenty.

plenty.

But then

when it

came to

the

Sabbath,

that one

night,

they were

to store.

And again,

this is going

to be a

hard thing

for agricultural

people.

Now you've

got a day

where they're

basically told

you can't

work,

you can't

do anything,

you're just

going to sit

and rest,

you're not

even going to

go gather

breakfast.

rest.

You're going

to store

it up.

And so you

see the

challenges.

They're

thinking that

these commands

are maybe

unreasonable

at best,

but these

are the

restrictions

that God

gives.

And why

does he

do this?

Again,

it's the

second part

of the

test.

test.

Because in

this test,

he is going

to unveil

to them

a heart

that is

self-determining,

self-sufficient,

self-focused.

Because

all you

have to do

to unveil

a self-determining

heart is to

put up one

sign.

that says

no.

This is what

Paul talked

about in

Romans 7.

This is how

the law

comes.

And the

law doesn't

create sin

in us.

It inflames

it.

It's like

gasoline.

And all you

need is just

one command.

It says,

don't touch.

Don't eat.

Don't do

that.

Why is it?

Well,

anyway,

here,

I think

this is,

we need

to take

a look

at

how we

communicate,

even how

we teach

God's

law.

Because

typically,

the way

we teach

our kids,

or the way

we'll teach

here in church

or with

others,

is you keep

the law

because you're

really going to

prosper if you

do.

It'll go well

for you

if you do.

It's a good

thing.

There are benefits

benefits for it.

If you don't

keep the law,

things are just

going to go

north.

It's just,

it's the way

things work.

So God

gives his law

to direct us

towards things

that will help

us to prosper

in this life.

So,

you know,

if we,

you know,

obey the food

restrictions,

then we'll

probably be

healthier

and we'll

live longer.

If we

obey the

sexual ethics

of Scripture,

then we're

going to have

healthier,

happier marriages.

We're just

going to have

a much more

fulfilling life.

And so if we

do all this,

it's just going

to be better

for us.

Keeping the

law of God

is reasonable.

But the

problem is,

sometimes it

isn't.

what happens

when you run

into those

people

that are

not abiding

by that

sexual ethic

and they

seem to be

doing fine.

What,

you know,

why?

In the

Garden of Eden,

what was it

about that

one tree

that Adam

and Eve

couldn't eat

from?

It had

nothing to

do with

health.

It had

nothing to

do with

anything like

that.

It was

just to

see.

That one

tree, it

had grapefruit,

but it was

one tree

that would

demonstrate

whether they

would be

willing to

trust.

And they

weren't.

And so

the reason

that God

gives us

his commands,

yes, there's

a lot of

benefits to

them.

Absolutely,

if we live

according to

the kingdom

ethics we

have in

scripture,

life will

be better.

there.

But that's

not the

only reason

he gives

it.

He gives

us

restrictions

on all

the things

that are in

his law

to see

if we'll

trust him.

But those

restrictions

will raise

up our

self-determination

faster than

anything.

What was

unveiled to

the Israelites

in this period,

there were

three things.

Three aspects

of their

idolatry.

The first

one was,

is their

self-determination

to have life

on their own

terms.

They

wanted to

live,

they wanted

to eat.

They had a

need for

food.

It was a

good desire.

They needed

food.

So food was

not the

problem.

It was,

the manna

was not the

problem.

The quail

were not

the problem.

The problem

was that they

wanted to

eat on

their own

terms.

Not on

God's

terms.

They wanted

to eat

when they

wanted to,

how they

wanted to.

They wanted

to be able

to store

it the

way they

wanted to

or not.

They wanted

life on

their own

terms.

Second thing

it revealed

was that

they thought

they knew

what was

better for

them.

I mean,

after all,

it was their

life.

Starving in

the wilderness

was not

their idea

of a good

journey.

And it

definitely

didn't have

all these

new rules

about how

much they

could gather

for breakfast.

The third

thing it

revealed

was simply

that the

Lord's

provision

in their

minds

was insufficient.

it was

not

enough.

It wasn't

enough.

It wasn't

good.

They got

sick of

eating that

manna

every day.

They wanted

to be the

judge of

what was

good or

bad.

The Lord

was not

filling the

bill.

And so

they wanted

more.

So we

see this

heart of

self-determination

also connected

to this

heart of

greed.

And this

is the

outworking

of a

grumbling,

ungrateful,

unthankful

heart.

You know,

I'm getting

a hard

spot.

I'm

wanting,

whether it's

for food

or water

or sexual

affection

or social

respect

or career

advancements.

You know,

these are the

things I

think I

need and

they may

be all

good things.

But

when I'm

the one

that's

determining

and when

I'm the

one that's

defining

what is

good,

then all

of those

good things

become very,

very corrupting

for me.

So,

are we

thankful or

are we

grumblers?

others?

How do you

see all

this working

out in

your life?

Well,

let me ask

you a couple

questions.

What's in

your life

right now

for which

you are

not very

thankful?

I got a

feeling that

most of us

probably can

think of

something.

What is

that thing

in our

life that

we wish

was not

there?

That if

it was not

there,

life would

be good?

Maybe it's

my singleness.

Maybe it's

my spouse.

Maybe it's

some

physical

ailment.

Maybe it's

a job.

Maybe it's

we can go

on and

on and

on.

What makes

you anxious?

What makes

you angry?

what is

that one

thing,

again,

that's

keeping you

from having

a good

life?

Paul

Tripp

basically

defines

grumbling

as simply

the background

drone

of a

discontented

heart.

And this

is what we

had in

Israel.

And

unfortunately,

it's far,

far too

common in

us.

things.

So what

does a

thankful

heart

look like?

Well,

I think

if we go

back and

look at

Israel and

all this

grumbling

that they're

doing,

I think

we'll see

thanks,

a grateful,

thankful

heart is

really just

the opposite

of what

they were

doing.

It was

not a

heart that's

self-determining,

but it's a

heart that is

humble

in three

ways.

A thankful

heart is

first,

a heart

that believes

that the

Lord is

good.

God is

good.

It's that

simple.

It's

amazing

that

in this

text,

when God

is coming,

when the

people are

coming and

grumbling,

they're

complaining,

they're wishing

they were

back in

Egypt,

they were

wishing that

God had

killed them

back in

Egypt,

they're

wishing all

these

things.

God is

already in

the process

of providing

for them.

He is

coming to

promise all

this good

that He is

going to send

to them,

which they

are not

going to

work for

one iota.

He had,

He didn't

have to,

and they

obviously

didn't deserve

it,

but He

did.

But this

is the

nature of

this covenant

relationship

that He's

brought them

into.

This is the

kind of God

He wants

to be for

them.

He wants

to be the

God that

provides.

He wants

to be the

one who

gives to

them day

in and

day out.

And so

this God

that they

are now

engaged

with

is a

whole new

being

who's

good.

second

thing

is that

life

on His

terms

is good.

Because

one of the

things they

forgot

conveniently

to build

their case,

they forgot

where they

were going.

God took

them out

of Egypt

and He

was taking

them,

yes,

to the

mountain

where He

would establish

His covenant

with them.

But then

they were

going to

pack up

and go

to the

land

flowing

with milk

and honey.

God

was taking

them to

the promised

land.

the land

that He

had promised

Abraham

and Isaac

and Jacob

over 400

years before.

And He

was fulfilling

His promise.

And yes,

that road

had to go

through the

wilderness.

But it

was a good

way to go.

Thirdly,

His provision

was not

in scarcity

but in

lavish

abundance.

Did you

notice as we

read through

the text

where God

says that

He's not

just going

to bring

manna.

He says,

I'm going

to rain

bread

from heaven.

Of course,

our idea

of rain

is that,

well,

we're going

to starve.

but He's

going to

rain,

pour

out,

not in

scarcity,

not just

barely

enough.

He's

pouring it

out.

I'm not

just going

to give

you bread,

I'm going

to rain

bread.

bread.

It would

be bread

they didn't

work for,

but bread

that simply

rained down

on them

from above

because God

was good

and His

ways

are good.

See,

here's the

crux.

Really,

you could

almost say

this is the

crux of the

whole of the

Christian life.

it really

is,

you know,

whether we're

struggling in

places of

hardship,

like I

would bet

most of

you in

some ways

are.

Because when

I get into

hardship,

when I get

into these

tough places,

all I want

is to get

out.

I want

relief.

And I

complain,

and I go

to God

in prayer,

and I

say,

why,

or you

see it

through the

Psalms,

how long

is this

going to

last?

Or,

if you've

done it

long enough

and you

haven't gotten

the answers

you want,

you just

quit going.

Because

He doesn't

care.

are.

So if

we're facing

hardship,

or if

we're facing

these

unreasonable,

undue

restrictions

on life,

Him telling

me how I

am supposed

to live

and conduct

my relationships

in ways

that seem

to be very

unreasonable,

the answer

is the

same.

Is

God

good?

See,

all of our

sin,

I think,

all of it

is rooted

right

there.

it's the

exact same

temptation,

it's the

lie that

the enemy

brought to

Adam and

Eve in

the garden,

the very

first one,

and it's

the one

He's still

bringing.

It's the

one that's

the most

effective.

Is

God

good?

Is He

good

for putting

you where

you are?

Is He

good

for keeping

you from

doing things

you want

to do?

Is He

good?

A thankful

heart

stands in

the goodness

of a

God

who is

for His

covenant

children

good

in

everything.

A thankful

heart

stands

on the

goodness

of God

and trusts

His wisdom

on how

He is

doing things.

A thankful

heart

sees

ourself

as not

the

benefactor,

not the

determining

force,

not the

master.

A thankful

heart

God

sees our

self

as

the

beneficiaries.

I am

the humble

servant

holding my

hands

open

to the

one

who has

promised

His

goodness

for me.

And a

thankful

heart

stands

there

and doesn't

budge

because it

knows

this

covenant

God

is good.

And the

way He wants

to relate

to us

is that

we would

turn to

Him

in daily

dependence.

on His

goodness

and rest

in

that