“Into the Wilderness”
A Sermon Series in the Book of Exodus
“The Wilderness Teaches God’s People What They Need”
Exodus 16
Introduction
The Israelites were freed from slavery in a miraculous way – they saw the ten plagues, they saw how God allowed them to plunder the Egyptians of fine clothing, gold jewelry, etc. They walked through the Red Sea as it was split open. They watched as their great enemy and oppressor was swallowed up by the sea, and how they washed up on shore the next day. They were free. But in spite of all those miracles and might acts of God – they are still rebellious. But instead of rebelling against their enemy, they rebel against the God who freed them. Why would they do that?
For God’s people, the wilderness, wandering around in the desert, became a place where they showed what was truly in their heart. Now looking ahead some, their sandals don’t wear out, their clothes don’t wear out. God’s presence, in the form of a cloud and fire, guided them through the wilderness – but this could also protected them from the scorching heat and sun. No enemy bothered them, no disease touched them.
So when God’s people grumble and complain – what’s the problem? What we are going to see in example after example is that it is not the situation they are truly grumbling against – but who controls of their lives. They want salvation, freedom, we want the cravings of their flesh to be satisfied, they want it all (they don’t mind if God blesses them), and they want to be the god of our universe. They don’t like it when God says, “I am God.”
What God’s people ultimately are grumbling against is being led into a place where their hearts are exposed. We don’t like it when God tests us and we are found wanting. It forces me to grow, to dig deeper, to stop being superficial in my relationship with Him. God points to our weaknesses, he exposes it, and says, “I will walk beside you but you have to change.”
Prayer
The Wilderness Exposes the Hearts of His People (vv. 1-3)
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. 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.”
Elim was a place of sprawling palm trees, plenty of drinking water and a place of rest after the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex. 15:27). But they couldn’t stay at the oasis, they had to once again move into the wilderness. There were things, as God’s people, that they needed to learn. This was not the Promised Land, so they needed to move.
Psalm 78:18, 30 helps us to understand what is going on in Exodus 16, “They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved . . . But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths,” They were not starving, there were animals that could have been butchered, they had the milk from the animals to drink or make cheese, etc. The psalm shows it that they were craving a certain kind of food, not that they had no food at all. They wanted, “meat pots and bread.”
They confused what they wanted with what they needed.[1]
What do we ultimately need? Why does our hearts desire the things it does? In a time when Jesus really was hungry at the beginning of His ministry, Matthew 4:2 “And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” What we want is to have our cravings fulfilled our way, but what we need is a relationship with God. There is a question, “who will the Israelites serve, pharaoh or God?” Here they are saying again, we would rather be a slave to Pharoah.
God’s Provision For His People (vv. 4-8)
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.”
This is the fourth time that God’s people have grumbled 1) when they had to get their own straw for making bricks, 2) when they were at the Red Sea, 3) at Marah for water (15:24) and again 4) here. When we look at the pattern of the people – every time things appear to be difficult, they grumble against the Lord.
The word grumble means more in Hebrew than just unhappiness about the menu selections – it was more on the line of open rebellion. There were times when they threatened the lives of Moses and Aaron. To which they respond, “Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”
In their rebellions they are saying we want to go back and serve pharaoh – we want to go back to being slaves. This is God’s plan of salvation for His people, we don’t want your plan for our salvation. When we complain and grumble, it is ultimately God that we are complaining against. In spite of the grumbling, the text says four times that God heard their complaints (16:7, 8,9, 12) and He gives them what they asked for:
God’s Answer to Their Grumbling (vv. 9-30)
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. 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, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 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. 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 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. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
Remember what they said in their grumbling was that in Egypt they “sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full,” – So in the morning they would gather bread on the ground, and in the evening they would gather quail (both are miracles). No matter where they traveled to in the wilderness, there was always bread in the morning, and meat at night. Enough to feed more than a million people. In God’s provision for his people, they were satisfied, (v. 16) “Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat, (v. 18) “Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.”
With God’s provision there were instructions. They were to gather only what they needed for that day (bread and meat), and before they went to bed get rid of anything left over. The next day, they would start fresh.
God Wants to Teach His People Something Very Important – Don’t Miss It.
22 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, 23 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.’” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
This is the third miracle they experienced once a week. The mana that rotted the other five days, on the sixth day of the week didn’t rot, “and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it,”
God sets the example at the beginning of time, to rest, Genesis 2:2-3 “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” There is a rhythm built into the fabric of creation, six days work, seventh day rest. The Creator sets the example for His creation.
Even before the law was given (Ex. 20), God’s people are commanded to keep a Sabbath, “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD” – Gather your food on the sixth day, prepare the food for day seven as you preparing day six, and on the seventh day there were no quail and there was no manna. On that day there was to be rest.
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 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.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
(v. 27) “On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather” – These were probably the same people who tried to gather too much and it rotted on them. These are people who don’t pay attention to, or believe God’s Word. He told them there would be no manna on the seventh day, and there was none – but they go out looking for some anyway, and they probably didn’t plan ahead on the sixth day – they are just too busy to pay attention. Yeah, but I’m a busy person! I’ve got important stuff to do, I’ll pay attention and listen to God later (well now you hungry until morning).
The response to the people grumbling is to tell them to take a day and rest. Over the chapters of Exodus, the people grumble about leadership decisions, being thirsty, being hungry, having things happen in their lives that they don’t like, etc. and God’s response to their grumbling, rebellion, and restlessness is a Sabbath.
Nothing seems to make them happy, nothing seems to satisfy their cravings. So God’s solution to the craving of their soul is a Sabbath. The word Sabbath comes from a Hebrew word that means “to stop.” Stop working, stop worrying, just stop.
As human beings we all have cravings of our soul – you are bombarded with advertising to buy this, try this, be this. If you buy this, try this, do this, then it will stop the craving – you will finally be happy. The Sabbath day gives us a chance to reestablish was is truly important – that is hard to establish priorities and have a proper perspective if we are frazzled and exhausted. You have the same twenty-four hours in the day, but it’s how you think about the time and what you do with that time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1snh0xl0hM
Restfulness v. Relentlessness[2]
Margin ____ Busyness, Slowness ______Hurry, Quiet _____ Noise, Deep relationships ________Isolation, Time alone ______ Crowds, Delight _______ Distraction, Enjoyment ______ Envy, Trust _____ Worry, Peace _____ Anxiety
“The Sabbath is to a spirit of restfulness what a soccer practice is to a match or band practice is to a performance. It’s how we practice, how we prepare our minds and bodies for the moments that matter most.”[3]
God’s people were showing a symptom (grumbling) of a deeper problem (their connection and dependance upon God). God in His love for His people gives them a way to fix this problem.
Notice with the Sabbath – it needs to be thought through, (v. 23) “‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil,” The Sabbath just doesn’t happen, it has to be prepared for, put it on the calendar (we call it Sunday), guard it, protect it, and plan to rest, work hard to not work too hard. “People who keep the sabbath live all seven days differently.”
Jesus was once criticized when His disciples were picking grain and eating on the Sabbath, and Jesus’ response was Mark 2:27 “And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” This day was made for you as a gift from God. You were designed to need one day of seven to rest. It’s up to you if you take advantage of the gift or not. When Jesus says, “not man for the Sabbath,” he is saying, God is not adding another rule for you follow – this is not about another thing you have to do – it’s a gift given to you, to help you. If you take a sabbath every seventh day you will be blessed.
Remember the Sabbath (vv. 31-36)
31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept. 35 The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)
They take an omer container full of manna and place it before the people to serve as a reminder. They didn’t need to be reminded of the manna or quail – they had that for forty years – what they needed to be reminded of what was attached to the provision — the Sabbath (how you were to live before God as His people; resting in Him on the seventh day).
Eventually in Exodus 20:9-10 God commands it, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. . . . Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
(v. 23) “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD” This word holy is used several times to describe the Sabbath. Holy means “set apart, different.” God sets aside the day for a specific purpose. You can also make the day holy, as you set it aside as a separate day from all the others. The manna and quail teach the people a pattern for life.
How will you spend your Sabbath today? Earlier we said that God’s people “confused what they wanted with what they needed.” A day set aside to spend time with God will help you align your wants with God’s wants, and to truly understand how He has provided for your needs.
_____________________
[1] Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word, Exodus (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2015) 391.
[2] John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (Colorado Springs, Colorado; Yates & Yates Publishing, 2019) 149.
[3] Comer, 150.
