ÒWhat is it?Ó
Exodus 16:2-15
Are
you hungry yet? We seemed to have talked about bread quite a bit already in our
service to day and maybe you are already looking forward to lunch. Hunger is
one of the ideas that we will explore today as we find satisfaction for it. But
I also want us to explore today what it means to be blessed by God.
The
lesson for today I want to focus on is from Exodus 16. Before we dive into this
story letÕs set the stage. Before we get to where the Israelites are in the
wilderness we go back to when they were in Egypt. Under a new Pharaoh the
Israelites were suffering greatly. They were slaves and they cried out to God
for deliverance. God sent Moses to free them from slavery. After the 10 plagues
the Egyptians reluctantly allow the Hebrew people to leave but as soon as they
left they change their mind and send an army after them. As they approach the
Red Sea and feel like there is no escape God opens the Red Sea and allows them
to cross but then causes the waters to return as soon as the Egyptian army
enters. The Israelites had seen the hand of God deliver them from Egypt and
promise them they would return to the Promise Land.
And
now we get to the story today. Here they are in the wilderness and they start
to grumble and complain about food. How are they going to be fed in the
wilderness? And they complain to Moses and to God. How could they be grumbling
after seeing all that God had done? DidnÕt they trust in the Lord? But before
we point a finger we need to realize that they had a legitimate complaint. They
were a large group of people (some of guessed up to a million people but at the
least in the 100Õs of thousands). They are in a barren wilderness area that doesnÕt sustain much in the way
of food. What are they going to do? Reality has set in for the people of God.
The
Israelites do what is only natural for humans who encounter the unknown; they
remember the past. And not just remember it but glorify the past. Òand the people of
Israel said to them, ÔWould 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.ÕÓ (Exodus 16:3, ESV) They thought they had it good in
Egypt and wanted to return.
God,
in His grace and mercy, provides again for Israel. And that is where our story
is today. ÒAnd
the Lord said to Moses, ÔI have heard the
grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ÔAt 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.Õ
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.Ó (Exodus
16:11-14, ESV) Wow, another miracle by God to provide for His people. And it
typical human fashion, especially seeing something new, they say, ÒWhat is it?Ó
That is actually what manna means,
ÒWhat is it?Ó A blessing from God, a true miracle, and they say ÒWhat is it?Ó
Too
often we forget the blessings God gives to us and focus only on the "what
ifÕs" of life. What if I had just a little more money? What if my health
was just a little bit better? What if I lived in a better home? What if I had a
better relationship with my family and friends? What if I had a better job? The
list can go on an on. And what it usually entails for us is a looking for the
Ògreener grass.Ó We are not satisfied unless we have the ÒmiracleÓ situation.
Our sinful self lusts after the things of the world and is never satisfied. In
a way you could say it creates an unhealthy hunger. And we try to feed it with
everything around us. And when that doesnÕt work, which it never does, we
grumble and complain to God and ask for a miracle.
And
yet I think we miss the true miracle of our lives and the blessings that God
gives to us each day. You see when we focus on the true source of what we have
and not on the things themselves then we can see the truth – God does
take care of us and knows what is best in our lives. The true miracle is GodÕs
continued love for us who have rebelled against him.
Take
for example the LordÕs Prayer; in it we pray, Ògive us this day our daily
bread.Ó We donÕt think much about it but we should. Stop and think what is
involved in just having a loaf of bread. The farmer has to tend to his filed
and plant the wheat. Sometimes he gets a good crop but sometimes he doesnÕt.
Once a crop of wheat has been raised then it is harvested and sent to a mill to
be ground into flour. From there it is sent, along with other ingredients, to a
bakery. It is made into bread and then packaged and sent again, this time to a
local store. You come in the store, with money that you have earned from a job,
and buy a loaf of bread. You bring it home so that your family can be feed.
Some would say a miracle would be the bread just appearing on your table but I
think the true miracle is that so many people and things are involved in making
even a simple loaf of bread that sustains our life. When we see GodÕs hand in
all the processes of this world then we can marvel at the true miracle –
GodÕs providence for us.
But
in true fashion for the Bible, the example of GodÕs sustaining providence in
our daily lives is taken to an even greater level. More than just providing for
our daily living, God provides for our eternity. The example of bread is a good
one because the entire world can relate to this idea. We all need bread to
survive.
Jesus,
in the Gospel lesson, point out that fact, and how much we want to receive our
daily bread. The people sought Jesus out for more bread – they were
looking for an easy way to get what they needed each day. But Jesus didnÕt come
to be merely a ÒBread King.Ó He came to bring us everlasting life, a restored
relationship with God, forgiveness for our sins and new life. Just as we need
bread to live, we need Jesus to live in eternity. Just as we get hungry to tell
us our body needs nourishment so to we hunger spiritually for the nourishment
of our souls. And Jesus says to the crowd and to you and me, that He is the
very Bread of Life given to us to satisfy our souls.
Too
often we want a miracle in the grand sense of the word, but miss the miracle of
life all around us and see how in the ordinary God truly provides for us. God
transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary for us. Not only does he richly
bless us each day with all we need to survive but He blesses us with eternal life.
And think how simple they come to us. In baptism God uses ordinary water to
transform a life. GodÕs word is written for us in the Bible; plain ink and
paper to convey the mysteries of the universe and the love of God in Christ
Jesus. And in the simple bread and wine Jesus is truly present for us to
strengthen our faith. God could have used spectacular events to get our
attention, He could have spoke to us out of the heavens in a booming voice. He
could have provided miraculous substances that would grab our attention. But He
doesnÕt, He uses ordinary means to convey the extraordinariness of His love and
grace. And why is that so important? If he can use ordinary water, ink and
paper, bread and wine to work His power then He surly can use you and me to convey
His grace and mercy. Thanks be to God that He loves even ordinary you and me.
What
is it? It is the hand of God in our lives through Jesus Christ – the very
Bread of Life.
Amen