11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 12I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. 13And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 14And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. Exodus 16:1-15(KJV)
Today’s story follows of Moses leaving Egypt, as we follow children of God trudging towards the Promised Land, but looking back over their shoulders to the abundant food they left in Egypt. The talk on the trail may have been of freedom, but in their minds Israel’s children were still slaves. They looked one way and thought another.... They talked freedom, but thought slavery.... They started out watching God as He beckoned them through the clouds by day and the fire by night.... But at the same time they held on to Pharaoh’s hand…! Canaan and Egypt were in the same valley but in extreme opposite directions. To reach one, you had to turn your back on the other... Your Eyes Are On Canaan, But Your Mind Is In Egypt!
Choices There were really only two choices (besides laying right down there in the dust and dying). Choice number one was to return to Egypt. Not a good choice; Pharaoh would have killed half of them and made the other half do twice the work. The other choice was to pay the price for freedom. The Israelites understood hardship, pain and death; after 430 years as a nation of slaves to the Egyptian dynasty, they knew suffering. Now, released by the order of Pharaoh, driven in one night from their homes towards a never-seen land supposedly "flowing with milk and honey", and led by a prophet carrying only a stick and the promises of some God with no name, that they couldn’t see - these slaves were nervous about the future.
Fear Turns to Grumbling
Their fear turned to grumbling - complaining, if you will. This is a good place to begin for anyone in a Christian church fellowship. Like Barney Fife, we ought to nip complaining in the bud!
According to the text (v.4) the Lord sent the manna as a test to see if, when the complainers got what they were asking for, that they would then begin to follow Him. They didn’t! As soon as they got the bread, they complained. That’s not too different from church congregations; many of them today are not growing, fading away to nothing. They call a pastor to lead them, and then complain about everything he does that’s different than what they were doing before he got there. Then, if the church doesn’t grow in spite of their complaining they blame the new pastor for not having vision.
The people of Israel blamed Moses for bringing them out of Egypt to "die in the wilderness". That wasn’t a fact - they survived. But they were afraid, and complaining comes from fear and lack of faith in the leadership God has placed in your midst. Moses equated complaining about God’s chosen leader with complaining against the Lord Himself. (16:7).
Complaining is a sure sign of amnesia, when people have forgotten how God has provided for them. And it is a sign of lack of faith. For the children of Israel freedom was losing its shine when the cost of that freedom - learning to trust and follow God rather than their familiar slavery patterns back in Egypt - became their reality. It is much easier to accept a little certain misery rather than an unknown freedom.
When God Has Set You Free You Should Act Like It! So many Christians pray to be released from habits, only to long for the very thing from which God sets them free. Israel’s people prayed for four centuries to be released from their bondage. When it finally came all they could do was look back towards Egypt.
As we began looking at this passage we talked about profitable lessons. This passage carries the help we need to begin cooperating with God’s declaration of our freedom from such things. There are five points to see:
Decide to Trust God
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”. Proverbs 3:6 (KJV) When the children of Israel finally agreed to trust God, It took them forty years of wandering in the desert, but it did happen, and they stopped complaining against their leadership, and began to move together as a family. I know our nation would be a lot better off if there were less complaining and more decision to trust God.
Plan Ahead to Worship
The manna was to be gathered for 6 days a week. And on that 6th day they gathered two day’s worth. God made a plan for man’s life that includes work, rest and worship.
Gather Every Day - Early!
Having the promise of God is not supposed to take away your responsibilities. In fact, it awakens the true believer as to how he should go about handling his real responsibilities. The children of Israel had a legitimate need - food. They could have spoken to their leaders without grumbling and murmuring. The Bible tells us:
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6
“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 6:35
Make certain you have your daily manna-time with Jesus.
Don’t Hoard Your Manna. Our needs spiritually are about the same. Many folks, are attempting to live on yesterday’s manna. Friends, living on yesterday’s spiritual experiences as if they are today’s adventure with Christ will starve your spirit. It will turn your service for Christ into a wormy leftover. The reason God gave the children manna fresh every day was so they would learn to depend on Him daily and not wander. It is the same with you. Your daily dependence on Him spiritually is vital to your vitality as a servant of Christ.
Don’t Grumble - Eat Your Manna.
Enough has been laid before you about grumbling. God’s people failed the test time and again because they refused to trust God and cooperate with Him. In spite of it all God provided for their needs. God’s provision for YOU in life can be either a powerful affirmation of your faith as you trust Him without grumbling or it can be a constant reminder of your fear and faithlessness. The choice is up to you. Your Eyes Are On Canaan, But Your Mind Is In Egypt.
