Journey to Promise: Bread of Heaven (Exodus 16:1-12)

 

[Title Slide] Journey to Promise: Bread of Heaven (Exodus 16:1-12)

 

There on the surface of the wilderness was a thin flaky substance, 
thin like frost on the earth. When the Israelites saw it,
they said to one another, “What is it?”
Exodus 16:14-15

[Slide] A priest is being chased through the woods by a hungry bear.

As the priest is running, he makes an impassioned plea to God: Oh please God, in your infinite wisdom and mercy, turn this bear into a good Christian!

Before he can get another word out, he trips over a log and goes sprawling. The bear catches up and approaches the terrified priest. [Slide] Suddenly, the bear puts its paws together, and says

“Lord, thank you for this meal that I am about to receive.”

 

[Slide] I'm so hungry I could eat my watch.

But that would be time consuming

 

[Slide] Obi-wan and Luke go to Mos Eilsey and order something. The waiter brings out chopsticks. Poor Luke cannot figure out the chopsticks. He's getting more food on him than into his mouth. Obi-wan says to him, "Use the Forks, Luke."

 

[Slide] Last Sunday we talked about the bitter waters of Marah and how hope in Christ sweetens our own bitterness. Today, the Hebrews grumble about hunger on their journey through the Desert of Sin. Oh great! We’re going to talk about sin today!

 

[Slide] The word in Hebrew sounds like seen. It means thorn. The name Sinai means thorny, likely because the rocky mountains and hills of the region reminded the Arabs of thorns.

 

[Slide] Sin and thorns are related in the scriptures. You may remember when God drove Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden, The Lord announced the consequences of their sinful choice to eat the forbidden fruit.

 

[Slide] God told Adam,

 

…the ground is cursed because of you;
in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
but you will eat the grain of the field.
[Slide] By the sweat of your brow you will eat food
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:17b-19)

 

[Slide] Those words ought to sound familiar. We remind ourselves of our mortality and our responsibility to our creator on Ash Wednesday with the words, “From dust you have come and to dust you shall return.”

 

[Slide] Thorns hook into the skin and cause pain. Thorns scratch and gouge, Our clothing tears. Our skin bleeds.

 

Roses are red, and so is my blood.

With a thorny rose, be careful you should

 

[Slide] Jesus told the Parable of the Sower. Some of the scattered seed landed on thorn infested ground. The thorns choked out sprouting wheat. In the same way, our hope in the gospel is choked out by the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth. Our doubt and fears, our wants and desires, choke out hope in God’s promises.

 

The Hebrews journeyed through the Wilderness of Sin, the Desert of Thorns, and they became hungry. They murmured against both Moses and his brother Aaron. [Slide] Here’s a comic with the Hebrews complaining. It’s a continual theme in the wilderness wanderings.

 

The Hebrews murmured,

 

“If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger!” (Exodus 16:3)

 

This grumbling incident occurred on the 15^th day of the second month after they left Egypt. In the Jewish religious calendar, the 14^th day of the second month is known as Second Passover. The day provides a second chance to celebrate Passover for those who were unclean or traveling or otherwise unable to join Passover celebration in the first month.

 

[Slide] Passover celebrates when the angel of death passed over the homes of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. Because of the blood of sacrificial lambs placed on their door frames, Death passed over the Hebrews. But now they are wishing they had died in Egypt, along with the Egyptians, rather than suffer hunger in the desert.

 

God is giving them a second chance to truly embrace life by learning to trust His commands. God responded to their grumbling.

 

[Slide] “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them. 

 

The test is meant to prove God’s question, “Will they walk in my law or not?” (Exodus 16:4)

 

[Slide] God caused bread-like flakes to appear with the morning dew. Some have suggested a natural explanation: resin flakes from the dried sap of desert shrubs. But we’re talking about 1-2 million people. 600,000 men of fighting age left Egypt, plus women, children, the elderly, and foreigners who decided to escape slavery with the Hebrews. No, this was a miraculous feeding of a multitude. Psalm 78:25 refers to the bread of heaven as the food of the mighty ones, the angelic host.

 

When they saw these tiny flakes covering the ground, the Hebrews asked, “What is it?” which in Hebrews in man. Sounds more Jamaican than Hebrew. “Hey, look at this flaky stuff, Mon! What is it, Mon!” Each family gathered roughly 2 quarts for their daily bread. If anyone gathered more than what was needed, it turned, stank, and became maggot infested. Through this testing, the Hebrews learned to trust God’s provision in the wilderness.

 

[Slide] God sent a strong wind to bring quail to the Hebrews. The birds dropped to the ground in exhaustion. The Hebrews had meat to eat. God provided and their hunger was satisfied.

 

[Slide] But there’s more going on here than simple hunger. This story is the first time the Bible specifically mentions the Sabbath. Sabbath is inferred prior to this passage, especially in the creation story of Genesis, but Exodus 16 is the first actual mention of the word Sabbath. A Jewish greeting is “Shabbat Shalom” which means Peaceful Sabbath or May you experience God’s wholeness this Sabbath day.

 

“This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. (Exodus 16:23)

 

In 1980, Bruce Sprinsteen released the single Hungry Heart.  “Everybody’s got a hungry heart” Well, he was right?

 

[Slide] There is a hunger in the heart for God. The Sabbath day’s rest is meant to renew us in the lifegiving presence of God and God’s people. This season of Lent is about reorienting our lives. It’s a spiritual reset. Going hungry through fasting reminds us that we are created for a lifegiving relationship with God. As the stomach cries for tasty food, the Spirit comes to those who wait patiently upon the Lord. He satisfies them in ways that food cannot.

 

 

Moses and Aaron were easy targets for the hungry Hebrews’ frustration. But what they really are doing is grumbling against God. God led Moses and the Hebrews into the wilderness. They are unhappy with where God has placed them on their journey.

 

[Slide] Moses instructed the people to face the Lord who hears their grumbling. They turned to face God and saw his glory appear before them, the fiery cloud that led them. The glory of God was leading them further into the wilderness, to Mt Sinai. Their eyes had been fixated upon their hunger, but God was leading them to Sinai, to the covenant that will define their lives. God is taking them to a wedding celebration, the joining of God and His chosen people. The glory of God is not the manna, not their daily bread. Nor is it the meat they craved. No, the glory of God was out ahead of them in the wilderness, into the unknown.

 

We are yoked together with God on a journey. We must imagine the future to which God is leading us. Perhaps, it feels like walking through a wilderness. You may grow impatient. It might be scary walking together into the unknown, but God provides for us daily bread, strength for the journey. God leads us as we turn our faces, and our hearts, toward Him.

 

[Slide] I’d like to end with the story of Elijah, the great prophet who served Israel during the reign or King Ahab and his idolatrous wife Jezebel. Elijah proclaimed a drought unless Israel turned away from the idolatrous worship of the Canaanite god, Baal. For three years it did not rain. There was a showdown between Elijah the prophet of Yahweh and the priests of Baal at Mt Carmel. Elijah meant to prove, once for all, who is the true God of Israel. [Slide] The priests of Baal cried out for Baal to accept their sacrifice. Elijah taunted them. “Is Baal sleeping? Perhaps he’s gone to relieve himself!” Nothing happened. Then Elijah presented his offering to Yahweh. He had the people drench the sacrifice in water. Very impressive considering there was an intense drought. They poured so much over the sacrifice that a trench of water surrounded the altar. [Slide] Then Elijah prayed to God to accept the offering.

Fire from heaven consumed the sacrifice. Amazed, the people fell to the ground crying, Yahweh is God! Elijah had the people turn on the priests of Baal and they slaughtered them.

 

Queen Jezebel issued a death sentence for Elijah. The prophet ran for his life into the wilderness. Exhausted, he fell asleep beneath a tree. [Slide] An angel came to him and told him to eat and drink, for the journey was too hard for him. Elijah opened his eyes and saw freshly baked bread and a jar of water. Elijah ate and drank and resumed his journey to the mountain of God.

 

[Slide] Upon the mountain of God, Elijah hid himself in a cave. He heard a mighty wind, an earthquake, and a fire break out, but God was not in these powerful events. Then Elijah heard a still small voice. God asked Elijah what he was doing there, hiding. Elijah told God that the Queen had killed all the Lord’s prophets. Only he survived. Alone, frightened, and deeply discouraged, Elijah said, “I’m no better than my ancestors. Take my life now.”

 

Even though Elijah wanted to die, God had purpose for him. He sent Elijah on a mission to crown a new king. God provided Elijah a young man named Elisha to aid him and eventually become prophet in his place. The good news is that God was not yet done with Elijah.

 

We live in a time not unlike Elijah’s. 30% of Americans call themselves non-religious. Only 2 out of 10 worship God in a community of faith. We see the impact: mass shootings, school shootings, depression and anxiety, corruption and crime. The world is hungry and looking in the wrong direction. We know the answer to their hunger. [Slide] God is not done with us yet. Our job is to help them taste the bread of life, our Lord Jesus Christ. Our job is to help our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors to turn and face the glory of God revealed in the face of Jesus.

 

God has fulfilling work for us to do, and God will provide what is needed for this journey together. Blessed Be the name of the Lord.