You can listen to this sermon at here.
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Exodus
16:2-15
2
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in
the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand
of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill
of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole
assembly with hunger.”
4
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and
each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I
will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 5 On the sixth
day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they
gather on other days.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the
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 complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain
against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the
evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the
complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not
against us but against the Lord.”
9
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites,
‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” 10 And as Aaron
spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the
wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 The Lord spoke
to Moses and said, 12 “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to
them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your
fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there
was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on
the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on
the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is
it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread
that the Lord has given you to eat.”
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John
6:30-35
30
So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may
see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the
manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to
eat.’” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses
who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true
bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread
always.”
35
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be
hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
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Think
of the Israelites, the ones who were freed from Egypt and then wandered in the
wilderness before being delivered into the promised land. Think of the God –
our God - God who was trying to build a relationship with them.
A
month or two prior, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, treated poorly and
unfairly and harshly under the rule of Pharaoh. It’s a pretty well-known story
in the Bible. Moses, an Israelite himself, was adopted as an infant into the
Pharaoh’s family, after being hidden in an ark, also known as a basket, along
the river. Moses, as he grew older, discovers his true identity, as one of
God’s chosen people, and is given the command to free his community, God’s
chosen people, from their slavery in Egypt and lead and deliver these people
into the promised land.
So
Moses, after some initial resistance, does exactly that. Moses follows the call
from God and he, with the divine help of God, frees the Israelites from their
slavery.
But
immediately following their freedom from slavery, a certain pattern emerged
with the Israelites in which they would complain to and against Moses and
Moses’ brother and second-in-charge, Aaron.
This
pattern happens in the Exodus text that we heard today. It also happened two
times before with the Israelites before it happened in our text today.
As I
said, the Israelites would complain against Moses and Aaron, repeatedly, and
each time their complaints followed a certain narrative.
First
the pattern would begin because of a potentially devastating threat to their
well-being. It started with the pursuit of pharaoh and his chariots; then it
was deadly dehydration, and this time, as we heard in our passage today, it was
starvation.
Second,
they would complain about this threat. Their complaints would carry a similar
message each time: basically each time the Israelites would say to Moses,
“We’re going to die. God hates us. This is your fault. We should have just
stayed in Egypt.”
Third,
Moses and Aaron would take the peoples’ complaint to God.
And
fourth, God would respond to the complaint by saving God’s people. You know. Things
like the miraculous crossing of the sea, providing drinkable water, and now, in
our passage from today, raining bread down from heaven.
God,
through some divine miracle, would save the Israelites and yet, the Israelites
seemed to forget what God had provided because in no time, they had something
else to complain about, wishing they were back in the harsh servitude they
endured in Egypt.
And
that’s what I want to help us understand: is why so quickly the Israelites
forgot the providence of God each time God saved them through some miraculous
gift.
Less
than two months from their freedom from Egypt, after a near-death experience
with the pharaoh and his chariots and after moments of dehydration (both of
which God responded to and saved them from), the Israelites are now starving in
the wilderness. They complain to Moses and Aaron, wishing they would have just
died by the hand of the Lord in Egypt because at least there their stomachs
were full. God, through Moses and Aaron, hears the complaint of starvation from
the Israelites and responds by saying “Draw near to the Lord, for the Lord has
heard your complaints.”
God
then promises the Israelites food. Every evening they will eat meat… and every
morning they shall eat bread.
That
evening, a flock of quails stumbles across the Israelites camp, and of course,
the Israelites get their fill of meat.
But
in the morning, something even more seemingly miraculous happens, something
more odd than a flock of quails appearing out of the bushes… When the
Israelites woke up the next morning, their camp was surrounded by a layer of
dew… and in the dew was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost. They didn’t
know what it was, they asked “What is it?,” which is the translation of manna,
“What is it?” and Moses replied, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to
eat.”
Think
about that. I mean, it’s pretty special when an animal appears out of the
bushes. How many times have any of you seen a deer or a fox or a hawk in your
yard or a field? And then thought to yourself with excitement, “what great
timing is that!” Or “what luck is that!”
But
how many of you have seen bread rain down from heaven, covering the ground with
sweet and filling sustenance? Because the quails appearing and covering the
camp is one thing, especially when you’re starving, but bread raining down from
heaven is a miracle no one else had experienced.
And
then it happened again the next day. And the next day. And the next. As the
Lord promised, every evening the Israelites would get their fill of meat and
every morning, they would have their fill of bread.
On
the sixth day they would get double their fill, that way they could rest on the
seventh day, the sabbath.
And
this would continue for years, perhaps decades. Every evening they would get
their fill of meat as animals covered their camp. Every morning they would get
their fill of bread as bread rained down from heaven. And every sixth day they
would get double so they could rest on the seventh day.
So
why do you think the Israelites forgot God’s providence as God filled their
stomachs with meat and bread every evening and morning?
They
forgot God’s providence because God gave it to them every day.
They
forgot God’s providence because every day they began to expect exactly what
they received.
They
forgot God’s providence because one day bread repetitively raining down from
heaven didn’t seem so miraculous.
They
forgot God’s providence because having food and full stomachs as they wandered
in the wilderness wasn’t a special gift; it was a normalcy of life.
The
Israelites became complacent and comfortable and forgot that the gift of bread
from heaven truly was a gift worth rejoicing over every single day.
Thank
you to Rev. Jill Duffield, author of Lent in Plain Sight, for this
revelation.
In
small groups and in our sermon series during the season of Lent, we are using
this book and Scripture to explore ten ordinary objects; objects that Jesus
would have encountered on his way to Jerusalem and objects that each of us
still encounter today. We’re using these ordinary objects that we see every day
as reminders of God’s presence around us. We started with Dust on Ash
Wednesday, and this Sunday we are looking at, if you haven’t already figured it
out yet, we are looking at Bread. It’s an object found at tables across the
world; it’s an object that is currently found before us on the Lord’s Table.
Bread is obviously an ordinary object. Even for the Israelites, even though it
rained down from heaven, bread became an ordinary object.
The
Israelites forgot God’s providence because the thing God provided for them
became ordinary to them. The bread from heaven seemed much too common for it to
be considered a gift.
And
this is true for us. Perhaps we encounter bread too much, in nearly every meal,
that we forget what it symbolizes to us as disciples of Christ. Yes, it’s a
gift to be able to feed ourselves and our families. It’s a gift that we never
starve or even go hungry for more than a brief moment. It’s a gift from God
every time we take a bite of food or share in a meal.
But
bread also represents more than that. This ordinary object we see before us
represents more than that.
When
the Israelites were starving in the wilderness, God rained bread down from
heaven not only to fill their stomachs but also to remind them that God was
there providing for them in the way that they needed it most. And God did this
for them for years; God provided for them in the way they needed it most; even
if it soon became normal and expected for God to do so. And then after years,
God delivered the Israelites into the promised land, a land flowing of milk and
honey, and when the Israelites were no longer starving in the wilderness, actual
and physical bread from heaven was no longer the thing they needed most.
Of
course, the Israelites still needed food and other basic necessities of life.
And God still provided for them in that way. It just didn’t come in the shape
of fine flaky manna that covered the ground. But the bread of heaven never
stopped for the Israelites. It didn’t stop for us either.
Because
God looked at God’s people and promised to give us what we needed most.
God
gave us Jesus. The true bread of heaven. Jesus is the bread of life. Whoever
comes to Jesus will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Jesus will never
be thirsty. What we needed the most was Jesus; what we still need the most is
Jesus.
And
that blessing that God gave us Jesus and still gives us Jesus should never
become normal for us. This is a gift that should be rejoiced over every single
day.
So
therefore, during this season of Lent and onward, that every time we see bread,
whether it be white or wheat, sourdough or rye, pitas or tortillas, bagels or
doughnuts, banana bread or French bread, chapati or naan, that we give thanks
that God still provides.
In bread,
a meal that is so ordinary, so simple, so standard, so common, so normal; we
are called to remember the blessings given by God; the greatest of which is the
grace of Christ, our bread from heaven and our bread of life. Thanks be to God.
Amen.
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