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Last updated on
Oct. 26, 2005
The Lesson of Manna
Delivered October 2, 2005
by Pastor Werner De Jong
Text: Exodus 16:2-8, 13-26
Main Idea: When God provided manna for Israel in the wilderness, he demonstrated that he was faithful and full of compassion. But he also wanted to teach Israel to trust him and to depend on him day by day.
Purpose: To encourage the listeners that God cares for them and is able to provide for their needs. To challenge the listeners to trust God enough to look to him to meet their needs.
Introduction: Today we are continuing with our sermon series from the book of Exodus. There is great value in studying this book, because it teaches us many essential lessons about being in relationship with God. This is because Exodus tells the story of God forming a people. It is the story of the beginning of a people's walk with God. Before they left Egypt the people of Israel didn't know what it meant to be in relationship with God. Some of them may have remembered that their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob worshipped the same God, but they themselves knew little or nothing about this God. Therefore the book begins with God revealing himself to Moses at the burning bush, in order that Moses may in turn reveal God to the people. Moses was to tell the people God's name, Yahweh, and Moses was to tell them that God cared for them and was coming down to set them free. And God did indeed set the people free, through amazing acts of power–through the plagues and the Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea. But once the people are set free the emphasis of the book shifts–how are the people now to relate to God? That is an excellent question which applies to us as well–as the people of God who have been set free from sin and death, how are we to relate to God? What does a relationship with God look like? What does God want from us?
The Foundation of Relating to God: There is much we could say, but this morning's text leads us to consider the most basic lesson we can learn about relating to God. In fact, all of the lessons in the book of Exodus are very basic, because Israel is just learning what it means to be God's people. Therefore very fundamental lessons needed to be learned. Above all else there was one central lesson which God wanted to teach Israel, and it was this: that they could trust God to take care of them. They needed to learn that the God they were now entering into a relationship with cared for them and was fully committed to them. There is no more important lesson about God for anyone to learn. Learning that God loves us and can be trusted is the primary, foundational lesson for relationship with God. If you think about it, trust forms the basis of any good relationship. Without trust there cannot be a good relationship between people.
Therefore God quickly set about to demonstrate to Israel that the people could trust him. God's strategy was simple: he was going to win Israel's trust by acting on their behalf. Isn't this how we learn to trust anyone, when they consistently demonstrate their care for us? It is how children learn to trust their parents. It is how adults learn to trust other adults. And it is how God set about teaching Israel that he could be trusted. He set his people free from slavery in Egypt. He defeated Pharaoh's army when Pharaoh attacked Israel in the wilderness. He led the people to safety through the middle of the sea. And today we read how he fed them every day with manna. God acted out of love for Israel, and God's actions were designed to build trust. And last week we heard how God also verbalized his desire for Israel to trust him, saying to the people through Moses, when they were trapped between the Egyptian army and the sea: "Do not be afraid, stand firm....The Lord will fight for you today, and you have only to keep still" (Ex. 14:13a, 14). And sure enough, God kept his word.
Today's Text: Just like many people, the people of Israel didn't always learn the lessons God intended the first time around. We see that when we consider today's text. It begins with the people of Israel, now safe from Egypt, and free from slavery, wandering in the wilderness, on the way to the promised land. But they were not happy–they were hungry, so they complained to Moses and his brother Aaron, saying: "If only we had died by the hand of Yahweh 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" (Ex. 16:3). It is clear from this complaint that they were not trusting God to look after their needs–and this after all that God had done for them. It wasn't only that God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt–the previous chapter, chapter 15, contains a story of the people searching for water in the wilderness. For three days after God's great victory by the sea they searched for drinking water but could not find any. And when they finally did find some, at Marah, it turned out the water was bitter and not potable. So they complained against Moses saying, "What shall we drink?" And Moses cried out to God, and God showed Moses a piece of wood which he threw into the water, making the water sweet.
God Provides: And now the story repeats itself, except that the problem is a shortage of food. If it is difficult for us to understand how Israel could be so ungrateful and untrusting, the remarkable thing is to note how God responded to them. Rather than saying, "I have made a terrible mistake liberating you ungrateful wretches from Egypt," God instead said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you" (v.4). It is a wonderful reminder to us how patient God's mercy is. It is also a beautiful illustration of God's grace. God provided food for the people in the wilderness, when there was no other visible sign of life around, in the face of their restless protest. It was a wonderful provision. That evening a flock of quail settled nearby, and the people had fresh meat to eat. The quail was a temporary provision, but God also sent manna the next morning, a bread-like substance, which came with the morning dew. It resembled coriander seeds, and it tasted like wafers made with honey. And unlike the quail this was a daily gift. Day after day, month after month, year after year, decade after decade, for a period of 40 years, the people woke up to discover that God had faithfully provided for their nourishment.
In this sense the manna wasn't only sent to prevent starvation; it was an ongoing reminder of God's care and concern. In other words God didn't only respond to the people's hunger; God also responded to the deeper need behind the people's grumbling. They grumbled because they were hungry, of course, but ultimately they grumbled because they were afraid, and they didn't trust God. They needed to be assured that God was still with them. So God sent the manna as a recurring witness of his merciful presence. It was a daily demonstration that God was committed to his people. God's special love for them was shown clearly in the provision of this heavenly food.
Incidentally, there is an interesting question over just what this manna was. The question revolves around whether or not the manna was entirely a supernatural food. The word manna itself doesn't help answer the question, because it simply means "what is it?," which is the question the people asked when they first saw it. Some people believe there is a natural explanation for it. It is a rather intriguing theory. In the Sinai desert there is a certain insect which feeds on the sap of the tamarisk plant. This insect secretes a substance which is still gathered and eaten by Bedouin people today, and the secretion bears some similarities to the description of manna in our text. It too is gathered in the morning, before the heat of the sun dries it up, and before the ants eat it. Waldemar Janzen mentions this in his commentary, saying that it adds some "local colour" to the story. But he also issues a caution, saying: "God can use natural phenomena, but the accent (in the story) falls on God's astonishing provision for Israel, and that should not be explained away" (Exodus, Believers Church Bible Commentary, p. 205). Indeed, even if we accept this explanation, there is still a miraculous element to the story, for on the sixth day of every week twice as much manna was apparently found, so the people wouldn't have to gather on the Sabbath. Not too many insects know when the Sabbath is coming!
Waldemar Janzen tells an interesting story which demonstrates how God can provide in any way God pleases, whether naturally, supernaturally, or both: "A Mennonite woman in Germany," he writes, "who had experienced the hardships of the Stalin era in the Soviet Union told me, ‘We exiles were literally dropped off in the wilderness of Kazakhstan. Famine seemed inevitable. But to our surprise, the water holes (in the area) were full of a certain kind of fish, and we survived on them. The nomadic natives told us that these fish, though native to the area, had become extremely rare in recent years. God had done a miracle for us.'" And then Janzen adds: "This woman did not doubt that God had acted in a unique way for them. Should we doubt it?" And should we doubt that God acted in a unique way for Israel in the wilderness?
A Test of Trust and Obedience: Regardless of what explanation we accept for the manna, it is clear that God provided for the needs of his people. Over and over again God demonstrated his love, patience and grace. But with the sending of the manna God decided that it was now also time for a test. God wanted to test the strength of the new relationship which was being built, to see whether or not the people would trust and obey him. And so God 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 follow my instruction or not" (v.4). The test centred on the basic principle that the people should only gather as much as each one needed. Would the people trust God enough to collect only what they needed each day, or would they try to secure their own safety by setting some aside for the future? Would they eat each day's manna that day, so that there was nothing left, or would they leave some over until the next morning? It requires a lot of trust to eat your entire food supply in faith that more will appear next day.
As it turned out, many people failed the test. In verse 20 we read: "But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul." It may have been an initial failure, but in the failing there was learning. The primary purpose of the test wasn't to grade people "pass" or "fail," and then to write off those who failed. Rather, it was a teaching point. It was a basic lesson in trust. And the people clearly saw what happened when they did not trust–the manna became rotten. In this way the people learned through failure. People often learn more through failure than success. Failure, in fact, for those who are open to it, can be a back door to success. In our text, there were three lessons in particular which God was teaching his people, and they are related. They are basic lessons in trust which Israel needed to learn to have a meaningful relationship with God, and which we must also apprehend if we want a strong relationship with God.
Lesson One: We are dependent on God for Life: First of all, God wanted the people of Israel to learn that they were truly dependent on him for life. The lesson was very simple–without God's daily provision, the people would not survive. They would starve. God so arranged things that this lesson was obvious–Israel was sustained morning by morning by the gift of God. The lesson needed to be obvious because Israel had little or no former knowledge of God. God didn't have to arrange things this way. God didn't have to lead the people through the wilderness. There were other routes available. But God deliberately led the people to the wilderness, to a wild, inhospitable place, in order that they may learn the foundational truth regarding relationship with God, which again is this: they were truly dependent on God, and God could be fully trusted to love and care for them. Those who recognize this fact much more readily develop a deep love and appreciation for God.
The very same truth applies to us: we also are sustained daily by God, only it might not be as obvious. It shouldn't need to be as obvious, because in the Bible and in the life of Jesus and through the presence of the Holy Spirit we have a much greater record of God's faithfulness through the ages. But we are just as dependent upon God to sustain our lives and the life of all living things as ancient Israel was. As Paul said, "In God we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). If God were to withdraw his sustaining power from creation, creation would cease to exist. We exist only because of God's activity. It might be hard for us to see today because our culture stresses independence, and we pride ourselves in what we think is our ability to sustain our own lives. And to a degree, of course, this is true. Generally speaking, if we work hard, and are diligent, we are better off. But that is only because we exist in the system God has established. But without God we could not work: we could not live, or move, or have our being. That is a most basic fact we need to apprehend if we want to understand God and ourselves and life itself. What difference would it make in our relationship with God if day by day we truly grasped the fact that we could not draw a single breath without God's sustaining power at work in life? God is not far from any of us. We are alive because God wills it and sustains us.
In his prayer of instruction, Jesus taught us to pray: "Give us this day our daily bread" (Mt. 6:11). It is a humble request which recognizes our dependence upon our Creator. How would our relationship with God change if we could pray that prayer every day, with humility, acknowledging God as the source of our life, acknowledging our absolute dependence upon our Heavenly Father's care. And not only of our physical life. The New Testament treats the manna as a sign of the spiritual life that is ours in Jesus Christ, the abundant, eternal life that we can experience even now. Jesus in fact called himself "the bread of life," in a discussion with the Jews who wanted a sign like manna to demonstrate his authenticity. He 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 of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (John 6:32-33). And then again: "Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life" (vv. 47-48). We need Jesus for life as surely as the Israelites needed manna.
Lesson Two: Don't worry about the Future: The second lesson is somewhat related to the first. Since we are dependent on God for life, there is no need to worry about the future. The people of Israel initially failed God's test for this very reason. They set aside some food and stored it up for the next day as insurance against future need. What if the manna did not appear again the next morning? But the food spoiled. For God had told them not to do this, for he had promised to provide fresh food every day. So the root of this failure was again a lack of trust. That is just what worry is–it is not trusting God to care for our needs as God has promised to do. It is seeking to find security in life by our own efforts.
Please note that this text does not suggest it is always wrong to make provisions for the future. All of us who garden, for example, probably do. We eat some food fresh, but other food we freeze or dry or can. That is only prudent, and the Bible elsewhere commends such action. And the same thing applies to money. Some money we spend today, and at other times we may set some aside some for our children's education or other future needs. We need to remember that God's instruction to Israel was a specific instruction given to a specific people at a specific time for a specific purpose–to teach that God could be trusted, and to teach that there was no need with such a God to worry about the future. That lesson is just as valid for us. Therefore an interesting question to ask is this: When does storing up for the future become counter-productive and actually hinder our trust relationship with God? The answer is simply this: when we do so with a spirit of worry and self-sufficiency, looking to ourselves and ourselves alone to secure our future. In that case we have stopped depending upon God. When that happens we no longer pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," for we have come to see ourselves as the ultimate providers. This was the problem with the rich fool in Jesus' parable who tore down his old barns and built larger ones, saying to himself: "I have ample goods laid up for many years; now I can eat, drink and be merry!" If we are going to have a strong relationship with God, we need to come to the place where we trust our Heavenly Father's care enough that we do not worry about the future. In fact, as Jesus taught, our main concern for the future shouldn't be worrying about what we will eat or drink, but rather seeking the kingdom of God. "Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness," he taught his disciples, "and all these other things will be given to you as well" (Mt. 6:33).
Lesson Three: Sabbath Rest: This brings us to our third and final lesson, which concerns the Sabbath rest. Our text contains the first mention of the Sabbath in the Bible, and it has to do with collecting the manna. On the sixth day the people were to gather twice as much manna, so they wouldn't have to work on the Sabbath, and could take a rest. This too required a step of faith, for experience had taught the people that any manna left overnight would spoil. But it didn't spoil on the sixth night. However, some people also failed this test, for they still went out to gather manna on the seventh day, only to discover that there wasn't any. There is a powerful lesson in that: we don't get further ahead when we strive endlessly without rest. It becomes counter-productive: energy is exerted, but nothing is gained. God wanted to teach his people, even as God wants to teach us, that there are times when faith needs to take the risk of remaining inactive and simply to trust in God's provision.
And again, this failure was meant to help the people. As Moses went on to tell them, the Sabbath was a gift from God. "See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath," he said. "It is for you." Some people think of the Sabbath as just another rule God wants us to keep, but it is a gift intended for our well-being. As Jesus said, the Sabbath is made for us, for our benefit; we are not made to serve the rule of the Sabbath. It is a gift, which should be received with joy. For God knows that as people we need times of rest, and God has made a provision for it. We need times when we can cease our striving and simply celebrate God's goodness.
The lesson of the Sabbath is a lesson in trust. As I've said on other occasions, rest is a beautiful word, but only those who trust in God's care and provision are truly able to take regular periods of rest, a Sabbath rest, and enjoy it. That is the lesson the Sabbath teaches—that life depends on God, not upon our own efforts. What a joy it is to truly realize that!
Conclusion: On that note, we can conclude. The lesson of the manna is the beautiful lesson that God, who is full of mercy and grace, loves us and provides for our daily needs. It also teaches us the most basic truth of what it means to be in relationship with God. To relate to God means to trust in God's love, to depend upon God's daily care, and to rest in the joy that our lives are safe in the hands of our Heavenly Father. Amen.