Manna from Heaven (Exodus)

Appleton Gospel Church

Manna from Heaven (Exodus): A month after being freed from slavery, the Israelites were starving in the barren wilderness — the second of three desert tests. However, the whole community grumbled against God. Yahweh rebuked them but mercifully provided bread (manna) from heaven. Does God actually know and care about our needs? Can we trust God to provide? Yes. Only he gives the bread of life. Recorded on Nov 17, 2024, on Exodus 16:1-36 by Pastor David Parks. This message is part of our Exodus series called Journey to Freedom. Exodus is a story of liberation — of God working to rescue and redeem a people for himself, freeing them from slavery and leading them to the land he promised to the family of Abraham and Sarah. Exodus is also a picture of the gospel and the Christian life. In Christ, we, too, are freed from captivity to sin and death and led through the wilderness of life by God’s Word and Presence as we make our way to the Promised Land of the world to come. Join us as we make this journey to find true and lasting freedom. Sermon Transcript So, we’re working through the book of Exodus in a sermon series called Journey to Freedom. Exodus is a story of liberation, of God rescuing and redeeming a people for himself. After freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, Yahweh himself went ahead of them as a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. He also spoke to his people through Moses, his prophet and servant, providing instructions and commands for them to obey. This would basically be the pattern for the rest of the journey: God’s chosen people learning to make their way through the wilderness by his word and Presence. Last week, we considered the first of three tests in the desert in the waters of Marah and Elim. Today, in the second test, the people were starving. They needed food to nourish and sustain them. Had they learned to listen to God’s word and trust his goodness and faithfulness to provide for their needs? We’ll see. Have you ever needed God to provide? Have you ever wondered, “Does God actually know/care about my needs? Can I trust God provide what I need?” If you have your Bible/app, please open it to Exodus 16:1. This is the famous story of manna from heaven. Exodus 16:1–3 (NIV), “1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” The first test at Marah came just three days after the parting of the Red Sea. Now, here, Moses says it’s been almost exactly a month since they were freed from Egypt (the Passover being on the 14th day of the first month). After the brief respite of Elim, the Israelites continued through the desert wilderness on their way to Mount Sinai when they started to have another serious problem: they were running out of food. If you remember, when they left Egypt, they brought bread dough with them so they could make unleavened cakes or crackers, but they were running out (or perhaps had run out). At this point, it wasn’t just a few people who started to grumble. “…the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.” In their desperate hunger, they started to think about being slaves in Egypt as something like the good old days. “Remember when we were slaves who were killed and beaten and exploited in every way? There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted. Wasn’t that great??” It might seem crazy from our vantage point. In the past few weeks of our series, we’ve seen God miraculously provide for his people time and time again. Why would they start grumbling so quickly? But remember,