Sole Provider
The incentive to trust in God’s provision today, may be more necessary than it has been in a very long time. We are living in difficult days, but if those days cause us to turn more to God, then such difficulties may not be a bad thing, depending of course on the severity of those circumstances. The Israelis arrived in the desert of Sin, one month after God had delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians. Rather than going straight into the Promised Land, they were directed straight into the wilderness, both physically and methodically speaking. The plan of God was to teach Israel to trust in him as their sole provider.
Like many people who experience times of difficulty, trusting God is not automatic. It is in fact a learning process - a process undertaken through exercising faith in God. This sermon will consider the lessons that Israel needed to learn, when it came to God’s provisions for their basic survival in the wilderness. And from their experience, we too might learn the lesson of trusting God to provide for us, especially when we go through our own desert experiences.
God’s Provision
The whole of the Israelite community had set out from Elim, and arrived in the Desert of Sin. They had been on the move for one month, according to Exodus 12:2, after God had freed them from their captivity in Egypt. We discover in Exodus 16:2, that the whole community was grumbling, because their stomach’s were rumbling. So Moses and Aaron became the target of Israel’s complaint, simply because they had presumed God had brought them into the desert, and they were about to starve to death.
Grumblings are rarely logical, as we can see from Exodus 16:3, when it says, "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.” Strangely, the Israelites stated that they were willing to die in Egypt, but were less than willing to die in the desert. Maybe they were choosy about where they wanted to die? But God in his infinite mercy, was prepared to come to their rescue, despite such complaints. Likewise God is just as eager to come to our aid with the necessary provisions we need, despite the fact that we sometimes grumble too.
However, there was a test for the Israelites! If they were eager to partake of God’s provision, then they would be advised to follow God’s instructions. And this was especially important if such instructions related to God’s provision for them. A condition was imposed upon Israel! They could only collect manna once a day, except on the sixth day where they were to collect twice the amount of manna, in preparation for the sabbath rest. As it says in Exodus 16:4-5, "Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
Because God is a God of grace, not only was he preparing to provide bread for the Israelis in the morning, it was his purpose to provide them with meat in the evening. As it says in Exodus 16:10-12, ’While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” The point we need to get our heads around is this. Although the Israelis were facing a momentary crisis, God was in fact preparing to provide for the entire camp for forty years. And this is precisely why we need to follow any instructions God gives us by His Spirit. God may not be planning to provide for us as a one off contingency plan. His purpose may be to provide for us continually. But sometimes, there will be conditions that God wants us to come to terms with, as we learn to obey God’s prompting and leading by His Spirit.
We also need to recognise when God is providing for us! That provision may also have a condition of faith upon it. And that condition may require us to trust God to provide for our needs, when we need them, and not before. In fact, the Israelis did not even recognise that God had sent the provision they needed, on the day that it arrived. As it says in Exodus 16:13-15, ’That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat." ’ When we trust God to provide for us, it may not always be evident where that provision will come from. God’s provision may very well be piece meal, coming from a variety of sources and directions, over time. God’s provision may not always be obvious, and we may find ourselves asking the same question as the Israelis did, when they said, "What Is It?"
Although it is the nature of God to provide for us abundantly, we must not discriminate in our gratitude towards him, should he choose to provide for us sparingly. As it says in Exodus 16:16-18, ’This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer. The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.’ Our gratitude towards God must relate to the fact that he provides little, as well as when he provides much. And that gratitude must be prevalent, even when we perceive that God may be providing others with more than what he is providing for us. Each recipient will get what is required from God, which is a spiritual principle found in scripture.
In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, in Matthew 20:1-16, the landowner paid everyone the same wage, irrespective of when they started to work for him, whether it was early in the morning, mid day or at 5:00 in the afternoon, everyone was paid the same. Although this scripture relates to the gracious generosity of God towards latecomers entering the kingdom of God, it provides a wider principle. That is, God’s generosity is equal to all, no matter when they come to him, he is no respecter of persons, (James 2:1-13). It says in Matthew 20:15 (NIV), ’Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
Disobedience
Not everyone we keen to follow God’s instruction. It was a good day, when Israel received from the hand of the Lord. However, when it came time for them to do their part concerning obedience, some of the members of the camp did not play fair! It says in Exodus 16:23-28, ’He (Moses) said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’ ” So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?" ’
No one is suggesting that today God will not provide for you, simply because you do not observe the sabbath. The point is that some of the members of the camp were disobedient to God’s instruction. They would have been disobedient to any of God’s instructions given them, irrespective of whether they were obeying the sabbath or not. God provided for them, and he did not stop providing for them just because some of them chose to be disobedient. Because of God’s grace, he provides for us unconditionally. But, such a provision should not prevent us from a continued obedience to his word. In fact, when God miraculously provides for us, it should give us an incentive to obey him all the more. Salvation is not earned, simply because Jesus paid the price for us at Calvary, and therefore we are no debtors to the law. As it says in Romans 8:32 (NIV), ’He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?’
So, what’s the point of obedience? The point is that God’s goodness for us and his provision towards us, should be a motivator to follow God even closer. We should allow God to lead us by His Spirit into all truth - truth which we should all embrace more and more, as the days grow increasingly darker. Just because we are no debtors to the law, does not preclude us from obedience to God, as he leads us by His Spirit. What would be the point if God led us by his Spirit, but we refused to follow? So, there is a potential relationship between God’s provision and our obedience, but it may not be an exact correlation. It may be that God’s provision incentivises us to obey him more, and there’s nothing wrong with being grateful children, rather than spoilt brats.
A Lasting Memorial
In conclusion, it is important to recognise that God never changes. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. What he was teaching Israel, in the Desert of Sin, is just as important to us today. Which is precisely why God instructed Moses to take a jar of manna, and keep it for generations to come as a memorial. Hopefully, people would then see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. As it says in Exodus 16:32-34, ’Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’ ” So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.” As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved.’
Notice where Moses instructed Aaron to place the manna, right next to the tablets of the covenant law. For generations, people would recognise that there was a correlation between God’s provision for Israel, and their obedience to his instructions. So today, don’t miss out on God’s provision, simply because you did not recognise it. And don’t miss out on his provision, because you neglected to follow the instructions of the Holy Spirit, who may very well be leading you towards it. And just like Exodus 16:35, you too could have a testimony, where God will provide for you for forty years or more, until you reach your promised land.
