Title: Salvation in the wilderness/Exodus 16:136
Content Salvation in the wilderness/Exodus 16:136, Mark 9:1219
The Red Sea was in front of the people of Israel who had escaped from Egypt, and the Egyptian army was pursuing them behind them, but the Israelites who crossed the Red Sea safely by the power of God praised and thanked God. The Israelites, who were led by Moses into the wilderness of Shur, were thirsty and looked for water for a day or two, but when they could not find water, their faith in God through the Red Sea had gone and their resentment was slowly sprouting. For them, water was life.
On the third day, they set out on the march with the anticipation of ‘I will be able to find water today.’ Arriving at a place called Mara, the first of them begin to murmur. “It’s water!” Their discovery was enough to excite the Israelites. However, when he realized that the joy was also water that was too bitter to drink, resentment erupted from here and there. Moses prays to God. Then God directed a tree, and Moses put it in, and the water was sweetened. And the voice of God was heard. “… … I am the LORD who heals you (Exodus 15:26).” After this incident, the Israelites passed through Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sinai between Elim and Mount Sinai, which is the text of today's text.
1. People of the Wilderness
After experiencing God's miracles many times, the Israelites entered the wilderness of Sin under the guidance of Moses. Wilderness is read as ‘mirbar’ in Hebrew, which means ‘hostage’, ‘desert’, and ‘rough fields’. There was nothing to eat there. There were voices of resentment against Moses and Aaron from various places. Hearing the complaints of the people, the Lord said to Moses, “Why did God make you die when you eat the meat and bread of Egypt, or why did you come here to make them die?”
“Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out and gather their daily bread. In this way I will test whether they walk in my law or not. On the sixth day they shall prepare what they gather; it shall be twice as much as they gather daily (Exodus 16:45).
In the evening, he sent quails to eat to let them know that God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. In the morning, he fed them with manna to show the glory of the Lord. Manna means ‘what is this?’ This is an event that showed the glory of God in a situation that could not be judged by man's rational function.
As we live our lives like the wilderness, there are many times when we blame God for not thinking about the grace of God in the past and not taking care of our condition in our physical and spiritual thirst. However, just as God immediately sent manna and quail to the people of Israel who were groaning in their resentment so that they could eat it, He is the One who grants us when we ask for all problems, both spiritually and physically, in our resentment.
In Mark 9:11-13, people waited for Elijah to come, but Jesus says that Elijah had already come, but people did not recognize him and treated him as he wanted. It may be natural for those with a mind like the wilderness not to see God's leaders and sometimes the Messiah. When the father brought his son possessed by a demon and asked him to heal him, the disciples tried to heal him based on their past experiences, but they could not. Seeing the disciples, Jesus said that all things are possible through faith (Mark 9:23).
2. God Gives Manna
Although they lack faith and are weak, they show the past grace and glory of God, such as manna and quail, with God's mercy and love in an environment like the wilderness. When God gave manna, there were three rules.
The first is, “Let each one take one homer.”
This is not to say that you should not reap with greed. It means to think of others. One homel per person was the right amount. As a result of greed, there were bugs and smells, which made it impossible to eat, and there was reproach for disobedience. God's people must keep God's commands and ordinances. Otherwise, it may appear to succeed, but it is also a failure.
The second is, “Do not leave it until morning.”
“Moses said to them, ‘Let no one leave it until morning.’ But they did not heed Moses, and some left it until morning, and there was a worm and it smelled. Moses was angry with them (Exodus 16:1920).” We must experience the workings of God that day. Some people reaped a lot because of greed, but the next day there were bugs and a smell. Seeing this, Moses became angry. Because they didn't keep God's command. And he didn't trust God. Sometimes I grab it because I don't need it and I'm afraid that someone else will have it more than me. God's laws were not in short supply. God will be angry with us when we are greedy for ourselves or our family.
The third is “Prepare the Sabbath.”
“Moses said to them, Thus saith the LORD. Tomorrow is a rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you want to bake, boil what you want to boil, and keep the rest for yourselves until morning” (Exodus 16:23). To prepare for the Sabbath, we reap double on the sixth day. This was obedience, God's way of testing obedience to God's law. And he left to each individual how to prepare food for the Sabbath. Bake what you want to bake and boil what you boil.
To the people on the Sabbath, God says: “On the seventh day no one shall come out of his place” (Exodus 16:29b). The sixth day is a day to receive food for two days, and the Sabbath is a day to rest while thinking of God in a holy place. Some went out to gather manna and found that they did not keep God's commandments and laws. God is pleased when we follow God-given rest, God-given body, and God-given commandments and laws. “If you keep your feet from the sabbath, and do not do your amusement on my holy day, and you call the sabbath a delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable, you will honor it, and do not walk in your way and seek your entertainment. And if you do not speak privately, you will find joy in the Lord” (Isaiah 58:1314a).
The Sabbath is God's day. The priority should be the glory of God rather than the glory of man. God spoke to the Israelites through Moses about manna. “Fill this (manna) into an omer and keep it for your generations to come. This is to show them the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 16:32). When the Israelites enter the land of Canaan, the manna will no longer exist. That is why God commanded our ancestors to think about the faith of their descendants through the manna that received the power of God. The event of meeting God is easy to forget as time passes. If we do not pass on our faith, we can end up in the present age. It must be passed down through testimonies, diaries, books, and letters so that our descendants can grow in faith.
Manna and quail, the food that we ate until we reached the land of Canaan for 40 years, were given by God as food until we entered the land of Canaan. God does not give us a day or two, but what we need. When they entered the land of Canaan, they were no longer needed, so God did not give them manna and quail. Because the land had plenty to eat. God's grace given according to our needs is God's plan for us.
Even if you go to the land of God following the leader God has established, you will be faced with a situation like the wilderness. It is neither a land of death nor a place of destruction. It is a place to meet God. God is the One who provides water for us to drink, manna and quail. Through his demon-possessed son, he instilled faith in the son, the father, and the disciples next to him. And more than that, it is God who wants us to possess a heaven like the land of Canaan. However, when faced with difficulties, we often think of the good times of the past and fail to see the future glory.
Saints! I hope you live with this belief.
Pastor Im Young-young