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Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

August 03, 2024
By Rev. Joshua Reinke

Text: Exodus 16:2-15

 

Introduction: 


Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.


My dear beloved flock the text for our meditation today is the Old Testament Lesson of Exodus sixteen verses two through fifteen.


Boys and Girls, I pray that you are doing well today. There is an old movie, Little Shop of Horrors, that has a  line that helps us with our text for today. A talking plant says “Feed me Symore.” A plant, talking or not, desires food. It needs water to live, sunlight to grow. Same with you right? Did you have breakfast this morning? Are you looking forward to snacks and lunch? I am sure you are. We need food and water to survive. Without food and water, we can’t live. How does God give us food that lasts beyond today? Ponder that question as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.

 

When the Israelites left the land of Egypt, there was hope for a future in their own land, there was a measure of fear of the Egyptian army pursuing them, and there was faith that God would lead them quickly through the desert wilderness. So when the tenth plague occurred, the Egyptians urged the Israelites to leave in haste (Exodus 12). There wasn’t time to prepare and pack the proper provisions for such a journey. This was going to be a journey that was dependent upon faith. But did the Israelites have any idea how long this journey was going to take? Did they realize how much food and water they were going to need?
We are told, “And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves” (Ex 12:39). The moment had arrived for the mighty hand of God to work freedom from slavery, and the Israelites did not have time to prepare properly for such a journey. When Egypt said, “Go!” the Israelites left. Fast-forward thirty days. Now the Lord had provided signs and wonders—the Passover, being led by a pillar of fire and cloud, the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, the provision of water at Marah and Elim. And still the Israelites had a problem.


Roughly one month into their journey, Israel began to complain: “And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, . . . ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger’ ” (vv 2–3). The Israelites were fearful they were going to starve in the wilderness. Hunger can cause real panic—especially when everyone around you is hungry and starving as well. They had forgotten that God Provides the Nourishment We Need for Our Hungry Bodies and Souls in the Bread That Comes Down from Heaven, Jesus Christ, Our Lord.


    I.    We are starving in and because of our sin.


There is no surprise that the food supply the Israelites brought out of Egypt is running out. Nor should we be surprised that the Israelites are now complaining about their plight. They found themselves in a desolate place—a place of rocks and limestone cliffs, a place not suited to sustain the nation of Israel. 
How desperate did they feel? “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt” (v 3). They complained that they were better off returning back to the harsh taskmasters, the poor labor conditions, the harshness of slavery that they had just been freed of merely a month ago!


Their fear and physical hunger shows a lack of trust in Moses, Aaron, and, most of all, the Lord. Sin was bubbling from their hearts, erupting in complaining mouths.


B.    At first glance, it’s not easy for us to relate to Israel’s predicament, but look closer.


The extraordinary journey Israel has been on is nothing like ours—no pillar of fire and cloud leading us, no parting of the Red Sea, no miraculous provision of water, and for most (if not all), no real worries of physical hunger or starvation.
And yet we, too, are burdened with fear in a desert place—the desert of sin—and so much of that sin arises over material things we have or think we should have.
When confronted with the righteous Law of God and as materially blessed as we are, we see our selfish attitudes and lack of concern for others. It’s my money. It’s my clothing. It’s mine. We seek our own gain rather than the wellbeing of those around us.


We discover that we have continually grumbled against the Lord for what we don’t have, and we look backward or forward through rose-colored glasses to how much better things used to be or should be in our futures! We look back to the “Good old days” thinking that they were better than now. We look to the technology of the future, surely computers will take all of our work from us so we can just sit back and relax forever. We open up the fridge and go there’s nothing to eat, even though it’s full to bursting. Meanwhile, thousands of people are starving around the world.
As we wander around this metaphorical desert, we discover that we, too, need food. No, not manna and quail, but soul-sustaining food. With longing eyes and troubled souls we look heavenward and cry out to the Lord, “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”


    II.    Thank the Lord he feeds our hungry souls!
The cries and pleas of the children of Israel did not fall on deaf ears. The Lord heard their cries and responded to their need. The Lord provided quail in sufficient numbers at a specified time and a specified place to feed all of them. The “thin flakes like frost” also came at a designated time and in the exact amount required.


This the Israelites would receive for forty years, wherever they would go—always in sufficient quantity at the appointed time. This was a miracle and nothing like they had ever seen before—prompting the Israelites to ask the question “What is this?” The question the Israelites ask consists of the two Hebrew words man and hu, thus giving us the word manna.


These truly were miracles of God’s grace and provision. He cares for their needs according to his promise. He provides the quail and manna.


B.    The Lord provides the spiritual food we desperately need as well.


Our “What is this?” is the very bread of life, Jesus Christ. It is he who says of himself, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (Jn 6:35).
This bread of life, Jesus Christ, forgives our sins through his perfect sacrifice on the cross. It’s because the cross has taken away the sin that separated us from God that we receive all God’s good gifts, including material ones, whatever our manna and quail may be. And because Jesus’ cross has reconciled us to God, we know he’s never holding back even any material things that are truly best for us. 


But, of course, far more important, he’s always feeding our souls for eternity.


He nourishes our faith with his Word and feeds us with his very body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar.
When we cry, “Feed me Lord!” he is always there to forgive, renew, and strengthen his dear children.


Jesus himself would say, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (Jn 6:32–33). Jesus alone is the giver of the manna we need and is the manna itself!


Conclusion: “Feed me.” As human beings, we hear these words flow from our mouths from time to time. Our stomachs can speak loudly when we’re hungry. “Feed me.” These words came off the lips of the children of Israel when they realized there wasn’t enough food to go around and they were running out. Hunger exists in the world—real, physical hunger that needs to be satisfied. And there is that spiritual hunger that is often overlooked and ignored. People search all over looking for ways to satisfy hunger. And yet the world continues to disappoint while, like the children of Israel, people cry out: “Feed me.” “Feed me!” These words pour forth from the very depths of our souls, and Jesus answers. Yes, by providing for our physical hunger because his cross has reconciled us to God. And, yes, every time we open God’s Word and come to his table to receive his body and blood. Jesus Christ is our manna from heaven that provides exactly what we need for this body and life, now and unto life everlasting. 


The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guard, and, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
 

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