The Glory of the Lord appeared. Exodus 16:1-10 It often seems as though tests come from God in ways we least expect. Just one month and one day after the children of Israel's deliverance from Egypt, they found themselves without food. For those who live by faith, there will be tests of faith from the moment we first trust Christ as our personal Lord and Savior until God takes us home to heaven. These tests will not always be the same. The testing the Lord sends to His people builds character and strengthens faith. They found Elim to be a good resting place, but it was not meant to be their permanent home. These restful stops in life are certainly welcome as oases in the wilderness, but they serve as reminders of a future time when the journey will be over.
Learning about our infinite God will take all of our lifetimes to understand some obvious characteristics of His nature that challenge our ability to comprehend. We learned that He is our Deliverer when He saved us, but we continue to learn more about that each day as He delivers us from daily dangers and opposition from the powers of darkness. We are constantly discovering that He is our Great Provider, as year after year, He meets our needs in ways that align with His plans for us during this training period.
The Israelites passed through seven named wildernesses on their journey from Egypt to Canaan. This specific event in the wilderness of Sin occurred about two months into their travels. They were running low on food, and since they couldn't see any source of supply, they complained about Moses and Aaron, their leaders. This is typical of most of us when we walk by sight instead of faith; we look around for someone to blame instead of keeping our eyes on Jesus.
When adversity arises, if we are not careful to control our thoughts, our minds and words will start to romanticize the “good old days” into something they weren’t. The facts become distorted, and what we say they were like or what we think happened isn’t accurate. Difficulties can lead to stress and complaints, so grumbling may prevent us from focusing on the real cause of the stress. Instead, we look for a way to escape the adversity rather than seeking the cause and finding a solution. Inconvenience, perceived danger, and lack of the comforts we expected can quickly sidetrack our minds, causing us to fixate on the effect rather than addressing the cause.
If the Israelites who were slaves in Egypt sat around a pot full of meat and ate all they wanted, they were very different from the rest of the people in the Middle East at that time. They probably just remembered eating their fill of roast lamb and unleavened bread flavored with herbs on the night of the Passover. Envisioning that last meal in Egypt is a bright spot in their minds, when they not only ate their fill but were also given wealth and then delivered from Pharaoh's hard hand.
Exaggeration often follows complaints. Our deceptive nature can mislead us and cause us to stray when we don’t bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. It's common for us to know what is right, but for self-centered reasons, we sometimes add to or subtract from the truth. Doing so, especially when we have the will of God revealed to us in His word, is a sin with serious consequences. It is crucial that we focus our minds and hearts on what God says and what He has provided for us in the past, trusting Him to do what is needed now. In His infinite wisdom and power, He is capable of meeting every need we have in the way He chooses.
After leaving Elim, they stopped at the Red Sea, according to the book of Numbers, where they took their last look at Egypt across the water that now separated them when "they were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea." A new life had begun for God's people. God, in great patience, listened to their grumbling for food but did not rebuke them for their murmuring. Their life of faith had just started, and they were only beginning to learn who God was.
God wanted to test the obedience of His people in the wilderness and allowed their desire for food to be the means of getting their undivided attention. It was then that He gave instructions on how they were to obtain what He would provide, including when and how to do so. The Lord knew their needs, their murmuring against Moses and Aaron, and their complaints. He wanted to “prove” the people of Israel to see if they would submit to His authority and live according to the directions of His revealed will. In this context, "proving" is not about providing evidence of a matter or claim, but about testing to reveal the true nature of something.
We will face danger, inconveniences, and shortages of those things we have come to expect as our rights. God, in His grace and in a divine act beyond human ability, reveals Himself as the One with inexhaustible resources who "can supply all your needs." When pressure comes upon us, we often desire a quick escape to make our lives easier. This training time prepares us for what lies ahead in the future. It is not to determine if we have eternal life but to see if we truly trust God. In this lifetime, we learn who God is and the fact of His faithfulness to those who believe in Him. We trust Him to provide for our needs and to share with others what He gives.
The root of the Israelites’ problem was that they focused on their immediate needs rather than on God, who supplies all our needs. This is common for all of us. Our attention shifts to the events around us and our perceived needs that make us uncomfortable. It seems the lesson of constant faith must be learned repeatedly. At first, God is very patient and longsuffering with those starting out in faith. As we experience God in our lives, He expects us to trust and obey Him despite any discomfort it may bring. We need to learn to be content with what we have.
Tests of faith and obedience often go hand in hand. God had given the Israelites careful and detailed instructions, and now He was providing them the chance to respond in obedience to life's major aspects by taking small steps of obedience to simple things. The promise of food to meet their needs was provided. The instructions on how, when, and where to gather that food were given before it arrived. The bread was promised not only as a way to meet their needs but also as a test to prove their sincerity and commitment to God.
The miracle of manna, enough to feed over two million people daily for forty years, was certainly an act of God, not just a natural occurrence. Whether it was the bread from heaven or the quails in the evening, nature was under the control of the Creator-God, who could add or decrease the supply as He saw fit. It was also a great act of God's grace to provide what those inexperienced people needed without reproach. The simple test of obedience linked to this provision is a lesson for us to remember: "To whom much is given, much is required."
As Aaron was passing on the instructions he received from Moses, they all saw the glory of God in the cloud. When God teaches His people lessons from Himself or tests their faith and obedience, He is nearby. Those people would have quickly silenced their complaints and murmuring since the evidence of God was right there before their eyes in the cloud. When God reveals Himself — who He is, what He does, what He can do, and what His will is — it should stop every foolish word and thought we might entertain and bring us down in humility and contrition before Him.
Faith grows in a child of God when we learn the lessons He provides and then apply them. We might be inclined to limit the benefits of faith to just one or two areas of life instead of “in everything give thanks.” When we put complete trust in the Lord, it means trusting Him even in things we've never experienced or considered. It also means the outcomes may be very different than what we had expected. Who would have expected bread from heaven in the early morning and quails in the evening? Who would have even dreamed that two thousand tons of food could be provided to give each person one pound daily? Who would see it as a coincidence that twice as much food was available every Friday and none at all on Saturday? This is the first mention of the Sabbath in the scriptures, highlighting its significance as a special sign of the covenant between God and the nation of Israel.
Every word, action, and thought I have is laid bare before Him. There is nothing about my attitude or behavior that He does not fully know. God has given us every good and perfect gift from above, and He expects us to accept what He provides. Any sign of divine revelation is a moment of awakening by the Lord Himself. He is training His self-centered people to trust Him in their walk of faith.