Well, good morning, church. It's good to see you all this morning. Would you turn with me to the book of Numbers?
That is the fourth book of the Old Testament. It begins on page 101 in the Pew Bible.
We're picking up in chapter 11 today on page 111 or page 112 if you have one of the new Pew Bibles.
Now, the book of Numbers gets a pretty bad rap, I think, because the first few chapters are just that,
a long list of counting the people of Israel before they leave Mount Sinai, chapter after chapter of
Numbers. How spiritually edifying could that be, right? Now, of course, in a congregation like ours,
I know some of you love math and numbers and spreadsheets, so maybe you crack into the book
of Numbers and you feel like Han Solo stepping onto the Millennium Falcon. You're like,
Chewy, we're home. But numbers does get a pretty bad rap on the whole, I think, as being somewhat
impractical and somewhat boring. And yet, and yet, that is not the way that the New Testament and the
early church saw the book of Numbers. In fact, the Apostle Paul spends a whole chapter of 1 Corinthians
almost, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, talking basically about Numbers. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians
10, 1 through 6. He says,
Then Paul says this, he says,
Now, these things took place as examples for us. And then after giving a bunch of examples from mostly
Numbers, Paul again says, now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down
for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. Now, do you see what Paul is saying here?
Do you see what the apostles in the early church understood about the Old Testament, even the book
of Numbers? They understood that God had written down these things not just for people long ago,
but also and especially for us. They understood that the church, having received the fulfillment of
the Old Testament promises, needs those Old Testament examples so that we might live faithfully today
in the fulfillment of those promises. Now, we get the title Numbers from the Greek translation of this
book, but do you know what the Hebrew title is? Hebrew title of this book is called Bamidbar,
In the Wilderness, In the Wilderness. That's a much cooler title, don't you think? In the Wilderness,
and a much more accurate one for the bulk of what this book is about. As Pastor Matt laid out last week,
this book is about a journey through the wilderness, a journey with our faithful, holy, gracious,
and sovereign God. It's about the temptations and trials that the Old Testament church faced
as they traveled to the promised land, and it's about the trials and temptations that the New
Testament church faces as we head towards the new heavens and the new earth. And above all,
this book is about the God who goes with us in the wilderness, who's faithful to His people,
and who's faithful to His promises. And today, in Numbers chapter 11, we're going to look at the
first step of that journey. Remember last week, Pastor Matt took a bird's-eye view of chapters 1
through 10, and in chapter 10, the people are ready to go, the trumpets sound, and they march forth from
Sinai with the tabernacle in their midst. The cloud and fire of God's own presence is guiding them.
What could go wrong, right? Well, let's read the first nine verses of Numbers 11,
and let's see how their journey begins. And Josh, on the slides, I'm going to take it in chunks,
so just kind of follow along with me throughout the sermon. Sound good? Good. All right, so let's look
at verses 1 through 7. They just left. They just started walking through the wilderness.
This is how it starts. And the people complained. And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord
about their misfortunes. And when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled. And the fire of the Lord
burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses,
and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. So the name of that place was called Tabarah,
because the fire of the Lord burned among them. Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving.
And the people of Israel also wept again and said, Oh, that we had meat to eat. We remember the fish we
ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.
But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.
Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. The people went
about and gathered it and ground it in hand mills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made
cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. When the dew fell upon the
camp in the night, the manna fell with it. Okay, so no sooner have the people struck out on their great
journey to the promised land, no sooner have they finally begun their march with God Himself at their
head, no sooner have they set forth, then they start complaining and grumbling. Now Numbers 11 actually
records two separate instances of grumbling and complaining. The first at a place they come to
call taberah, which means burning in verses 1 through 3, and the second in verses 4 through 9 at a place
kind of not too far away, just down the road, that they'll come to call kibroth hatah avah, which we'll
see what that means at the end of the story. And the complaint in the first instance seems to be about
something, you know, it seems to be about what they're facing. And the complaint in the second
instance seems to be about what they're lacking. They're facing in verse 1 misfortunes or hardships,
and they're lacking in verse 5, as they say, meat to eat.
Now perhaps at first grumbling or complaining, it doesn't strike us as the sort of greatest
spiritual danger facing the church today, right? I mean, who cares if we grumble or complain, right?
Is it really all that bad? Sometimes we can even excuse our complaining spirit by saying,
well, that's just my personality, you know, I'm a bit of a curmudgeon.
But, you know, Numbers 11 would have us reassess, maybe, our carefree attitude towards grumbling and
complaining. When the complaining of the people reaches the Lord's ears in verse 1, what happens?
His anger burns, and fire circles the edges of the camp. Now, Numbers doesn't say how the Lord sends
fire, maybe it was some lightning or something like that, nor does it say if anyone is actually hurt
in that burning. But the people realize suddenly that they are in danger, and in response they cry out
to Moses for help, and Moses intercedes for them, and the fire dies down. Are we willing to hear
this warning about a complaining and grumbling spirit? Perhaps complaining and grumbling is worse
than we give it credit for. Why? Well, notice some things that we learn about grumbling and complaining
in this passage. Notice in this passage how complaining is contagious. The complaining in
verses 4 through 6 starts with what our ESV calls a rabble. One Jewish commentator on Numbers translate this
word as riffraff in verse 4. So, the riffraff starts complaining, but then suddenly what happens?
The whole camp is grumbling and crying out. You see, a complaining spirit infects those in contact with
it. It's like a virus that spreads. And notice in this passage how it's not just contagious, but
complaining kind of grows in its intensity. What starts out as a kind of general grumbling about their
hardships in verses 1 through 3 grows in verses 4 through 6 to a specific longing, even a craving,
for the food they used to eat in Egypt. The general murmur about it being kind of tough to walk through
the wilderness becomes more specific and more intense. Suddenly, the man is no good. They want
fish and cucumbers and garlic. Oh, garlic. They want to go back to Egypt.
And now we start to really see why complaining is so spiritually deadly. Ultimately, complaining is a
spirit that rejects God's provision. Manna was God's gift to them. Manna was His miraculous way of
sustaining them in the wilderness. What an incredible dishonor to God to look back at melons and cucumbers
and say, rather than God's presence guiding me, rather than God's miraculous provision sustaining me,
I'd rather go back to Egypt. Complaining takes our eyes off of God's goodness and steals His glory.
But lastly, complaining, it narrows our vision and it begins to distort reality.
God is taking His people. What is God doing in this part of Numbers? God's taking His people
to a land that's flowing with milk and honey, as the metaphor says. He's promised to protect and provide
for them the whole way. He's already sent plagues on Egypt. He's already parted the Red Sea. He's
already given them manna to eat. He's already displayed His glory on Mount Sinai. They are a people
who have been freed, who have been liberated by the God who created all things, and God is leading them
to a home. But instead of that vision filling their sights, a spirit of complaining takes root,
and they'd rather go back to slavery in Egypt so long as they could eat some cucumbers and melons
and garlic. Complaining has narrowed their vision and distorted reality. Complaining has narrowed their
vision of what God truly has in store for His people. I mean, wouldn't a few months in the
wilderness be worth dwelling in the promised land, generation upon generation upon generation?
And complaining distorts reality. Complaining and grumbling has made their slavery in Egypt seem
not so bad after all. They seem to have forgotten that Pharaoh had institutionalized the killing of
their male children, had forced them to labor under the oppression of his regime, and had treated them
like property to be disposed of. I mean, in their complaining, the people have in essence said,
I'd rather have that than God. And that's why fire breaks out on the edges of the camp, you see.
It's God's warning to His people. The way of complaining, the way of grumbling, the way of
discontent, it's the way, actually, of spiritual death. What does fire do? Fire, it disintegrates things,
right? It takes something that's solid and substantive, and it turns it into ash. The fire is
basically saying if the people persist in complaining, then it will be their spiritual
disintegration. The fire is a warning, and it's on the edges of the camp. Why is it on the edges of the
camp? Because it's driving the people back to the center, right? And what's in the center of the camp?
Do you remember from the first chapters of Numbers? Why did…what did God tell them to build right in
the middle of their camp? The tabernacle, the tent where God's presence would symbolically dwell in
their midst. God's trying to discipline them, to warn them, to come back to Him,
and not go along the paths of spiritual disintegration and grumbling, complaining, craving.
But as we see in verses 4 through 6, the complaining grows.
So the opening of chapter 11 helps us to see this danger of complaining, the danger. But it's not just
the people who complain. It's also Moses. After the general grumbling about hardships in verse 1,
Moses intercedes for the people. But when the complaining grows in verses 4 through 6,
Moses begins to despair. All right, let's pick up the story in verse 10. In verse 10,
Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent,
and the anger of the Lord blazed hotly. And Moses was displeased. Moses said to the Lord,
why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight,
that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them
birth that you should say to me, carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing child,
to the land that you swore to give to their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all
this people? For they weep before me and say, give us meat that we may eat. I am not able to carry
all this people alone. The burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once
if I found favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness. Sounds like parents on a road trip,
right? With kids in the back seat. What does Moses complaining teach us? Well, for one thing,
notice how often Moses says in this section, I or me.
Complaining, you see, makes us kind of curve in on ourselves, and it just fosters self-pity,
and out of self-pity comes despair. The people wanted to go back to Egypt, but Moses, completely
overwhelmed, collapsing and complaining in self-pity, would rather God just put him out of his misery
right now. Friends, perhaps you're not like Moses, utterly despairing. Perhaps you're not like the
Israelites, wishing a return to slavery just so they can eat a few fish with melons. But listen to what
the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2 that Peter read for us earlier. He says,
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent children of God
without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the
world. You see, the New Testament gives us a picture of the church being a people who shine like stars in
the midst of the dark. And what is one of the marks of our brightness as the people of Christ,
that we can do all things without grumbling or disputing, or grumbling and complaining,
as the NIV translates it. Complaining makes our lives very narrow, very self-centered. In the midst of
hardship, the Israelites started looking back to Egypt, and Moses couldn't stop thinking about himself
in self-pity. But instead, the New Testament calls us to shine like stars without complaining or
grumbling, with our vision wide to God's goodness and God's future, with our eyes not on ourselves,
but on Him. So what are you or I prone to complain about? Perhaps like the Israelites in Numbers 11,
you complain about the hardships or misfortunes that you're facing. Or maybe you complain about the
material things you're lacking. Are you and I willing to hear the warning of Numbers 11,
that this complaining will only narrow our vision, distort our reality, fill us with self-pity,
and ultimately dishonor the God who saves us?
But what's the solution? What's the solution? How do we stop being a people of a complaining spirit?
Well, let's continue to follow the story of Numbers 11, and let's see how God responds. Let's pick up in
verse 16. Then the Lord said to Moses,
"'Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and
officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with
you. And I will come down and talk with you there, and I will take some of the spirit that is on you
and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it
yourself alone. And say to the people, consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat,
for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, who will give us meat to eat? For it was
better for us in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall not eat
just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but all month, until it comes
out of your nostrils, and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among
you, and have wept before Him, saying, why did we come out of Egypt? But Moses said,
"'The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, I will give
them meat that they may eat a whole month? Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough
for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?'
And the Lord said to Moses, "'Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will
come true for you or not.'" So the Lord speaks to Moses, and He answers both Moses' complaint and the
people's complaint. God promises to send help to Moses and to send meat for the people. And when Moses
expresses doubt that God could send meat for so many people, God says to Moses, "'Is the Lord's hand
shortened?' In other words, Moses, do you think I'm not powerful enough to do this? And that's perhaps
the first step out of a complaining spirit, to look again to God's mighty, sovereign, redeeming hand.
You face trials and hardships. You don't know how you're going to go on. Your job is a mess. Or parenting
has you at your wit's end. Or your friends are leaving you. Or your neighbors are difficult. Or
your marriage is in a rocky spot. And you can feel the complaining spirit rise in your heart. "'Why me?
Why does this have to happen to me? God's led me into this wilderness, and He's abandoned me. Why do I
even bother?' But then the Lord speaks and says, "'Is my hand too short to save you, to provide for you,
to preserve you?' The hand of the Lord that brought Egypt to its knees, the hand of the Lord that parted
the Red Sea, the hand of the Lord that drowned Pharaoh's army, the hand of the Lord that gives
you manna, gives you daily bread every day, the hand of the Lord that shaped the mountains, and filled
the seas, and put the planets in their orbits around the sun. Is this hand of the Lord too short
to meet you in your need, in your misfortunes, in your lack?' No, brothers and sisters, the Lord's hand
is never too short. His sovereign, sustaining, almighty hand will give you exactly what you need
to persevere in every circumstance. He will always fulfill His promises. This is what God says to
Moses after pointing Moses to the hand of His power. He points Moses then to His word. Is the Lord's hand
shortened? Now you will see whether My word will come true for you or not. After setting our minds on the
power of God, we can set our minds on the promises of God. Here's the next step out of a complaining
spirit, God's promises. God's promises are good, and His promises are transforming. Listen to what Peter
says in 2 Peter 1, verses 3-4. He says, "'God's divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to
life and godliness through the knowledge of His own glory and excellence by which He has granted to us
His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of His divine nature,
having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.'" How do we begin to
shine like stars? We look to God's promises because if complaining narrows our vision, if complaining distorts our
understanding of reality, the power and promise of God starts to expand our vision again. It brings us back to
what's really real. So how does God fulfill His word then to Moses? Well, let's continue in verse 24 of Numbers 11.
So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered seventy men of the elders
of the people and placed them around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him and
took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the spirit rested
on them, they prophesied, but they did not continue doing it. Now two men remained in the camp, one named
Eldad and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they
had not gone out to the tent. And so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses,
Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp. And Joshua, the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from
his youth, said, "'My Lord, Moses, stop them.'" But Moses said to him, "'Are you jealous for my sake?'
Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit on them."
And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
So God promises that He will empower seventy elders of the people, seventy officers, to come
alongside Moses with the spiritual task of shepherding the people. And that's exactly what
He does. God sends His Spirit, and as a sign that these men have been set apart, they prophesy.
And not as an ongoing ministry. Verse 25 says they didn't continue doing it, but they prophesy once
as a sign that they're now equipped and set apart to fulfill this co-shepherding work with Moses.
It's not clear what the nature of this prophecy was. Most likely they spoke words of praise and
adoration to God and words of encouragement and exhortation to the people. But from here on out,
Moses wouldn't have to be the only one spiritually caring for the people. Moses would still have a
special and unique role as the leader of God's people. We'll see more about that in chapter 12
next week. But the burden for caring for the people would now continue to be shared.
And how does Moses respond to this work of the Spirit of God?
Notice that two of these seventy men, Eldad and Medad, weren't able to be at the tabernacle when God's
Spirit came down that day. We aren't told why they couldn't be there, but nevertheless,
God's Spirit comes and rests on them and they too prophesy. And then Joshua, getting news of this,
afraid that this might steal some of Moses' authority and take away some of Moses' honor,
tells Moses, Moses, you have to make them stop. But how does Moses respond?
Notice, notice Moses' change of heart here.
In verses 10 through 15, Moses couldn't stop thinking about himself.
But now, Moses has given up his self-pity and his self-centeredness and says,
don't be jealous for my glory, Joshua. If God wants to put His Spirit on all of God's people,
then that would be the greatest gift of all.
You see, now Moses is thinking about God's glory and God's honor.
And of course, one day God would fulfill this word that Moses spoke.
When Jesus Christ ascended on high to the Father's right hand and poured out the Spirit at Pentecost,
all of God's people were now filled with the Spirit.
And that is true of every believer in Jesus Christ today.
God's Spirit causes us to be born anew,
grants a saving faith,
empowers us,
and equips us for service,
preserves and keeps us
throughout our days.
The Spirit dwells in us richly.
And doesn't that strike a blow
to our complaining hearts?
God has filled us
with His Spirit.
We're not left alone
or abandoned
in this wilderness journey.
The church is not wandering aimlessly.
We have the Spirit of God in us.
And Paul says in Philippians 2.13,
it's God who works in you,
both to will and to work
for His good pleasure.
Rather than giving in
to the self-pity of a complaining heart,
we have hearts that are dependent
on the Spirit's work in us.
Yes, we will face trials and hardships
in this wilderness.
What did you expect?
Anything worth doing
is going to have challenges
and hardships.
But how much greater
is the provision
that God has given us,
the provision of His own Spirit
dwelling in us
to face these challenges,
to face these hardships?
In 1 Corinthians 10.13,
after giving all those examples
from Numbers
of the evils we should avoid,
Paul then writes this.
He says,
no temptation has overtaken you.
That is not common to man.
God is faithful.
And He will not let you
be tempted beyond your ability.
But with the temptation,
He will also provide
the way of escape
that you may be able to endure it.
Brothers and sisters,
let our complaining
be turned instead
to depending on the Spirit
for strength and endurance
and wisdom and help.
So God's provision to Moses
helps us to see
God's provision to us today.
But the chapter ends,
the chapter ends with a warning.
At the beginning of chapter 11,
the people started to despise
the manna and instead
they longed for meat,
like the meat they used
to eat in Egypt.
And God, in judgment,
gives them exactly
what they ask for.
Let's read the rest
of chapter 11,
picking up in verse 31.
Then a wind from the Lord
sprang up,
and it brought quail
from the sea
and let them fall
beside the camp.
About a day's journey
on this side
and a day's journey
on that side
around the camp
and about two cubits
above the ground.
And the people rose
all that day
and all night
and all the next day
and gathered the quail.
Those who gathered least
gathered ten homers
and they spread them out
for themselves
all around the camp.
While the meat
was yet between their teeth,
before it was consumed,
the anger of the Lord
was kindled
against the people
and the Lord
struck down the people
with a very great plague.
Therefore,
the name of that place
was called
Kebroth Hata'avah
because there
they buried the people
who had the craving.
And from Kebroth Hata'avah,
the people journeyed
to Hazeroth
and they remained
at Hazeroth.
Even after the warning
of verses 1 through 3,
even after the outpouring
of the Spirit
in verses 24 through 30,
the people still
craved meat.
So in judgment,
God gave them
exactly what they asked for.
The Lord sends a wind
and it pushes
a massive flock
of migratory quail
right to them
and the quail
begin to come down
and fall in quantities
that allow everyone
who wants it
to gather basketful
upon basketful.
And as the meat
is drying
and curing
in the sun
and as those
who left the camp
to gather the quail
are starting
to fill their bellies
with it,
as it's sticking
in their teeth,
a plague breaks out
and many die.
They got what they asked for,
a belly full of meat.
And perhaps the implication
seems to be
that the meat
was full of a disease
that killed many
of those who ate it.
Romans 1 says
that the wrath of God
is often expressed
in this age
when God gives us over
to the disordered desires
of our own fallen hearts.
What if,
what if God gave you
all the money
and the sex
and the power
that you crave?
What if He gave it all
to you,
everything you complain
about,
everything you crave?
Would that be heaven
or would that be hell?
The truth is,
it would be hell
because it would be
a life separated
from God
who alone
is life
and goodness
and beauty
and truth.
You can have
everything
this world
has to offer,
but without
a living relationship
with God,
none of it
will satisfy
because only God
can truly satisfy
our souls.
And look at what God
had already
provided for them.
Did God want
the Israelites
to be miserable
as they journeyed
through the wilderness?
Did God,
was God intention
for them
to be dour
and unhappy
and emaciated
as they traveled
through the promised land
as a sign
that they were
really spiritual
and holy?
No!
That's not
the sort of God He is.
How do we know that?
Well,
look at what God
had provided
for them.
In verses
seven through nine,
there's this
seemingly
extraneous
description
of the manna.
We get this
description
of the manna
that God
provided for the people
every day
of their journey
through the wilderness.
The people are sick
and tired
of manna
in verse six.
But what do we learn
about this manna?
Is it crusty,
stale bread
that barely satisfies?
Is it something
you just as soon
feed to the birds
rather than feed
to yourself?
No.
Look at those verses
again.
What do we see
about this manna?
First,
in verse seven,
it's something
that's kind of pleasant
to look at.
Bdellium is a kind
of golden resin.
It's like amber
or like orange glass.
It would have shown
in the sun
and given off
this kind of warm glow.
And in verse eight,
we learn that this manna
was sort of versatile.
They could boil it.
They could make cakes
out of it.
Yes,
it was the same
starting point,
but they could adapt it.
They could be creative
with it.
Like the wall of bread
at G Cafe.
There's dozens of styles
and shapes and colors
and textures.
You can have challah one day.
You can have that round one
that looks kind of gross
the next day, you know.
But it wasn't just pleasant
to look at
or versatile to cook with.
The end of verse eight
tells us that it tasted
really good.
And the taste of it
was like the taste
of cakes baked with oil.
Compare that with Exodus 16, 31
where we're told
that the taste of manna
was like wafers
made with honey.
So what did God want
the Israelites to eat
as they journeyed
through the wilderness?
He wanted them to eat
something that was
beautiful to look at,
that was versatile
to cook with,
that was delicious
to the taste.
Was God out to make
His people miserable
in the wilderness
with His provision?
Not at all.
God is a good Father
who gives good gifts
to His children to enjoy.
It's as if God
was giving them
fresh baked croissants
every day.
And miraculously,
these croissants
were actually nutritious
enough to sustain them.
I mean, that sounds awesome, right?
Like, if I could eat
croissants every day
and have enough energy
and nutrition
to hike through the wilderness,
I would take that deal
hands down, wouldn't you?
The tragedy of Numbers 11
is that the people
are more eager
to leave the camp
for a basket full
of dead quail
than to remain
in the camp
with the bread of heaven
that tastes like
honey and butter
and always keeps them
satisfied for the journey ahead.
But friends,
here's the good news.
If the manna
that God provided
in the wilderness
was miraculous
and satisfying,
as a church,
we have something
even greater today.
We have a manna
that's sweeter
and more satisfying
than anything
the Old Testament
people of God experienced.
We have a bread
from heaven
that doesn't just
satisfy the body
or the tongue,
but that satisfies
the soul
and will never
leave us hungry again.
In John chapter 6,
Jesus feeds the 5,000,
and when the crowds
later come back to Him,
and some of them
kind of start grumbling
because they're not really sure
what to make of this Jesus.
Jesus says in verses 48
through 51,
He says,
I'm the bread of life.
Your fathers ate manna
in the wilderness
and they died.
This is the bread
that comes down
from heaven
so that one may eat of it
and not die.
I'm the living bread
that came down from heaven.
If anyone eats this bread,
he'll live forever.
You see, friends,
Jesus is telling us here
that He's the true
and better manna.
The manna was pleasant
to look at.
Ah, but the beauty
of Jesus Christ
is even greater.
His love,
His mercy,
His forgiveness,
His kindness,
His glory.
We will behold Him forever
and never cease
to adore Him.
The manna was versatile,
but Jesus Christ
is able to meet us
in all of our needs.
There is no soul
that His grace
cannot fulfill.
Every tribe,
tongue,
and nation,
male and female,
young and old,
rich and poor.
Jesus is the Savior
of all people,
no matter who you are
or where you've been,
no matter how great
your sins and failures,
no matter how deep
your scars and shame.
He's the all-sufficient Savior.
But the manna wasn't just
pleasant to look at
or versatile to use,
it was sweet to the taste.
A friend of you
tasted the sweetness
of Jesus.
I know that sounds
kind of weird at first,
but do you know
the sweet comfort
that He brings to the soul
better than honey,
better than rich oil or wine?
In that same passage
of John 6,
Jesus compares believing
and trusting in Him
to eating His flesh.
That's an arresting metaphor,
isn't it?
And Jesus meant it to be.
It means that faith
in Jesus Christ
is intimate.
It's the sort of trust
you put in a friend,
in a parent,
in a lover.
It's a whole life embrace.
And Jesus says,
come,
come embrace me
and I'll embrace you
and I'll keep you
and I'll protect you
and I'll strengthen you
and I'll be like honey
to your soul.
But last, you see,
the manna wasn't just
pleasant to look at,
it wasn't just versatile,
it wasn't just sweet,
it was free.
It was free.
God gave it to His people
freely every evening
with a dew that fell
on the ground.
But if the manna came freely,
how much more
did Jesus Christ come to us
with all of His blessings
free of charge?
When our sins
and our complaining
had put us outside the camp,
when our rebellion
against God
deserved nothing
but God's burning wrath,
Jesus came down
from heaven freely
into the night
of our sin,
went outside the camp
and endured on the cross
the penalty
that our sins deserved
and rose on the third day
ensuring that our sins
would be washed away
and offering eternal life
to all who repent
of their sins
and believe in Him.
You see,
this bread of life
comes free of charge.
There's nothing you need
to do to earn it
or deserve it.
Jesus did all the work
so that you could enjoy
His beauty
and sufficiency
and sweetness
utterly without cost
and without payment.
He paid the cost
so you don't have to.
You just have to receive it
to take it in your mouth
and feel the sweetness
on your tongue.
So now you can be satisfied
in Him.
You see,
Jesus is the one
who is meant to satisfy
the cravings of our soul
and drive out our complaining.
You can be satisfied in Christ
and now your cravings
don't have to leave you
in the grave.
That's what
kebroth hatah avah means,
the graves of craving.
No, you see,
if you place your desire
upon Jesus Christ,
He will satisfy
and save you.
You see,
there's a food for us
in the wilderness,
brothers and sisters.
There's a food for us
in Christ
and it will turn
our complaints
into praise.
It will turn our grumblings
into rejoicings.
Jesus is the bread of heaven.
Let's feast on Him
and be satisfied.
Let's pray together.
Oh, Lord,
you came down
from heaven to earth
like the manna
so long ago,
Jesus,
to fill the deepest
longings of our heart,
to fulfill the longings
that we need
for forgiveness,
to fulfill the longings
that we need
for meaning
and significance
and satisfaction
for hope
and a future.
Lord,
it is all in you.
Help us by your Spirit
to truly enjoy you,
to not take you
for granted,
to embrace you,
to let your love
fill our hearts
that we might do
all things
in your service
without grumbling
or complaining
and shine like stars
in the midst
of our generation.
Amen.