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??“But I want the blueberry one, not the strawberry!” “Why do I have to be the shortest one in my class？” “Why can’t I have it？All the other kids have one!” Do you ever say things like that？That is called COMPLAINING, and how quick some of us are to complain when things don’t go our way!
??No one likes to hear other people complaining, but oh dear, today you and I have to hear it! We would like to just skip over this part of the true history of the people of Israel, but it is true, and it is part of the story.
??Remember last time how the people of Israel were celebrating by the Red Sea？They had seen the wonderful power of God in bringing them right through the middle of the Sea. And by His power He had delivered them from the Egyptian army. How they sang and praised God!
??But how soon they forgot Him! For three days as they traveled through the wilderness of Shur, the Bible tells us they found no water. And when they did reach Marah where they found water, what a disappointment! The water was so bitter they spit it out again! No wonder, for the word Marah means bitter.
??What were the people to do？In Exodus 15：24 we read, And the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink？” Wouldn’t you and I like to ask THEM a question：“Why are you complaining to Moses？” Could Moses provide water for over 2 million people？Was it Moses who opened the Red Sea？Was it Moses who destroyed their enemies？You and I know they should have asked the LORD to give them water!
??Poor Moses! They were blaming him for not having water to drink. But Moses knew where to get water! Exodus 15：25 says, And he (Moses) cried to the LORD...” Of course the Lord could provide the water! God’s Word says the LORD showed Moses a certain tree, and Moses took that tree and threw it into the water, and immediately the water was turned from bitter to sweet! God gave some instruction to the people while they camped there at Marah：“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do the right things, if you will listen and keep His commandments, then I will not put on you any of the diseases that I brought on the people of Egypt. And remember, I am the God that heals you.”
??Oh, but now that pillar of cloud is moving! What does that mean？The people of Israel are packing up their tents and moving on. This time the pillar of cloud led them to a place called Elim, where there were 12 wells of good water and 70 lovely palm trees. This is called an oasis. I’m sure the people of Israel would liked to have stayed there for a long vacation! But the cloud is moving again, and so must they.
??Now the people of Israel have found themselves in a wilderness again. They were getting tired and hungry, but there was no food to eat. Can you guess what they did？Oh, how I dislike telling this part of the story, but Exodus 16：3 tells us the people again complained to Moses, “We wish we had died in the land of Egypt. At least we had plenty to eat there. But now you have brought us all out here in this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Had these very ungrateful people forgotten how cruel Pharaoh had been to them in Egypt？Had they forgotten the Lord’s wonderful provision of water and rest at Marah and Elim？We can surely see God’s patience, for even as He heard their complaining, He was planning His provision for their hunger. Moses told the people what God had showed him. “This evening you will know that God is the One Who brought you out of Egypt, and tomorrow you will see how great God is. Even though you’ve grumbled and complained to me, you are really speaking against God. In the evening, God will send meat for you; in the morning, He will give you bread. God is going to test you, to see if you will obey His law or not. He says you are to gather a certain amount for each person. You are not to save any for the next day. Every morning you will gather a fresh amount. But on the sixth day, you are to gather twice as much per person as you did the other days. That is so you can keep God’s commandment to rest on the seventh day.”
??How patiently and wonderfully God was providing for His people! No money needed, no far distance to travel! The people SHOULD be so thankful and content, knowing they had such a wonderful Father taking care of their every need! .
??The people of Israel SHOULD have been so thankful and content, for that very evening the sky was filled with thousands of quail, a bird that is even more tasty and delicious than chicken. God brought them right to the people! Umm, imagine with me the delicious aroma coming up from the campfires that evening in the wilderness! But I wonder if we had been there if we would have heard any “thank You, dear Lord” prayers before they ate! Do YOU thank God each time for your food？Let’s make that a good habit!
??The next morning when the people of Israel looked out their tents, what a surprise for their eyes! The ground was covered with white, but it wasn’t snow, and it wasn’t frost. “What IS this？” the people asked
??Moses. He answered, “This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.” The Bible tells us this strange new bread looked like tiny white round things on the ground, and it tasted sweet like honey. The people called it manna. The Bible calls it “bread from heaven.” Link：This bread would give the people physical life. Many years later God sent another kind of bread from heaven which would give people everlasting life.
??Gospel：John 6：35 says Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life：he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst. Jesus as the perfect Son of God is the only One Who can give us life that lasts forever. Jesus says whoever believes on Him will have eternal life in Heaven. That person will never need to look for other ways or things to get to Heaven. Is everyone in the world going to Heaven？No, we are all born as sinners, doing, thinking, and saying things that do not please God. That sin causes us to be going the very opposite way of our Creator God and His holy and perfect Heaven. Can being good or going to church give us life forever in Heaven？Can we pay enough or pray enough to get life forever？No, but Jesus said when we believe about our sin, and what He did for us, and we ask Him to forgive our sin and save us, THAT’S when we have that bread of life! The bread that gives us everlasting life in Heaven! Link：Manna was also a bread from heaven, but it only gave physical life to the people of Israel. Day after day they looked out their tents, and there it was, fresh and good and plentiful and FREE! All they had to do was gather that certain amount per person every day, and on the sixth day gather twice as much, so they wouldn’t have to go out and work on the seventh day. God commanded that the seventh day should be for a day of rest and worship.
??Can you believe some of those people still disobeyed God？Yes, some people showed their greediness by trying to save manna over for the next day, but the next morning they had the miserable task of taking that smelly, wormy mess out of their tents! For you see, during the night the Bible says the leftover manna bred worms and caused a stink! And then there were those who disobeyed by going out on the seventh day to pick up manna. But there was not any to be found, for God did not send it on that special day of rest and worship.
??God instructed Moses to take come of the manna and put it in a special container. This would be a reminder to future generations of God’s care for His people. Our lesson today ends with Exodus 16：35, “And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years...” Every morning for the next 40 years the Israelites would have fresh bread to eat, provided by their loving and faithful God. Do you think they will learn to be content now, and not complaining all the time？??The greatest way God has shown His care for you was in sending His Son Jesus to die for your sin. You can never be truly content until you admit your sin to God, and believe on the Lord Jesus. God’s Word says in John 6：47 “He that believes on me has everlasting life.” Jesus is that bread of life sent from Heaven. When we believe and ask the Lord Jesus to save us from our sin, He does save us, and gives us that everlasting life in Heaven with Him someday.
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