Looking Back to Egypt
Exodus 16
August 14, 2022
By the time our story starts, it has been about a month since the Passover in Egypt.
Israel had crossed the Red Sea, struggled to find drinking water in Marah, traveled
to the Oasis of Elim where they camped beside the 12 springs and 70 palm trees
for a while. Then they set out from Elim and went into the wilderness of Sin. This
will be one of seven areas of wilderness they will experience on their journey. The
name of this wilderness has little to do with our English word sin. This name is
apparently related to the Sinai Peninsula, and it is a place where God will test the
Israelites. He is not testing them to see if they will sin, He is testing them to
prove to them who are really are and to them help know more about Who He
really is. When God is building godly people, there is a lot to that process.
Warren Wiersbe said, “Godliness isn’t the automatic result of reading books and
attending meetings, it also involves bearing burdens, fighting battles, and feeling
pain.” Right from the start of this journey, many of the Israelites are already
thinking that this journey is just simply too difficult. It is always easy to quit, but
God had no plan for Israel to give up. He wanted to make them into a people who
would succeed in being an example to the rest of the world. When Israel was thristy,
God provided water. Now, Israel is hungry, and God will start a process of feeding
them which will last for a really long time. But Israel is falling into a pattern of
grumbling. They grumbled when the Egyptian army was too close. They grumbled
when there was no suitable drinking water. In this study, they grumbled when there
was little food to eat. In fact, they are thinking back to how good they had it in
Egypt as slaves.
1 ¶ Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed
into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there
on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of
Egypt.
2 There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and
Aaron.
3 “If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we
sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now
you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from
heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as
they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will
follow my instructions.
5 On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will
be twice as much as usual.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will
realize it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
7 In the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard
your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done
that you should complain about us?”
8 Then Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening and
bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints
against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the LORD,
not against us.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Announce this to the entire community of
Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the LORD, for he has heard your
complaining.’ ”
10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out
toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the LORD
in the cloud.
11 Then the LORD said to Moses,
12 “I have heard the Israelites’ complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening
you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you
want. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’ ”
13 ¶ That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And
the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew.
14 When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed
the ground.
15 The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked
each other. They had no idea what it was.
And Moses told them, “It is the food the LORD has given you to eat.
- Why are people sometimes tempted to “look back to Egypt?” (16:2-3) How do you
feel when you lack vision for the future?
2 There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and
Aaron. 3 “If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned.
“There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted.
But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”
Israel was complaining that this journey was too difficult. The scarcity of water
and lack of food was overwhelming to them. Back when they were in Egypt, at least
they had food and water. They felt they would be better off dead. They didn’t see
the big picture. They didn’t understand God’s plan. Pr 29:18 (NLT) When people
do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is
joyful.
Sometimes we find ourselves longing to go back to the tyranny of sin rather than to
allow God to develop our new life. - What was God’s plan to feed the people of Israel? (16:4) What should people think
about a God Who can do that?
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from
heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as
they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will
follow my instructions.
God’s plan was to rain food down from heaven. When you serve a God Who can
rain food down from heaven to feed you, you confidence should be high that He is
very different from any other person or force. If my God can do that, then I believe
He can do anything He desires to do. If He loves me, I am in good shape. - Why do you think God had a different plan for food gathering on the sixth day?
(16:5) 5 On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it,
there will be twice as much as usual.”
God wanted them to have a day of rest and worship. This is one more case in
which God reinforces what He has already told them. A Sabbath observance would
have been new to these Israelites. No doubt while they were slaves, they worked 7
days a week. God is blessing them with a day of rest to reflect upon the Lord.
Is the Christian commanded to keep the Sabbath?
John MacArthur answers that question like this: “The rest offered on the Sabbath was
now being offered in Christ.” Mt 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you
who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my
yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
Jesus is our Sabbath. - Why do you think that God providing food will help Israel understand that it was
God who brought them out of Egypt? Why are people sometimes tempted to “look
back to Egypt?”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will
realize it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Even the skeptic among them had heard that the plagues and the deliverance from
Egypt was the work of God. Now when God fed them, this was one more sign of
God’s love and provision.
Our memories can be very selective. We can manipulate our memories to where we
only think about the parts that reinforce what we want. - How did God get the message to the people about how He would provide food?
(16:9-10) 9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Announce this to the entire
community of Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the LORD, for he has heard
your complaining.’ ” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of
Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the
awesome glory of the LORD in the cloud.
Talk about getting called to the principal’s office! They were to present themselves
before the Lord, and they knew what the subject of the conversation would be.
Their complaining had caught God’s attention. They looked at the wilderness and
saw the glory of the Lord in the cloud. It was in this time, when God had their
attention, that God gave them more information about how He would provide for
them.
- How did God tell Israel He would provide food for them? What is the benefit of
knowing that the Lord is our God? (16:11-15)
11 Then the LORD said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the Israelites’
complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in
the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I
am the LORD your God.’ ” 13 ¶ That evening vast numbers of quail flew in
and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was
wet with dew. 14 When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as
frost blanketed the ground. 15 The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it.
“What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was.
And Moses told them, “It is the food the LORD has given you to eat.
Having reminded them that He would provide for them, God had Moses tell the people
that in the evening that would have meat to eat, and in the morning they would
have all the bread they wanted. That evening quail flew in and covered the camp.
The next morning, a flaky substance was all over the ground. - Why do we complain when God doesn’t provide as we expect Him to? What should
we do instead of complaining when times are difficult?
I understand that complaining comes from a root of bitterness. Our hearts have
bitterness deep down inside. Our complaining is rooted in our not trusting God.
Do you want to be a bitter old man or old lady? Practice being thankful and content
now. - Do you think that complaining is an act of disobedience to God? Why or why not?
I think it is an act of disobedience. It is saying that what God has given you is not
enough. I wonder how different things would become if we stopped complaining
about what we don’t have and started focusing on managing what we do have.
What do we learn from the exodus of the children of Israel? (Table talk)
God has a long range plan, and the little details plug into His big plan perfectly.
He is gracious enough to inform us what we need to do and how we need to respond
to Him.
No one can stand against God successfully.
He is all powerful.
He is the only One who has all the facts.
He wants to deliver His children from bondage. He loves us.