He promises to feed us, and not just fill our empty stomachs

By Dean Collins

I’ve written about the short path between gratitude and grumbling. However, I am not about to be overly critical of the children of Israel’s logic or their emotions when they saw no drinking water or food.

Four hundred years of slavery at the hands of Pharaoh was a lot to overcome. Yes, there was deliverance by the hand of God and a display of great power when the Red Sea waters swept over both the chariots and the armies of Egypt. And when the Israelites felt thirsty, God once again stepped in and told Moses what to do to quench his children’s thirst.

Hungry for food

It’s easy from our padded chair with a cup of tea or coffee reading our devotional for the day to say, “I can’t believe they started grumbling again! And right after God came through with water!” It’s not just hungry stomachs that led to the moment described in Exodus 16. I think it might have been something similar to food insecurity. There are millions here in the USA who do not have adequate food for nourishment. The percentage of Americans who are food insecure is not that different from that of the global population.

Food insecurity is bigger than just missing a meal or feeling hungry. When you live in constant fear of not having adequate nutrition for your family, it is demoralizing and frightening. A cascading list of difficulties flows from food insecurity, including depression, poor health, irritability, homelessness, and on and on.

Imagine being the parents of your children traveling in a wilderness and seeing nothing edible anywhere. Your supplies are gone and there is no garden to harvest. You have money and jewelry the Egyptians gave you but nowhere to purchase food. Yes, of course there was God, but have you noticed that we don’t always think of God or go to God as quickly or confidently as we could? And we are not living in the dynamic of the desperation in our world or the desperation the Israelites felt as they settled into the unknown.

Meeting their need

God spoke into the grumbling and the fear, and he told Moses he was going to rain bread from heaven. But only enough for a day at a time, with twice as much on the sixth day so the Sabbath needs would also be met. Even in the wilderness God expected his children to rest from their travels and stresses.

Moses delivered the good news of manna in the morning and meat in the evening, but the grumbling didn’t stop. Moses stayed in the hot seat with the Israelites even though he was clear in his communication that it was God who was in charge and God who would provide. And then at the end of the chapter, while the wilderness experience was only weeks old, Exodus gives us a sneak peak into the rest of the story. Verse 35 tells us that God provided 40 years in a row with adequate bread and meat. All the way to Canaan God never failed to deliver on his promises.

Keeping his promises

While in our temporary flesh and living in our temporary homes on our own pilgrimage, we also struggle to comprehend that God keeps all his promises. When Jesus came to earth, there were at least two times we know about when he also provided miraculous amounts of bread for thousands who had gathered to listen to his messages about the kingdom of God. After one of those meals the crowd followed Jesus to the other side of the lake. They had many questions after the big meal the night before. Jesus said they were more interested in another meal than in really understanding or pursuing God.

The whole dialogue suggests Jesus was right. They were more concerned with the physical than the spiritual. It seems to me that we, like those in the wilderness of exodus or the lakeside of this Gospel account, tend to focus on the physical and not the spiritual and eternal. Yes, Jesus cares about the physical needs we have. He even instructed us to pray for our daily bread. But his purpose is to bring us life by solving our sin problem that leads to death. The living bread that Jesus offers is transformational and eternal. His offer of himself as Living Water and Bread of Life satisfies not until the next meal, but forever.

Your time with God’s Word
Exodus‬ ‭16:1-8, 35‬; John‬ ‭6:26-35‬; ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Photos by Markus Spiske from Pexels and by Victoria Shes on Unsplash