Exodus 16 Bible Study (Bread from Heaven/Manna) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Exodus 16 verse one. They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the people of Israel said to them, would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full?

For you have brought us out into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. And the Lord said to Moses, behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a day a day's portions every day, that I may test them whether they will walk in my law or not. You don't have to turn there. I'm just gonna read from John six.

John chapter six verse 11. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated, so also the fish as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost. So they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that they had that he had done, they said, this indeed is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.

Father in heaven, we thank you for your presence in this house. Oh, I pray that every person in this place would truly mean it when they sang, better is one day in your courts. Oh, it's one thing to sing it in public. It's another thing to do it in private. But, God, we just ask that your word tonight would invite us into the sanctuary of our hearts, for we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

And we long, whether publicly or privately, to draw closer to you and to know that there is still more for us to experience in your word, in prayer, in this walk with you. God, we ask that you would do two things, that through this word, Lord, by your grace, because this is your will, that you would save the lost and that you would sanctify the saved. Have your way in this house, Lord. It is no good if man speaks in the flesh, but may your word speak and may Jesus be heard. And may he be adored and lifted up and adored and praised by every heart in this house.

We give you all the honor and glory in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. I'm gonna go back to that John chapter in verse 11. We're familiar with the text about how Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes.

And in verse 14 of John six, it says, when the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, this is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world. Now let's just start with that question. I know we're going to the New Testament, but it has great great, implications for this text in Exodus 16. What did they mean when they said this is indeed the prophet to come? Does anybody know?

Why would that be the reaction to Jesus multiplying the loaves and the fishes? Why would they out of all the things they could have said, they said, this is indeed the prophet to come. Yeah. This was foretold. In what sense?

Who foretold it? You're there. We just need to know the detail of who foretold what. What sparked that conclusion for the people in Jesus' day to say this is indeed the prophet, capital p, to come? Yes, ma'am.

He fed them. Okay. Deuteronomy 18, that's exactly where it is. What happens in Deuteronomy 18 without even turning there? Does anybody know what happens in Deuteronomy 18?

It's a vital chapter even just for us and for for apologetics as well when people ask that especially Islam, especially Muslims, they say that this text in Deuteronomy 18 is to foretell of Muhammad, which is, I think, funny because Moses was a Jew prophesying about one like him to come. So I guess Muhammad was a Jew. Right? Deuteronomy 18. What verse exactly does Moses say these things?

Does anybody know? 15. What happens? The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen.

So many prophets have come after that, but there is this understanding that there is this one messenger that was to come and he was to be a Moses type figure. And Jesus is the greater Moses. And so when Jesus performs this miracle, their minds go back to this prophecy. Why specifically this miracle? And you said it.

Because he fed them with bread when they were hungry. And so the moment he did that, they knew this is a Moses type. This is who Moses spoke of. But we have to understand this. There's a lot of Old Testament types and shadows of Jesus.

Right? We know that. And we know that Jesus is the greater Moses. See, all these types and when we try to find out, oh, Joseph is like Jesus, and Moses is like Jesus, and Samson is like Jesus, they they only touch a few things because in the end, they're all imperfect. So Jesus is the greater one of all of these.

But I wanna challenge you with this thought. He's not just the greater Moses. In John chapter six, he also reveals himself as the greater manna. So he's not just the Moses, the greater one who provides bread and and performed that miracle. He himself is the substance of the bread.

He himself is the very thing that satisfies and fills those who hunger. And so he challenges them in John six thirty two, 33. He says, Jesus then said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. So we go back to Exodus 16.

He's not just the greater Moses. So we don't just, like, look at Exodus 16 and see Moses like Jesus. We see the bread in Exodus 16 as Jesus. And I believe we should look at it in two ways. We should look at it in the sense of salvation, that he is the bread of our salvation, but he's also the bread of our sanctification.

And we touched on this a lot. I I gotta be honest. Every time I come to this chapter, Exodus sixteen and seventeen specifically, it just stuns me every time. It just touches my heart every time that Jesus is in the details of these verses. It's all about Jesus.

So when we come to Exodus 16, I'm gonna ask you a few questions and I pray that this would literally stir you because this is the Lord saying eat me. This is the Lord through the Passover lamb, through the bread, the manna, saying the very same thing, I wanna be one with you. I wanna commune with you. I want you and me to mingle, so to speak. And so we come to Exodus 16 verse one.

They set up from Elim, And all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron and in the wilderness. And the people of Israel said to them, would that we had died in the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full. What was the condition of the people here? Hungry.

Grumbling, hungry. What else? Exhausted. Exhausted. That's a good word.

What else? Helpless. Helpless. Can we say rebellious? Doubtful?

The rebelling against Moses, the rebelling against the messenger of God, the representative of God, they are grumbling, they are complaining, they are in sin, they are hungry, they are desperate. There's a sense of being lost the same way you and I were found when Jesus found us. Stumbling around in the wilderness, hungry, trying to find satisfaction, complaining, not knowing how to fill this void in us. And that is the same condition that God Almighty found you and me. And instead of striking us down in the wilderness, instead of getting rid of us, he devises a plan.

And while we were yet enemies of God, he sent Jesus Christ. While we were yet rebellious against God, while we hated God, while we complained and rebelled in this life, he loved us. And he had a plan of salvation for us. In the midst of the wilderness of sin, God sees us with compassion like he saw them with compassion. And so we see the condition of the people.

Then we look at verse four. Then the Lord said to Moses, behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day that I may test them whether they will walk in my law or not. What can we say about verse four? I want you to think about the nature of the bread.

The nature of the bread. The nature of the bread. Where did the bread come from? Heaven. It was a man made bread.

It came from heaven. You go to verse thirteen and fourteen of Exodus 16. It says, in the evening, quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning, dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine flake like thing, fine as frost on the ground. So we know it came from heaven, and it came and appeared through the dew, which I think is fantastic.

Because the bread was not sourced from the dust. It was sourced from the dew. Dust represents man. Dew speaks of a different nature. It's not a flesh.

Yes. Jesus did take on flesh, but it's the mysterious hypostatic union, 100% man, 100% God. And this is what they said of Jesus in John chapter seven. Don't turn there. Just you can just listen.

In John chapter six rather 41 to 42. So the Jews grumbled about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say I've come down from heaven? He was telling them of his nature.

He was telling them of where he came from. And they said, well wait, you're from heaven? We know your mom and dad. But I love this because just like the dew, Jesus appeared in an unannounced way. When dew appears, when you wake up early in the morning, you see that dew on the grass of your front lawn, it comes so quietly.

It comes unannounced. It just appears and it crystallizes your front lawn and your backyard. And that's the same way Jesus came to this world. He came upon by the Holy Spirit of a virgin. And here she is with her husband, and they are there they are giving birth to this child in a manger.

There is no room for him in the inn. Like, there are so many people in this life have no room for him in their lives. And the only announcement was to these shepherds. It was a private meeting, so to speak, and Jesus seems to just let the dew appear. When he comes back, it's gonna be very explosive.

He's gonna rip open the heavens. But the first time wasn't like that. So gentle, so quiet, so subtle. Just like the nature of this dew. Speaks of a different nature.

Speaks of a different substance. It speaks of his divinity. Bread from heaven. What happens? He says that I'm going to give you this bread.

How much was it? And I want you to pay 5 shekels each every single day. Is that what he said? No. Why?

Because the bread was free. So is your salvation. That when Jesus offers himself to you, you just give him your heart. By faith, it's a gift, grace. This bread did not cost them anything.

It cost him everything. And so we see that even the bread being offered is a gift. It's compassion. It's love. It's mercy.

It's an extension of his grace to them. And all they had to do was receive. All they had to do was accept it. All they had to do is say yes to it. That's the same thing with the true living bread of heaven.

What else? Anything else we can say about verse four? Any other observation? Yeah. Go ahead.

I kinda like how it's, how you said that he came like dew forming on the grass. Mhmm. Because dew is kinda like willed by the universe. It's kind of inevitable. So it's kind of like the inevitability of Jesus coming.

That's interesting. Thus, you can just blow away, but if you cut all the grass, the dew would just form on other things. Interesting perspective. Anything else to say about this verse? Oh, may your hearts be stirred that Jesus is in this chapter so clearly.

So clearly that when you come to verse 15 of Exodus 16, when the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, what is it? They didn't even know what it was. Unidentifiable. They didn't know what to call it so they called it manna. Manna literally means what is it.

That's the name. Now how does that relate to Jesus? Yeah. People were kinda confused when Jesus appeared. Let me just read this in John seven forty.

When they heard these words, some of the people said, this is really the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was? So there was a division among the people over him.

Nobody knew who he was. Some did, but there was confusion. There was discussion. There was a wondering. What is it?

Where did he come from? How did it get here? How is this happening? How is he doing these miracles? How is he speaking with such authority?

Can a man who is a sinner ask God for a man's eyes to be opened? All these different things. Jesus was the theme of the conversation the day of Israel. He was the popular figure, but they they were trying to figure him out just like they were trying to figure out this manna. What is it?

And another point, there's so many people that are trying to explain God. They don't know how to trust God. There's so many people that are trying to figure God out when God calls you to know him. And not in the sense where you understand how he works, but just trust who he is. That's the danger of studying theology.

I'm all for theology. It is so important to have sound doctrine. But when you try to study God instead of spending time with God, if you don't balance that thing out, you can just stare at man and say, what is it? Instead of eating the manna and enjoying him. That's a we're we're getting to that at the end.

What is it? When you go to Numbers 11 verse seven we're just gonna go for verses here. Numbers 11 verse seven. There's another incidence where we see this manna being brought up by the people of Israel. Now the manna was like a specific type of seed and its appearance like that of bdellium.

When you have the chance, look up bdellium. Does anybody know what a bdellium is?

It's the most famous thing.

It it looks like a raisin when it's dried up. And guess what? It's not the prettiest thing. It's not an attractive thing. It's not something that you look at and goes, oh, wow.

That's a very nice looking substance. It's look it up. And I think that's so funny concerning the the character and the nature of Jesus in the flesh in Isaiah 50 three:two. Right? What does it say about him in Isaiah 50 three:two?

He had no former majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. He didn't come in glory. He didn't come in extravagance. He didn't come in a bang. He didn't come with royalty.

There's nothing about him physically that you would say, oh yes, I want to, I'm attracted to him. And the same thing with that manna. There was something about that delium that was like, okay. What else can we say? Yeah.

Sure. And that's how Hosea 14 talks about how God says, I will be like to you the dew. I will be like dew to you, oh Israel. And he speaks himself as dew. And so that can be a safe assumption that the dew is like the Holy Spirit, especially when we see verses like seek the Lord or let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.

His going out is as sure as the dawn. He will come to us as the rain, as the spring showers that water the earth. And so he likens himself to water. He likens himself to rain. He likens himself to dew, so to speak.

Because like we sang about, his spirit refreshes our souls. It cleanses us. And so, yeah, that's a safe that's a safe assumption. That's a safe conclusion. Absolutely.

When we go back to Exodus sixteen thirty one, now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. Oh, I love it. Now it begins to describe the manna in a specific way. What can we say about that verse concerning the true and living bread of heaven?

I see white as purity, holy, clean, spotless, and blameless. And I see that honey as satisfaction. And when you go to verse 35 of this chapter, it says the people of Israel ate the manna forty years till they came to the habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. Not just satisfaction, he's sustaining.

He sustains you. And when he fills you, you don't need anything else in this life. So there is a purity about this manna. There's a element of satisfaction. There's an element of sustaining.

What else can we say? Yeah. It knows I noticed here that the, manna tasted like honey. Mhmm. You know, it says that God is gonna lead them to a land of no good honey.

So it's like he's even though a foretaste of what's to come. Yes, sir. Absolutely. And And we're gonna get to that when we talked about the sanctification aspect of this bread. That when we taste Jesus, you're just getting a glimpse of what's to come.

Absolutely. We talked about this manna being our bread of salvation. We talked about the condition of the people. We talked about the nature of this breast. We talked about the substance of this bread, and now we wanna talk about the response to this bread.

How were the people supposed to respond to this bread that was offered to them? Yes. Gather daily to eat it every day. Gather daily, eat it every day. Sure.

Let me let me illustrate it this way. Did he say this bread is coming from heaven. Open your mouth, and I'm gonna put it in it for you? No. Thank you.

He didn't say that. What were they to do if this bread was to appear on the dew? What were they supposed to do? Yes. They have to get down and actually Yeah.

It's kinda hard to reach down for something if you're not gonna bend down and get it. So it requires you to bend down. You wanna accept Jesus in your life? You gotta humble yourself. There are so many people that are so you know how many people are going to hell because of pride?

They don't see their need for Jesus. That's the ultimate expression of pride. But in order to receive this manna, you and I must bend down. You have to acknowledge your sin. You have to acknowledge your need.

You have to acknowledge your bankruptcy. You have to acknowledge the fact that you cannot survive without this bread. Until you can get to that point, you're in danger. And there's this spread of universalism in our day. This idea that Jesus Christ, because he died on the cross for the whole world, eventually, the whole world will be saved whether they express faith in Christ in this life or not.

Eventually, everybody will get to heaven. And that's spreading more and more because people are getting uncomfortable with this idea of hell and the doctrine of judgment and the wrath of God. Whether that makes you uncomfortable or uncomfortable or not does not matter. It's the Bible. It's the word of God.

And let me tell you something. God is not gonna send people to hell and in a thousand years from now, say, you know what? I changed my mind. I just wanted to scare you. I just wanted to get you into the kingdom of heaven, so let me just bring you all back out of here.

He's not doing that. When you go, you're stuck for eternity. It's sealed forever. And that makes the gospel to be preached all the more with urgency, and that makes this pulpit and every pulpit and church the most serious thing that we do in life. You have to humble yourself to receive the bread.

He gave it freely. He made it available to you. You have to do what? Go out and get it. Receive it.

And I love that he doesn't make this bread a thousand miles from where they are or a day's journey from where they're at. The bread is brought to them around the camp. It's right there. Like, if you're here tonight and you do not have Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, tonight, he's making himself available to you. Don't hold back.

Reach out. He's right there. He extended his hand. Now you extend yours. He poured out his heart in love.

Now you give him yours. He is right there. He's just outside of the camp. And all you and I have to do is realize that and say, I receive you. I accept you.

I want you in my life. I need you in my life. He didn't make this complicated. He didn't. He gave his life the only appropriate response as I give mine.

That sounds reasonable. Right? And I confess him as Lord, and I believe in my heart that he was raised from the dead by the power of God the father. He he made it so simple for us to receive. But that's the stubbornness of man's heart.

It's amazing how people like to make salvation complicated because it gives glory to the flesh. The reason why people like works based salvation is because they can take some credit for their salvation. They wanna get before God and be able to say it's because I did this, this, and that. I kept these sacraments. I went to church this many times.

I did this, this, and so I can get a little bit of credit for the reason why I can step into the pearly gates. That's not what salvation's about. Humble yourself and just receive what Jesus Christ already has done for you on the cross. What else were they supposed to do with this bread as a response? In verse 16, the second part.

You shall each take an omer according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent. Share Jesus with your family. Don't keep the breath to yourself. But we see just like the Passover lamb that is supposed to be a familial experience, that Christ is to be taught, Salvation is to be preached. The Bible is supposed to be opened within the home.

That the bread of heaven should be experienced amongst the household of God. Yes. Absolutely. Look at verse 32. What an interesting command that God gives in verse 32.

Moses said, this is what the Lord has commanded. Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt. So what are they supposed to do with this bread? Take it, keep a little bit of it, and for generations to come, they are to testify about it. What does that say of the bread of heaven?

Jesus Christ. What does that say about how we relate to the bread of heaven, Jesus? That not only do we receive him, we are to testify about him. That we are to preach this bread so to speak for generations to come. That we are to go out and tell people this is the very thing that saved me when I came out of the land of Egypt.

This is the very thing that sustains my life. And so it's not just receiving Jesus and leaving him in your tent and leaving him in your home. It's to say for generations to come, we are to tell people about this bread. Have you ever tasted something so good you have to have you ever recommended a restaurant? Have you ever recommended a place to go and eat?

I know a lot of people in here say it. You have to go try this place. I can name a couple of guys in here that say every place is the best place. I just don't believe it anymore. But when you taste of this bread, you can't keep it to yourself.

You you gotta tell somebody about it. And I know there are days where we need boldness and we need to we need to kind of get in prayer and we gotta get rid of the fleshly things that get in the way. But there is this sense in you that when you taste of him, you have to tell about him. That you wanna share him, and you're not ashamed to testify about him. And this is what he instructs him to do.

And the same thing that Jesus does, the disciples tasted of him. They walked with him for three years and they said, now go and tell the nations. Disciple the nations. Baptize him. And you teach him everything that I've taught you.

So many people mix up making disciples with making converts. Discipleship involves, yes, baptism and, two, being taught what you've learned. Everything that you've learned in your journey in the scripture, you are supposed to pour that into somebody else who is new in the faith. And Jesus commands them to do that. Yes.

It says here, you know, Yes. Absolutely. Well, since you made that comment, we'll transition to this next thought. We understand how this bread is clearly the bread of salvation. It is so obvious that this is Jesus speaking through this miracle about the gospel, especially with the commentary in John chapter six.

Without John chapter six, we can't really make these guesses and these assumptions. But here we see that Jesus is that bread that saves. But he's also the bread that sanctifies. He's also the bread that we need even as believers to walk through this life. And so it's not just a one time thing.

We eat of him. Oh, yes. We can walk through this wilderness journey for forty years and not eat again. No. He says you gotta eat again and eat, and eat, and eat, and eat.

And the truths found in this chapter about how we are to eat, I pray that you would be stirred, and you would sense the invitation of the Holy Spirit through this. Because if this is just for information's sake, then we might as well just call home and go home early. But may we see this now. Pray with me, actually. Father, we ask in this moment, we thank you that you're the bread of salvation.

But in this moment, we ask that you would show us how you are the bread of our sanctification. And, Lord, we take the time by faith to stop and pray and ask that by your Holy Spirit, you would tug on our hearts that we may sense the pull to eat of you more and to enjoy you and be sustained by you. We ask for your help as we read the rest of these verses. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you look at these verses, trust I trust that you read this chapter before you came here today. But what verses can we pull on this understanding of walking with the Lord day by day? Some of you already mentioned some things, but let's talk about some others. And even if somebody mentions something, you you can mention it again. Don't worry.

Yes. He said he told them that they have to get to go out each day to get it, and he mentioned that that I made test. Mhmm. That, there is a stress where they only take what is needed, and they have to go out for it each day to be satisfied and to take it for it.

Yes. Verse four. Then the Lord said to Moses, behold, I'm about to rain bread from heaven for you and the people shall go out and gather just a day and the rest of your life you're good. Is that what he said? No.

Oh, if believers would get this, if believers would just really understand this, that you would get it every single day. A day's portion every single day. And so that speaks of us and him. I know we know this. This is Sunday school stuff.

I get it. But how easily do we forget this wonderful truth? And if we were to parallel physical food with spiritual food, would we change our discipline? I'm gonna read something to you in in second John. And you don't have to turn there, but I just wanna read this verse in third John rather.

Third John, there's this well known verse. In verse two of third John, it says, beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health as it goes well with your soul. That you may be in good health as it goes with your soul. Now if you were to take the health of your soul, and for some way, somehow, if we were to manifest that into and replace it with the health of your flesh, how healthy would you be? Think about it.

If you were to take the condition of your soul and the health of your soul and replace it with the health of your flesh, how healthy would you be in your flesh? Would you be malnourished? Would you be suffering from anorexia? Would you be weak? Would you be what what would it look like?

Could you confidently be able to say, yeah. I know the condition of my soul. I take care of my spirit, man. That if it were to manifest in my flesh, that I would be completely fine. I'd be strong.

I'd have sharpness. I'd have discernment. But the thing is we we don't believe that. We don't believe, and we don't parallel those things because we feel this, and we don't necessarily see the effects of the spiritual man. It's not immediate sometimes.

But by faith, if we were to take that and say, yes. If some of us in here, if we don't eat for a full day, we're just a completely different person. Two days, three days, four days. I am astounded of how people cannot eat spiritually for weeks. It blows my mind.

Not in a sense of judgment or condemnation, just with the understanding of, if you don't eat physically, how are you surviving? You just become a punching bag for demons. Temptation, no wonder takes you out like a flood. You're not eating. You're weak.

And so he says every single day. What else can we say about these verses? Between verses twenty two and thirty, he talks about where they have to gather, like, twice as much on the sixth day, then the seventh, then the seventh. And I feel like that speaks about So we have to understand and I know you're not saying this, but just for the sake of clarification, the Sabbath is something that we're not necessarily bound to in the New Testament. We're not bound to keeping a day Sunday Friday sundown to sun Saturday sundown where we don't do anything and we don't work.

We don't pick up sticks. That's not true. Jesus is our Sabbath rest. But the principle is still true. That if we are to seek Jesus, if we are to approach him, if we are to seek him in his word and in his presence, he gave us parameters.

He gave us a way to do it. He gave us a road map. We can't just come up with how we worship him. We can't just come up with how we speak to him. He's given us a way.

He's given us instruction, and that is through his word. And so absolutely, there is a way in which we are to approach him. There is a reverence that we are to bring before Him. Jesus was heard because of His reverence, Hebrews five seven. That's amazing.

Jesus, the Son of God, had reverence towards the Father. And because of His reverence, God heard Him. How many of us are not receiving something just because we lack reverence? But because of his reverence. So all these different things.

If I if I have sinned in my heart, if I cherish iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. All these different principles in which we have to apply in order to actually eat of him. It's not automatic. Okay, Lord. No.

No. No. No. There is a way in which we do it. And the more familiar you are with this word, the more familiar you will will be with the person.

Yes. Verse 19. And Moses said to them, let no one leave any of it over till the morning. But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bread worms and stank.

You need fresh bread every day. Every day. Every day. And we're tempted to kinda keep the bread that we got yesterday and to think that it will be enough for us today. Yet there is this invitation that day by day, he wants to offer something to you and me.

Do do you see he's not whipping them up with condemnation? He's inviting them to something, an experience on a daily basis. And in the midst of our busyness, and in the midst of all the chaos and schooling and work and all these things, we have to really trust and believe that God has something for me today that He didn't have for me yesterday. There's something in His word that He wants to speak to me about this morning that He didn't yesterday morning. There's something he wants to unveil, unreveal to me now that I couldn't yesterday.

Go to verse 22 or 21 rather. Morning by morning, they gathered it each as much as he could eat, but when the sun grew hot, it melted. So there is a wonderful principle there too. And I wouldn't be too dogmatic about it, but I think it's still a good principle that they were to seek this bread first thing first thing in the morning. It's the it's the application of first fruits that God requires are first.

And if you really wanna see your day change, just begin with Jesus. And if you really wanna see your day not go the way you think you want, just don't spend it with Jesus. And it's the idea that if you don't, the sun will melt it. It's the idea that if you do not, the day will sweep up, will take up, will melt what you could have had. Because let's just be honest.

How many of us said, okay. I gotta just get out of the house straight thing out of the morning? And sometimes, yes, we have to do that depending on your schedule. If you're a night person, if you have a different work shift, do it first thing. Whatever it works for you.

The idea is to do it first, to put him as the the forefront of your day, the beginning, the the forefront of your mind. But let's just be honest. How many times have we done that? We said, okay. I'm just gonna do it later when I get back home.

And And by the time we get home and we open that Bible, even if we get to the Bible, we're so drowsy. We're so tired. We're exhausted. We go straight to bed. We really, really want to get to the word.

We really wanna do it. I mean, it's not that our hearts were not in it. We have the schedule. We're saying, God, as soon as I get back, I'm gonna read it. I'm gonna read this portion.

I'm gonna pray this long, and the sun melted it away. And so we must also adopt this habit to say, no. First things first. If I gotta wake up a little earlier, that's fine. If I gotta go to bed a little bit earlier, that's okay.

You have to first understand how important it is to eat. And that once again, God has something for you. And I'm just gonna be transparent. Just just a little example. Because Because look what he says here.

There's there's one part where I think is so fantastic. In verse 16, this is what the Lord had commanded. Gather of it each one of you as much as he can eat. You can be as You can be as spiritual as you want to be, as Ravenhill said. There's this invitation to how much of God do you want.

You have the full counsel of his word. As much as he can eat, you shall take an omer according to the number of the persons that eat you guys in his tent. And the people of Israel did so. Now look what they did. They gathered, some more, some less.

But when they measured it with an omer, whoever they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered, sorry, much had nothing left over and whoever gathered little had no lack. So those who had a lot had nothing left over. Those who had a little bit had no lack. And I like to apply it this way, that there are some times in which you come to meet with God and you're just in a place in which you're reading, and you're reading, and you're worshiping, and you're seeking, and there's just an extended amount of time longer than usual, and you're satisfied. And there are moments where you just get stuck on a verse, and it still satisfies.

Whether it's much or little, he's able to satisfy because this word is alive, and God almighty knows exactly what your soul needs this morning. He knows if you need a verse. He knows if you need a whole book. He knows you have to reread over first John over and over and over again. He knows if you just can meditate upon one thing.

And I'll just give you an example. Just this morning, I'm going through the book of Hosea. Oh, Hosea. Hosea. And just this morning, it didn't take me much.

I mean, I couldn't get past the second chapter. And there's just one just to be transparent. Bible study, we're just transparent. Right? Preaching mode is off.

Hosea chapter two verse 14. He's speaking to the rebellious people, And he refers to him as his wife, as his bride. He has a prophet he has a prophet Mary, a harlot. Once again, he wants his prophets to feel the message. Verse 14, he says, therefore now look what he says.

Look what the Lord says. Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. And there, I will give her vineyards her vineyards and make the Valley Of Acre a door of hope. Now look at this part. And there shall she answer as in the days of her youth.

The King James, New King James says, she will sing to me as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. And just reading that and saying, Lord, you desire for your people to speak to you the same way they did when they were first saved. The same way you desire the people of Israel to sing to you and to speak to you and to answer you the first time they came out of the land of Egypt. That's what you want. That's what God wants from you and me.

He wants that excitement that you had when you first came to know him. He wants that song that you had. Some of you some of you have lost that. You've completely lost it. It's not there anymore.

You don't sing the same way. You don't pray the same way. God God's not he just says something that you're a Christian though. Yeah. Somebody asked you, yeah.

I'm a Christian. But you've completely lost your excitement for God. You've completely lost your hunger. You've completely lost the sense of fellowship with the brethren. You are missing what God wants from you and what God wants to give you.

This is God's standard. I want you to speak to me the way you spoke to me when you came out of the Red Sea. How excited were you when you got baptized? How were you talking about Jesus? How were you excited to meet with God that you've completely lost it?

You're so far from that. You're so dry. There's no zeal. There's no passion, there's no desire, there's no hunger, you're so stale, you won't even know it. You might be thinking, well, you're very legalistic.

Well, you're very lukewarm. Because this is not legalism, friend. This is love relationship with the living God. And you say, well, how do I get to that place? I hope you're asking that question.

Unless you're surviving off bread that you ate two years ago. He tells you how you get it back. Therefore, behold in verse 14, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. Notice what God wants out of them. He wants to bring them into the wilderness.

Why the wilderness? It's a place of solitude. There's no noise. There's no distraction. There's no lights and flashes.

It's barren. He says, I wanna bring you there. Because in that place of solitude can I speak tenderly to you? You can't hear the tender voice of God if you don't know how to get along with him. Never.

I like this idea and I practice this idea just as much as you have. We do it. We pray to God in the car. We pray to God on our way to work. We pray to God between the stops of our bus and our that's all trying and dandy.

But God set up a standard. Go into your room and shut the door and meet with your father who is in secret. That's the place where he speaks tenderly. And what happens when he speaks tenderly to you? The second part of verse 15.

And there shall she answer. It's when you come to that place where you meet with him and you humble yourself to say, God, it's been so long. It's been so long since I've heard you. It's been so long since my heart's been softened by your presence. That's the place where your song and your excitement and your zeal and your passion is reignited.

Do you see that? He's saying, in you coming out into the wilderness and me speaking tenderly to you will your heart be revived to love me like you did when you first met me. Go to all the conferences you want. And God can speak at conferences and God can change lives at conferences. Absolutely, I believe it.

But there's something about you and I say this often too. Listen, you can respond to the altar call, you can cry, you can we can wipe this floor with your tears at the end of this meeting at a conference. But the true altar call is when there's no song, no lights, no preacher yelling at you. When you get to your room by yourself, and you shut that door and you get on your face before almighty god, and you say, lord, I don't want this to die at the end of this conference nor do I want it to die by next week's Sunday message. I need you.

Speak tenderly to me. Speak so this heart can revive again. It's so hard. It's so calloused. It's so dry.

God wants to speak to us day by day. There is bread for us every single day. And whether he invites you and you feel like you need more of it, you gotta read through all of Daniel, you gotta read through all of John, or if it's just a verse like Hosea in 12 or two fourteen to 15. Whether much or less, he's able to speak and he's able to satisfy him. Evan already mentioned that there's a sample to come.

That it tasted like honey. Because it tasted like honey, Exodus three tells us that he was deleted to a land flowing with milk and honey. Every single time you have that sweet fellowship with the Lord, whether in a meeting, whether at a conference, whether in your room, wherever wherever it may be. All you and I are getting is a glimpse of what we will experience in a heightened way in eternity. And it should serve us.

It should. Because the bible tells us that the spirit and the bride say, come lord Jesus. Take me out of this body. I don't want temptation anymore. I don't want me pulled towards the things of the the world.

I don't want I don't want lust. I don't want pride. I don't want all this junk in me. I want your presence. Take me up today if you need to because to depart with Christ is far better, even to do ministry for Christ.

I just wanna be with you because when I'm with you, you fill every hole that the soul has. Every desire that it craves is satisfied in union with Christ. You and I were created for that relationship. Don't you ever forget it. And every single glimpse, every single testimony, every single time he touches you and me in a certain way is just a glimpse of what eternity will be like.

And he should have us crave his return. Amen. A sample of what's to come. And I'll end with this, it's not just a sample of what's it's a warning to all of us. This idea of the bread is a warning to all of us.

You say, hell, let's go to Numbers chapter 11 again. Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. Who were the rabble? We talked about the rabble. The mixed multitude.

The mixed multitude that came up with them out of Egypt in Exodus chapter 12. So this rabble, whether they were Egyptians, whether they were people from different nations that were made slaves, we don't know who they are. We just know that they are a mixed multitude. They are not a pure breed of the people of Israel. I would argue they were not necessarily the people that God had in mind to deliver.

A mixed people. They had a strong craving. Look what happens. And the people of Israel also wept because they had a craving and influenced the people of Israel. And said, oh, that we had meat to eat.

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. Here's warning number one. Beware of associating with people in this life that do not believe that Jesus is enough. Let me say that one more time.

Beware of walking with people in this life that do not believe that just Jesus is enough. Because if they're craving something other than just Jesus, that craving will eventually influence you. Just give it enough time. They're complaining. They're talking about the world.

Their love for the things of this world. I don't care how hot for God you are. If you do not walk with people that love God and desire God, stay long enough and watch how you will end up desiring things that you first desire when you're in Egypt. Seen it happen so many times. Would you, for the sake of your own walk with God, create parameters of who you allow to speak into your life and who you do life with?

For the sake of your walk with God, even if you have to walk alone, Be careful who you associate yourself with. You wanna hang around lukewarm people? Guess what? You'll end up lukewarm. And the Bible gives us great instruction.

Psalms 119 verse 63. I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. I'm a companion of who? People that fear God. I hang around those that fear the Lord God Almighty and who keep his word.

If that's not the standard of your life, it's not that's not the desire of your life, we can be we can yeah. Sure. We can hang out. I'm not gonna be a I'm not gonna be a monk living in a cave. What I'm talking about is who you do life with, who you walk with, who you agree with, who you allow to speak into your life.

If they are not filled with God and they don't desire God, be careful. Be careful. Proverbs 2four 21, My son. Everybody wants wisdom, right? Oh, give us wisdom, God.

Love Proverbs. It's a book of wisdom. Well, here's some wisdom. My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not associate with those who do otherwise. Fear the Lord and the king.

Honor God and honor the government. Honor those who revere, who God has placed in a level of authority in your land. And don't hang out with those who do otherwise. If they don't fear God, if they don't take the law seriously, if they don't take command seriously, be very careful how you walk with those kind of people. Once again, you wanna hang around lukewarm people?

Stay long enough. You'll end up lukewarm. Wanna hang out with the world? You wanna hang around with the rabble? The mixed multitude?

Stay long enough and you'll complain and you'll hunger for the things they hunger for too. You'll think about the world. You'll be reminded of all how that felt. You'll be reminded of all how that sensation was. You'll be reminded of all the thrills that you had in your flesh.

But the same principle goes for those who are on fire for God. You hang around with those who are on fire for God and watch, it'll catch a flame. Those who walk with the wise become wise, but the companion of fools suffer harm. So walk with those who love God, who seek God, who honor God, and watch how iron sharpens iron. Well, there aren't people like that in my life.

Well, ask God for people like that in your life. And even if the moment you ask him to the moment where he answers that prayer, even if you have to walk alone, it's better than walking with fools. The second warning is in verse eight of Numbers 11. We'll go to verse seven. Now the manna was like the coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.

Now look what they did. The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills 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. Stop. Second warning. First one was, beware of associating with self yourself with people who are not satisfied with just Jesus.

Second warning. Beware of associating yourself with people who want Jesus, but a different kind of Jesus. It was still manna, but they did something else with it. It was a different type of Christ, a Christ that does not require holiness, a Christ that doesn't require you to be disciplined, a Christ that does not require you to obey his commands, a Christ that does not require you to deny yourself. Let's change him.

Let's mix it up a little. That's just as dangerous as the first one. See how subtle these things are? Find those that love the word of God from cover to cover. Walk with those that are willing to take all of this.

You will be surprised of how many people in this generation have a different type of Jesus. They've crushed them. They picked them apart, and they've made their own type of cake. So it's more palatable to their appetite. I don't know about you.

I want the real Jesus. All of Jesus. I want his holiness and his love. I want his grace and his truth. I want his standard, and I want his spirit.

I want all of Jesus. And you would be amazed of how many people, leaders, that have a different type of Jesus. They haven't gone to the place where they would deny Jesus. No. They've just put a few little ingredients with him and taken out others.

Oh, bread of heaven. Tomorrow morning, there's dew waiting for you. Tomorrow morning, there is fresh bread awaiting you. And maybe you might have to pick up a lot, or maybe he just gives you a little. Regardless, he wants to satisfy you.

Tomorrow morning before the sun melts on that dew, may you and I make it our ambition to go out and to seek him. Hear me. The same way that it was not complicated for that bread to be given over for salvation is the same way that it's not complicated for you to be satisfied. He didn't make it complicated. It's right outside the camp.

It's right outside the camp. It's as easy as you rolling out of your bed, going to the bathroom, washing your face, getting a snack, getting a cup of coffee, going back into your sanctuary, and meeting with him. He's there and he wants to speak and he wants to give you something, something that you did not have yesterday. Bread of heaven, we receive you the way you are, Lord. Speak tenderly to us.

Oh, may you receive what you desire from our hearts, the way we spoke to you when you first took us out of Egypt. You satisfied. Oh, you sustain. And, Lord, when this world tells us that just Jesus is not enough, We take our omer. We lift it up and say, he satisfies me.

All these years, just Jesus was just enough. Thank you, Lord, that you meet with us. Thank you, Lord, that that invitation is there every morning. And Lord, even if we miss a day, the dew still shows up the next day. You're so gracious, god.

You've made it so simple for us. Your name is like honey on my lips. Your spirit's like water to my soul. Your word is a lamp unto my feet. Jesus, I love you.

I love you. More to be desired than gold, even much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover by them your servant is warned and in keeping them, there is great reward. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Your people rejoice at your word like one who has found a great spoil. Thank you, Jesus. Just in your heart right now, by faith, listen, if you have not ate the bread that saves you, I don't know who you are, but I plead with you. Look and see how he has made this available for you and receive him. It's free.

It's yours. Repent and believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross, and he broke his body for you. He shed his blood for you. Trust in that. Ask him to change you and to be lord of your life.

There are some in here who don't even know it. You're starving. You're starving. And God is so gracious to say, just come into the wilderness with me. And in you unwrapping my word and seeing it being spoken directly to you, watch how your heart will revive again.

And watch how the way you sing to me and that you speak to me and how you share of me will be completely different because you've met me in the wilderness. So whether you're the first or the second, just seek him in your heart for the next few moments. He's here. The prince of pieces in this house. Just reach out.

Say, Lord, touch my heart. Give me the appetite for your manna again. Lord, it's been so long since I've eaten that my stomach doesn't even know how to hunger again. Make me hungry. I've heard it once said, closeness to God is so rare because scattered minds are so common.

If you just set him before you, you'd be amazed of how he would reveal himself to you. But you let your mind go crazy even in a moment like this. That's the difference between walking, somebody walking out of here touched by God and you not. It's hunger. It's desire.

It's a longing. In the same way, it was only that bread that could save the Israelites. Hear me. It's only Jesus that can save you. Same for the second part.

The only way you can survive this journey and experience the fullness of it throughout your years is if you meet with him day by day and eat of him. There's no other way. No amount of YouTube sermons or theological books will ever substitute the necessity of meeting with God in prayer and in the word. You you can stuff your head with sermons all you want. And I'm all for it.

It's important to learn and I love books. Oh, I love books, but I don't wanna borrow somebody else's revelation. And I don't wanna get excited about somebody else's relationship with God. I don't wanna be inspired by somebody else's passion and fire behind the pulpit. I want it myself.

I want God to burn in my heart, and that's only available when you meet him face to face. That's amazing how God instituted that. That there's no other avenue That in order for this to be real with you is that you have to meet with him. There's no other way. You can have the most godliest man come in and lay hands on you and pour as much oil as you can.

It does not matter. It's meeting with him. So simple, but we like to make it complicated, don't we? Dew is waiting for you tomorrow morning.