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Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (21-11-1999 Guisborough Evangelical Church)
The children of Israel set out
across the Peninsula of Sinai, one of the wildest and most barren areas in the
world. It was a very different world from Egypt, where they had come from. They
had well and truly left that civilized life behind, and now were surrounded by
silence and desert, burnt by the sun for there was no shade, facing blinding
sand storms, with little water.
We are going to consider this experience into which God had led them, and also look at His provision of manna, with its typological meaning.
Desert life could be so unpleasant and demanding, and
the children of Israel often wished they were back in Egypt, even though they
had been slaves there. Firstly there was the shortage of water. On two recorded
occasions (at Marah and at Rephidim), after days with no water, they came upon
water but it was so bitter that they could not drink it. Then there was shortage
of food in the Desert of Sin, and the attack of the Amalekites.
Yet all the time, they had the
pillar of cloud and fire leading them, showing that the Lord was at hand,
directing and controlling. God’s direction involved difficulties, hardships
and privation. Many people today have had exactly the same experience – while
belonging to Christ has solved some of their problems, other problems continue,
and some problems are just beginning. Why does God permit this, and lead us into
these situations? How can this be for our good?
1 Peter was written to people
suffering all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of
greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be
proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is
revealed (1 Peter 1:7). Through their trials they went from baby faith to
adult faith. If faith is to grow and mature, the soil that causes it to grow is
trial and disappointment. Each new crisis in the spiritual life calls forth
faith and confidence in God. When life is carefree and without challenge, most
likely we are at a spiritual standstill too.
Someone once said, “Grace
grows best in winter”. When the Covenanters met in "conventicles" in the open air, among the moss and on the
hillsides, or in barns and houses, pursued
by the king’s men, Christ was much more present than in later years
when they met in the Kirk or sat down quietly.
“I asked the Lord that I might grow
In
faith and love and every grace.
He
answered prayer,
But
it has been in such a way
As
almost drove me to despair.
He
crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted
my gourds and laid me low.
‘Lord,
Why is this?’ I trembling cried
‘Wilt
Thou pursue thy worm to death?’
‘Tis
in this way’ the Lord replied
‘I
answer prayer for grace and faith.
These
inward trials I employ
From
self and pride to set thee free,
And
break thy schemes of earthly joy
That
thou may seek thy all in me’”
(John
Newton)
But not all faith stands God’s tests. Israel failed
miserably. How quickly they forgot God’s past deliverances. How ungrateful
they were, and quick to blame Moses. Such short memories! God had delivered them
miraculously from Egypt. Yet they grumbled at every discomfort, and quarrelled
with Moses.
How often do we forget past
provision? We fail to reason – if God provided in the past, then He will
provide now. Moses did the right thing – he cried out to the Lord (Exodus
15:25; 17:4). In all ages, God’s servants have found great relief from the
discouragement and ingratitude of God’s people by turning to the Lord. His
heart is open to every sob and tear. His love is over all. When lonely and
isolated, Moses found consolation in the power and grace of God. Abraham Lincoln
said, “I have often been driven to my knees by the overwhelming conviction
that I have nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of those around me is
insufficient for the day.”
God’s gracious provision is, in the end, the answer to the little faith of people. He provided them with water and food and victory over their enemies. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing (Psalm 34:9). Is your faith sorely tried at the moment? God will not let you go or let you down.
God’s answer to the people’s hunger was first of all
quails – small birds easily caught which made good food – a delicacy for the
Egyptians. Then He provided manna – which literally means, “What is it?”
because that was the question on everyone’s lips when they first saw it. It
was white, round, sweet like honey. And there was sufficient for everyone and
for every day. Everyone had enough. They were to gather it every day of the
week, a double portion on the sixth day, and not to take more than they needed
for it would not keep.
This is one of many examples of
God’s care and provision for His people. For forty years they were reminded of
God’s faithfulness as He provided manna. For forty years there was a daily
supply for their daily need. There was always enough for gratitude, and never
enough for greed. They never had tomorrow’s supply today (except on the sixth
day). Thus God taught them to live one day at a time. Their heavenly Father
literally gave them, this day, their daily bread.
God’s blessings trickle on us drop by drop. They do not usually burst on us like a flood, and therefore we learn the lesson of continual dependence. Living one day at a time is the answer to peace and contentment. This is true of physical needs and also spiritual. When difficulty comes and emergency arrives, His grace is sufficient. How much we rob ourselves of peace by our over-active imagination – worrying about things that might never happen, fearing that we will not cope in a certain event. We need to remember that we have the promise of God that His grace will be sufficient for the hour. When the time comes, God will be there to enable and uphold. We will not be given the strength in advance. We can’t store it up for a rainy day. It will be provided when we need it, and it will be sufficient.
The manna was a faint foreshadowing of what Jesus is.
Like manna, He came, though in a more profound sense, from heaven. Like manna,
He is food. But He is food for the soul, not for the body. He does not nourish
our physical life, but communicates with our spiritual life, which will never
die. Unlike manna, He is not only for the Jews, but also for the whole world.
And unlike manna, He is not for a particular generation, but is the same
yesterday, today and forever.
The Lord proclaimed Himself to
be the true and living bread. What bread is for the body, He is for the soul. He
gives life and He sustains it. He is qualified to do it because the Father sent
him; He gave Himself on the Cross to clear away every obstacle to knowing God
and spending eternity with Him. Because He is the true and genuine bread,
putting our confidence in anything else is doomed to disappointment.
He brings an entirely new
dimension into our lives. He opens up a true and real relationship with our
Maker and Creator, a relationship in which sin is forgiven, spiritual things
become real, and is the most important thing in life. Life does not end at
death, but lasts throughout eternity. This is the only dimension of life which
brings satisfaction at the deepest level. If we enjoy this life, we will never
hunger or thirst again (John 6:35).
We were made to know God. The
heart is restless till it finds rest in Him. It is all possible through the Son
who is the bread of life. We have this life when we have Him. I am the bread
of life. N.B. “I am”, not “I give”. We do not merely receive the
gifts, but we receive the giver Himself. He is the answer to our sense of
emptiness, the “something missing” which people confess to experience,
causing them to search for it – usually anywhere but the right place.
The answer to the soul’s need
is not in philosophy, or a set or rules or argument, or even in Christian
doctrine (important as that is), but in a person. Only in coming to Him, and
believing on Him, are we promised that we will never hunger or thirst again.
There must be a movement towards Him. Our confidence must be placed in Him, not
just once, but continually through life, so that the life He gives may grow and
mature. Bread is no use left on the shelf. We must eat it for it to be of
benefit. It is the same with Christ.
It is all within our grasp if we would turn to Christ. And amazingly, it is all a free gift. The businessman’s problem is to get people up to his price. The preacher’s problem is to get people down to his.
There is a direct line from the Israelite’s trials in
the wilderness and the provision of manna to feed their bodies to the heart of
the Gospel, which speaks of Christ as the one who gives and sustains life for
believer’s souls. In time and eternity, Christ is all that matters. The world
with all its applause, offers of fame, and lottery prizes, has nothing that
comes within a million miles of all there is in Christ. If Christ is in supreme
place in a man’s life, he is unspeakably rich. And the gift he has lasts for
eternity, not just for this life.
Christians must come daily to feed on Christ. We are not meant to live on old experiences and former blessings. As long as He occupies the throne of the heart and all is in strict subordination to Him, so we feel our need and feed on Him. There is fullness in Him for life and service and work and every need. Be taken up with Him daily. For me to live is Christ.
