"Starvation in the World, Feasting in the Lord"

Scripture: Exodus 16:1-31

This is the second in our series that compares the hollowness of the world to the fullness of God. Today we consider the way we are fed by them both and the quality of their nourishment.

A story:
Although Meriwether Lewis [of Lewis and Clark fame] never acknowledged it, obviously the Corps of Discovery could not have gotten through the winter on the Pacific coast without the Clatsops and Chinooks. They provided priceless information - where the elk were, where the whale had come ashore, who the ships' captains were and when they came - along with critical food supplies. It was only thanks to the natives' skills as fishermen and root collectors that the Americans were able to survive.

Lewis called them savages, even though they never threatened - much less committed - acts of violence, however great their numerical advantage. Their physical appearance disgusted him. He condemned their petty thievery and sexual morals, and their sharp trading practices. Except for their skill as canoe-builders, hat-makers, and woodworkers, he found nothing to admire in his winter neighbors.

And yet the Clatsops and Chinooks, without rifles, managed to live much better than the Americans did on the coast of the Pacific Northwest. They had mastered the environment far better than the men of the expedition managed to do. The resources they drew on were renewable, whereas the Americans had shot out all the elk in the vicinity in just three months. With the coming of spring, the Corps of Discovery had no choice but to move on. The natives stayed, living prosperous lives on the riches of the Pacific Northwest, until, that is, the white man's diseases got them.
-Stephen E. Ambrose, “Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West” (New York: Touchstone, 1996), 341.

How could 2 peoples live in the same area at the same time, with one of them being able to thrive and feast, while the other struggled and nearly starved? The same God provided sustenance for them both, but one saw His bounty, the other only saw desolation.

Read Exodus 16:1-5

The people said that their oppression in Egypt was preferable to freedom in the desert (where have we heard that one before!) because, “back there”, they had all the food that they wanted. Of course, they had forgotten what their ordeal in slavery was really like – Exodus 2:23-24 tells us that the people were “groaning in their slavery – whether they had enough food or not, their lives, apparently, were miserable and unbearable. But God heard that “groaning, and put His plan in motion to gain them their freedom, but just a few short months later, they wished that the Lord had killed them in Egypt?
Had they really been feasting in captivity, but now starving in their freedom? The point is that God hears all of our “groanings”, and is always ready to do something about it. For Israel, He would provide them with all the food they wanted – meat and bread. He hears our groaning, too, and will satisfy our needs just as He did for Israel. It isn’t always exactly what we think we need, and it isn’t always on our schedule, and it isn’t always on our conditions, but He is always there for us, giving us all that we need, and more.
Always exactly what God alone knows we need, always at the exact time that God alone knows we need it, always in the perfect way that God alone understands it.
- He would rain down bread for the people – not on some random basis, but every morning.
- He would give them enough for each day – they didn’t have to store it, and they didn’t have to preserve it, they didn’t have to ration it. It would be there for them.
- And the only change was, that on the day before Sabbath, they were to collect twice as much.
Perfect in amount, perfect in timing, perfect in circumstance. And this would be a test of how well the people listened and trusted!

Read Exodus 16:6-15a

Why? Because God heard the “groaning” of Israel. They had an overwhelming need, a need that must be satisfied or the people would perish, and He met that need. Meat in the evening, bread in the morning, and always enough to satisfy them for the entire day. In the evening, the quail would cover their encampment, and they could collect as much as they needed. The bread would come in the morning’s dew, and when it evaporated, the food would remain behind. And on top of that, His glory would appear in the cloud as proof of His benevolence.

Has the Lord’s presence ever come to you in some unexpected way? Perhaps even in the exact way that you prayed for, even though that isn’t precisely what you wanted? (You know the old saying “Be careful of what you pray for – you just might get it!”) Sometimes our prayers are closer to the truth of our needs that our thoughts and desires are!
God always hears our groaning, and He always knows our needs, and He always supplies those needs, one way or another. And if we only open our eyes to the situation, we, too, will experience His Glory.
And the people would ask “What is it?” when they saw those flakes on the ground, and that is what manna means. And even though the menu wouldn’t change for the next 40 years, its nourishment would sustain the nation throughout their entire wilderness journey. So when God answers our prayers in an unusual or unexpected way, we, too, can call it “manna” – God’s glory that is sent to uphold us.

Read Exodus 16:15b-31

Remember in verse 4, when we read “In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.”?
This really was a test of faith. “Take what you need for 1 day, and no more. You will get a new opportunity each day to refill your baskets with fresh bead.”
And the bread would last as long as they needed it – one day, and no longer, except for the Sabbath, and then it would last for two days. And if they took more than they needed? It would only be sufficient. And if they didn’t take enough? It would suffice! And if they took enough for more days than necessary, it would rot!
For those who forgot to take 2 days worth on Friday, they would soon discover that God meant what He said. I imagine that there might have been a few empty bellies the first week or two, as well as a few red faces when they thought that they had stored up a reserve larder during the other 5 days. Did they think He was joking when He said “You only need to take 1 day’s worth of bread on Sunday through Thursday, and 2 days worth on Friday.”? He wasn’t, and while many failed the test, God never failed them! Day after day, month after month, year after year, through faithful times as well as faithless ones - the quail came every evening and the manna every morning, for 40 years!

And the Lord never fails us! Do we believe God when He tells us that He, and He alone, is sufficient for our every need? Paul would write to the church at Corinth about a personal trial that he suffered with. He had prayed 3 times that God might take that “thorn in the flesh” away from him and relieve him of that torment, but the reply that he received wasn’t one of healing, but rather this: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)
The Lord knows our every weakness, even before we do. It could be as devastating as “How am I ever going to pay the mortgage this month?”, or “I only have enough money this week to buy either food or my medicine. Which do I get?” And it could be as small a thing as “Now where did I leave my glasses?” And it is His power that cares for our needs – perfectly!

Starvation comes in many forms, you know. It doesn’t always just indicate a lack of food - it can also be a lack of faith, lack of resources, lack of hope, lack of friendship, lack of employment, lack of money, lack of energy, even a lack of health.
Remember the story about the Lewis & Clark expedition? There was a severe lack of food for the explorers, or so they thought. The natives had enough, but that’s because they knew where to look for it and were grateful. They were thriving, while the explorers were struggling. The natives were feasting while the white men were starving. What was the difference?
The Clatsops and the Chinooks knew what food is. They didn’t focus their lives in a narrow way – they gratefully accepted whatever was provided to them and they even showed these strangers where to find it. But the Corps of Discovery had preconceived notions of what food was and which food they would accept and eat, and they nearly died from their myopia.

The world sees one way and only one way, and that is their way! It is the way that they have decided is correct, and they have no intention of deviating from their preconceived path. They may have to exist in captivity, in bondage to their ill conceived ideas and notions, but at least they will have their kind of food!
“Don’t give me that spiritual nonsense. Don’t tell me that some Being that I can’t even see, hear, or touch knows better than I do. Captivity in my ‘Egypt’ is far better than freedom in your desert!”

Spiritual starvation is all around us, my friends. And like the natives of the Pacific Northwest in the early 19th century, we, too, can only show others where the best nourishment is. We can’t make them accept it, we can’t make them eat it, we can’t even drag them to the table to see it. But we can explain what this heavenly food can do for them. That the Living Water and Bread of Life isn’t just some zealous, religious bantering – it’s a promise that comes directly from the Creator of heaven and earth, from the Savior of all who would believe. The nourishment that is Jesus Christ is given that all who receive will no longer want, that all who will eat will no longer starve.

When others ask about your faith, tell them that you believe in manna – the life giving bead that comes every single day, right on time, and only from God Himself. And that it is just lying there, waiting to be collected by anyone who will accept it.
Let “Manna” be your watch word, may it satisfy your every need, and may it reveal the glory of God to our starving world.