Title: Grievance Calls Trials 1994. 12. 4.
Exodus 16:1-3, 21-30
After crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites traveled for three days without finding water. When they finally came to Marah, the water was bitter and they complained. Moses cried out to the Lord, and God showed him how the bitter water could become sweet. Not long afterward, the whole congregation of Israel left Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving Egypt.
About one month had passed since the Exodus. The food they had brought from Egypt was running out, and once again the people complained against Moses and Aaron. They said that in Egypt they had eaten meat and bread, but now they had been brought into the wilderness to die of hunger.
Consider what they had already experienced. They had seen the ten plagues. They had crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and had seen the Egyptian army overwhelmed by the waters. They had also seen the bitter water at Marah become drinkable. Yet when another difficulty came, they quickly began to complain again.
This teaches us how easily people can forget what God has already done when a new trial appears. When circumstances are difficult, some may think, “Life was easier before I believed,” or “Why am I suffering after beginning a life of faith?” But the purpose of faith is not simply to make every circumstance immediately comfortable. Through faith we receive life, eternal hope, and the promise of heaven.
The world may appear attractive when we look only at temporary comfort, wealth, pleasure, honor, or power. But Jesus taught through the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 that earthly circumstances are not the final measure of a person’s life. Lazarus suffered greatly on earth, while the rich man lived in comfort. Yet after death their situations were completely reversed. The most important treasure is not temporary wealth or comfort but eternal life with God.
Therefore, a person of faith should not envy those who possess wealth, honor, or power while living apart from God. Even if our earthly circumstances are difficult for a time, eternal life is of far greater value.
Why, then, did God give manna to the Israelites even though they complained? God had chosen Israel and was leading them toward the land of Canaan. They were still immature in faith and needed to learn to trust Him. The wilderness had no fields from which they could obtain food, so God provided manna and continued to train them.
Manna was described as a small, round substance that appeared on the ground after the dew had disappeared. It became food for the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness.
Although their complaining revealed a lack of faith, God still provided what they needed. He was leading them patiently and teaching them step by step.
This also shows the difference between immature faith and mature faith. A new believer may become anxious, complain, or become discouraged because he has not yet experienced enough to trust God deeply. God can patiently guide such a person. But as faith grows, we should also grow in gratitude, trust, and obedience.
Abraham also went through many trials, but he continued to obey God. Even when difficult circumstances arose, God was with him and eventually worked things together for good. His faith was not perfect from the beginning, but he continued walking in obedience, and through that process his faith became stronger.
Therefore, when we go through trials, we should examine our response. Are we becoming resentful and complaining, or are we trusting God and learning obedience? Trials can reveal the condition of our hearts.
A person who truly trusts Almighty God does not have to be controlled by anxiety and worry. This does not mean that believers never experience difficulties. It means that even in difficulty, they can remember that God is able to guide, provide, and restore.
If a business fails, if financial difficulty comes, or if another problem arises, we should not immediately blame God. We should first examine whether there were wrong decisions, negligence, disobedience, or other causes. If we discover something wrong, we should repent and correct it.
God’s Word contains many promises of blessing connected with obedience. Deuteronomy 28 speaks of blessings that follow obedience to God. Third John 2 says, “I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” Jesus also repeatedly taught His disciples to pray in faith.
However, biblical faith does not mean that we simply remain passive and expect everything to appear without effort. The Israelites received manna from God, but they still had to go out each morning and gather it.
In Genesis 1:29, God gave plants and fruit for food. After the fall, Genesis 3:19 says that man would eat bread by the sweat of his face. This teaches that diligence is also important.
A lazy person should not expect abundance while refusing to work. Diligence is necessary both in everyday life and in spiritual life. How can we pray, study the Word, resist sin, serve others, or seek God’s kingdom without diligence?
The Israelites were instructed to gather manna for six days. On the sixth day, they were to gather twice as much because the seventh day was the Sabbath. They were not to go out and gather manna on the Sabbath.
Some of them did not obey. They went out on the seventh day looking for manna, but found none.
God said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?”
The manna therefore also taught Israel obedience.
On ordinary days, they were to gather only what they needed. If they greedily stored extra manna overnight, it bred worms and smelled. But on the sixth day, according to God’s command, they gathered twice as much, and the portion kept for the Sabbath did not spoil.
The lesson is that blessing comes through trusting and obeying God rather than through greed.
James teaches that people sometimes ask and do not receive because they ask with wrong motives. Greed does not produce blessing. But when we follow God’s Word faithfully, we can trust His provision.
The Sabbath also has an important spiritual meaning. Jesus said in Matthew 12:8, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
In John 6:48–51, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” He explained that the Israelites ate manna in the wilderness and died, but He is the living bread that came down from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever.
The manna in the wilderness sustained physical life for a time. But Jesus gives eternal life.
Jesus said that the bread He gives is His flesh for the life of the world. Therefore, believers need more than physical food. We need the spiritual bread that comes through Christ.
This connects with the Passover teaching in Exodus 12. The Israelites ate the lamb as God commanded, and the lamb pointed spiritually to Jesus Christ. Likewise, the living bread points us to Christ and His Word.
We should therefore hunger for God’s Word. We should not merely hear it occasionally but receive it diligently, understand it, and live according to it.
The Sabbath was also a day of rest and worship. In the Old Testament, Israel rested on the seventh day. Christians later gathered on the first day of the week in remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The important spiritual principle is that believers set apart time to worship God, receive His Word, pray, and rest in Him.
We should not treat worship casually. If we say that God is important to us, our lives should reflect that confession.
The Israelites’ repeated complaints reveal the danger of resentment. They complained against Moses and Aaron because they were hungry, but the deeper problem was their lack of trust in the God who was leading them.
Their example teaches us that resentment can prevent us from seeing God’s past grace and present provision. It focuses our attention only on what we lack.
Gratitude does the opposite. Gratitude remembers what God has already done and trusts Him even before the next answer appears.
This does not mean that we should ignore real problems. The Israelites truly needed food. Moses did not pretend the problem did not exist. Instead, he brought the matter before God, and God provided manna.
The lesson is that when difficulties come, we should bring them to God rather than allowing resentment to control our hearts.
Those who have experienced God’s grace should especially remember what He has already done. The Israelites had seen the Red Sea divide and bitter water become sweet. Yet when hunger came, they forgot those experiences.
We can do the same. We may have received answers to prayer in the past, experienced help during difficulties, or seen God guide our lives. But when a new problem appears, fear may make us forget everything.
Faith remembers.
Faith says, “God helped me before. I will seek Him again.”
Resentment says, “Why is this happening to me?”
Faith asks, “What should I learn? What should I correct? How should I trust God in this situation?”
The people of Israel continued to receive training in the wilderness because they needed to grow in faith before entering Canaan. Likewise, spiritual growth often comes through situations in which we must learn trust, obedience, patience, and gratitude.
If there is wrongdoing in our lives, we should repent quickly. If there is no wrongdoing and we are simply facing a trial, we should remain faithful without complaining.
The goal is to become people who are not controlled by circumstances.
When food is abundant, we give thanks. When food is scarce, we still trust God. When circumstances are easy, we worship. When circumstances are difficult, we continue to worship.
This is mature faith.
The manna also reminds us that God gives what is needed day by day. The Israelites could not store large amounts for themselves out of fear and greed. Each morning they had to depend again on God’s provision.
Jesus later taught His disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Faith therefore learns daily dependence upon God.
We should work diligently, use wisdom, and fulfill our responsibilities. At the same time, we should understand that ultimately our life and provision come from God.
When we live this way, there is less room for resentment.
The Israelites complained because they compared the uncertainty of the wilderness with the food they remembered from Egypt. They forgot that Egypt was also the place of their slavery.
We must also be careful not to romanticize the life we left behind. A person may remember the pleasures of the world while forgetting the emptiness, sin, bondage, and spiritual death that came with them.
Following God may involve a wilderness season, but the wilderness is not the destination. God was leading Israel toward Canaan.
Likewise, believers are walking toward eternal life.
Therefore, temporary hardship should not make us turn back.
First Corinthians 10 later uses the wilderness generation as a warning to believers. Their experiences were written down so that we might learn from them.
We should learn not to crave evil things, not to turn back toward idols, and not to complain against God.
Resentment does not solve the problem. It only weakens faith.
Prayer brings the problem before God.
Obedience keeps us on the right path.
Gratitude protects our hearts.
Faith enables us to continue forward.
The Israelites had manna before them every morning, but they still had to trust God for the next day. God was not merely feeding them. He was training them.
In the same way, the purpose of our trials is not simply to make life difficult. Through them we can learn dependence, obedience, humility, and faith.
Therefore, when difficulties come, we should not immediately say, “Why has God done this to me?” Instead, let us ask, “Lord, what should I learn? Is there anything I need to repent of? How can I respond in faith?”
If we live according to God’s Word and our hearts become established in faith, we can face circumstances without constant fear or resentment.
God is able to provide.
God is able to guide.
God is able to restore.
God is able to make a way even when we cannot see one.
The people of Israel needed to learn this repeatedly in the wilderness.
We need to learn it as well.
Let us therefore remember the lesson of the manna. When we encounter lack, difficulty, or uncertainty, let us not return to resentment. Let us pray, obey, work diligently, receive the living bread of Christ, and trust God day by day.