God Provides Food for the Hungry, Part 1

This morning, as we embark on the sixteenth chapter of the book of Exodus. I want to talk to you about something that I think is a major problem in the church. Not just our church, but every church. It has to do with grumbling and griping and complaining. In fact, it would be James who said these words in James 5, verse number 9: Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, the judge is standing right. The door. The Bible also tells us in the book of Corinthians, the 10th chapter, chapter that we have been looking at quite regularly as we have been going through the book of Exodus: don't grumble.

As some of them did, that is the Israelites, and were destroyed by the destroyer. There's a warning there about grumbling, as those in Israel did, because they were destroyed because of that attitude. We tend to look at grumbling and complaining as not really a big deal or a big sin.

Oh, but it is. And we'll begin to see that today as we understand Israel. In the book of Exodus, the 16th chapter, as once again they begin to grumble and complain to Moses and to Aaron. If you're there, let me read to you the first three verses.

Then they set out from El, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel. came to the wilderness of Send, which is between Elim and Sina, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

Now stop right there. They left Egypt on the 15th day of the first month. This now is the 15th day of the Second month.

So we know that they have been out of Egypt for about a month, right? About 30 days. That's where they're at. And then it says And the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the sons of Israel said to them, Would that we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full. For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. We'll stop right there because that's about as far as we're going to get today.

We're looking at how God provides food for the hungry. Last week we saw how God would provide water for the thirsty. This week it's about providing food. Food for the hungry. But before we get to the manna, we must understand the murmuring that would lead to the manna, as God would provide in a supernatural way for His people. And so we're going to look at the murmuring this morning and look at it two ways.

Number one, how it was expressed by the Israelites. And then, what is the essence of murmuring? So we get a handle on what it is we are actually doing when we begin to grumble and complain about what's taking place in our lives. Now I know that for the most part that's the second service people who do it a lot more than you folks here in the first service.

I'm going to give you 14 different ways that Israel expressed their grumbling. And I got to tell you, it's rather convicting. So, if your heart's right with the Lord, you're going to take it with a grain of salt and realize: boy, I got some things to work on. I've realized I a lot of things to work on. Let me show you: number one, the habitualness of their murmuring.

This is the third time in 30 days that they begin to murmur and grumble. That's an average of once every 10 days, by my calculations. They grumbled at the Red Sea, and God did a great work, didn't he? They grumbled when they had no water, and God did a great work. And now it's a food issue, and they begin to grumble. The habitualness of their grumbling. It's something that was habit-form for them. Grumbling 's that kind of way, you know. It becomes a habit of our lives. It becomes something that we, not every day maybe, but on a regular basis.

And this was Israel. This was habitual to them. And you will notice as we go through their story, it happened in Exodus 14.

Happened in Exodus 15, happ in Exodus 16, and throughout their lives you see this whole grumbling attitude, so much so that we read in 1 Corinthians 10, that God ended up killing some because their attitudes were so bad. That's amazing, isn't it? That's what God thinks about people who complain all the time. And these people, once they encountered a difficulty, the very first thing they did was grumble, murmur, complain.

It was habitual for them. The second thing I want you to see is the contagiousness of their grumbling.

Notice the text says that the whole congregation Murmured. Now that's about 2 million people. Maybe a little over that. Some people think it's around 3 million that left Egypt. And the text says that the whole congregation was involved in this. You see, murmuring becomes very contagious, doesn't it? One negative person can affect a whole group of people. That's why the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:18, one sinner destroys much good.

That's why the writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews 12, verse number 15, be careful that a root of bitterness does not swell up within you, because if it does, it will defile many people. And we forget that one bad attitude, one grumbling spirit is going to begin to affect many more people, some that we don't even know. But here the text tells us that the whole congregation was involved in this. If you read John 12, you realize that Judas was a little upset. That Mary had begun to anoint our Lord Jesus Christ with a perfume.

It says in verse number five: Why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii and given to poor people? Now, Judas, oh, by the way, one thing you're going to realize about grumblers and murmure, they sound very pious, but that's not exactly the true condition of their heart. That's evident by the fact that they murmur and complain, right? And why they might sound pious on the outside, Judas definitely wasn't, because the text goes on to tell us exactly what his plan was. It says in verse number 6: Now he said this not because he was concerned about the poor.

But because he was a thief and as he had the money box he used to pilfer what was put into it. You see that with Judas? Now you'll notice that if you read Matthew 26, there's another woman who anoints the Lord.

Disciples having heard what Judas said. They all complain. We could have used this money for the poor. See how it affects everybody? That's what takes place. And one little grumbler then begins to affect a whole bunch of people. In this case, the text says it was the whole. Congregation. We need to vaccinate ourselves against grumblers. We do that by spending time in the Word and by spending time with people who are very positive and not negative. But the third thing I want you to notice about their grumbling, their murmuring, was that the quickness of their murmuring.

It was very quick. I mean, they really hadn't got deep into the food issue yet. It was just right on the outskirts of it. But the very first thing they did was murmur.

As soon as a little bit of a problem popped up, what did they do? They complained. They began to. Be disgruntled. Instead of going to their knees and saying, you know, man, this could be a potential problem. How about we seek the Lord on this issue? How about we ask our leaders what we should do on this issue? What do they do? They immediately begin to grumble and complain. The quickness of the murmuring is something we need to deal with, isn't it? We need to be quick to hear the word of the Lord.

James says, be quick to the hearing of the word. Not quick to grumbling about what you hear about the word. And the Bible says that we should be quick to praise the Lord for all things, not just some things.

The fourth thing I want you to see is the inexcusablen of their murmuring. It was inexcusable. They complained that Moses and Aaron were bringing them into the wilderness. To kill them with hunger. What is that? That's just ridiculous. That's preposterous. That's so ludicrous. You have brought us out here into the wilderness to starve us to death. Well, wait a minute. If Moses wanted to kill him, he could have killed him long before this. That wasn't his intention. And after all, had they not seen the hand of the Lord deliver them at the sea?

Had they not seen the hand of the Lord deliver them out of Egypt to begin with? Had they not seen the Provide for them water when they were thirsty? Had not they seen all this in just a 30-day time period? Sure. But their conclusion was inexcusable. You guys brought us out here to murder us, to kill us. Israel had not only forgot about their past blessings, listen, Israel had gotten to the place. They believed they deserved something better than they got. You know why people grumble? Because down deep, they think they deserve something better than what they have.

Whenever you go down the path of, I deserve this, or I don't deserve that, you're going down a path of great spiritual destruction. You know, we can get to the point where we think we deserve something better than somebody else has it. But you know what? We don't deserve anything but hell. I mean, biblically speaking, what do we deserve? Hell. But the grace of God, the mercy of God, the love of God provided for us what? Heaven. Boy, that's a great thing. Knowing that we deserve hell and God grants us a better condition by giving us heaven because of his mercy and love toward those who would believe, I'm telling you, that's a great thing.

And if you keep that perspective, you realize that no matter what you get, it's okay because you really deserve hell and God gave you heaven. Boy, that's a great perspective. But they got into this framework. Well, they deserve better than this. The inexcusableness of their murmuring. The next thing what you see is the meanness of their murmuring. They were mean to Moses and Aaron. You want to murder us. You want to kill us. That wasn't true. That wasn't what they wanted to do. But people who murmur, listen, people who murmur because they believe they deserve something.

Will always come back with the fact that they have been treated unjustly or they have been treated unfairly. And the people they point to are Moses and Aaron, the leaders. You haven't treated us right. You want to kill us. They were mean toward them, angry toward them. But leads us to the next point, and that is the untruthfulness in their murmuring. Mark it down. When someone murmurs and complains, they never really, truly, wholly speak the truth. Would you please mark that down? Listen to what they say.

Would that we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full. Stop right there. That's not what happened. But see, that's how they want to remember it happening. They had forgotten that they were mistreated for 400 years in bondage. They had forgotten that they were forced to throw their first male babies into the Nile River to be drowned.

They forgot that they were treated unfairly by the taskmasters and beaten unmercifully. They had forgotten that the straw had been removed and they were forced to make bricks and make a quota that they couldn't make, and because they couldn't make it, they were beaten for it. See, that's the way it was in Egypt. But they say, you know, you took us from a place where we could sit by the pots of meat and we could eat any kind of bread we wanted and we were full. That's not true. See? And murmurs tend to exaggerate what really, truly takes place.

They they just shed light on certain aspects, but not the whole context of situations. Very important to understand that. Let me share with you another expression.

The carnalness of their murmuring. The carnalness of their murmuring. A murmur. Is not a spiritual person. He or she is a carnal person. How do you know that? Listen to what they say: Would that we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt. They were really pining away for Egypt, the wicked society, the place that treated them unjustly and unfairly. But you see, they wanted to go back to the place of the world. They didn't want to be in the place of the word. Following the cloud by day, following the pillar of fire by night.

Was a place the spiritual person wants to be. They want to be in the presence of God. They want to be with the people of God. They want to be following the will of God. That's what they want to do. But.

The murmurer, the grumbler, the complainer, the one who is carnal at heart wants not to be around those kind of things. You want to know why? Because they're too convicting. They're just too convicting. See? And they were carnal in their efforts. Psalm 106:1 says it this way: They quickly forgot his works. They did not wait for his counsel, but craved intensely in the wilderness and tempted God in the des. So he gave them their request, but sent a waste of disease among them, when they became envious of Moses in the camp, and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.

You see, the carnal man craves. Listen, the murmur craves the temporal, not the eternal. It was their lust. For the temporal that caused them to complain. All they could see was the present, and so they would begin to murmur. They couldn't see the overall plan of God. God had a plan. What was the plan? Take them to the promised land. That's where they were going. Take them to the land that God had set aside for them. That's their destiny. That's where they're going. But all they could see was the present and their turmoil in the present, and because they were so into their fleshly desires.

What they personally wanted, all they could do was complain immediately, quickly, because they did not seek the face of the Lord. That's the carnal person. Not the spiritual person. The next thing I want you to see is the fruitlessness of their murmuring. The fruitlessness of their murmuring. They had no solution to their problem. All they had was a complaint about their problem. They multiplied in their murmuring. They were not the kind of people that would say, you know what? God's got a plan. God's doing something great.

I mean, we've already seen what God did at the Red Sea, right? Oh, yeah, yeah, we did. And we already saw what God did when the waters were bitter and He made them sweet, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I remember what God did. So, if God can turn bitter water sweet, if God can remove the water completely and drown the enemy, if God can deliver our souls. From a place of great despondency. Just think what God can do now.

Man, this is great. God's going to work. Can't you wait to see Him work? That wasn't their attitude. See, that's a spiritual person. But the murmur and complainer, all they can think about is, woe is me. Things are bad for me. All they can see is me. As if the whole world was about them. But you must understand, it's a completely fruitless effort. It brings forth no fruit for the kingdom of God. The fruitlessness of murmuring, all it does is breed contempt. All it does is breed negativism. It doesn't do anything for the kingdom of God.

Which leads us to the next point, and that is the stubbornness of their murmuring. The root meaning of the Hebrew word means to show oneself obstinate or stubborn. They're rebels. They rebel against God. They rebel against the people of God. They rebel against the plan of God. Listen to this over in Numbers chapter 14. This is quite insightful. Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and all the people wept that night, and all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

And the whole congregation said to them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt? See, same old, woe is me, we should have died in Egypt. Or would that we had died in the wilderness? And why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt? So they said to one another, Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt. You know one thing about murmurers and complainers? They always want another leader because the one they have isn't good enough.

If Moses and Aaron aren't good enough, folks, we're in trouble. Right? After all their wilderness wanders, you Numbers 14, they're about to embark on the promised land, and everything looks fine and dandy, except the people there are giants. Okay? So I guess if God can part the Red Sea, he can't defeat the giant. I't know. I don know how they rationalized that in their own mind, but but they they just didn't think that they could embark on this land and win the victory because the people were too big.

See, that's the stubbornness of The murmur. They rebel against God's authority and God's ordained authority. But next, there's the faithlessness in their memory. They didn't believe what God said. But what about what God had already done and what God said he would do? You see, murmurers express a faithlessness in God, not a faithfulness to God. And Israel said, God can't heal the food problem. Sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it? But that's how we sound. We say, you know, God just can't handle this problem.

Really? He can save your soul from eternal judg. But he can't handle your little problem from day to day? Let's be honest here, folks. How does that sound? If God can raise him from the dead. If God can do anything He wants because He's God, He can't handle your situation, He can't handle your marriage issues, He can't handle your family issues, He can Can't handle your financial issues? Please don't take this the wrong way, but those really aren't big deals to God. They really aren't. But he handles them all because he's a gracious, loving, kind God who cares about every situation you face.

And he will handle it. But we've got to be faithful to his word and trust him through it. And then I want you to notice the selfishness in their murmuring.

It was all about their needs. They didn't care if they hurt the leadership. They didn't care if they dishonored God, which they did. They did dishonor the Lord. They didn't care about that. Because you see, the murmur is a very selfish person. He only cares about him or her. In Israel, they thought they were so important that it was all about them. Like I said last week. Think Moses and Aaron got hungry? Sure. Think Moses and Aaron got thirsty? Sure. Did Moses and Aaron face the same enemy they faced at the Red Sea?

Yes. Did Moses and Aaron complain? No. Why? They were walking with the Lord. They wanted to honor the Lord. They wanted to serve the Lord. Which leads us to the profaneness, the profaneness of their murmuring. Listen to this, verse number 7. In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, for he hears your grumblings against who? The Lord. Verse 8. And Moses said, this will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread to the full in the morning. For the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against.

Who? Him. Moses didn't say, the Lord hears your grumbling against me. He says he hears your grumbling against him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us, but against him. The Lord. Folks, this is the profaneness of grumbling because your grumbling is not against someone else. Your grumbling is not necessarily against the leader. Your grumbling truly at the heart is against the Lord God Almighty, the provider of all your needs. See that? And Moses knew that. Moses knew they were really grumbling against the Lord God, not against him.

Moses was just following the will of the Lord, he was just doing what God said. And so he knew that he wasn't at fault because he was obedient to the Lord. But he knew that because God was leading them, they were dissatisfied with where God was taking them. And they began to grumble against the Lord. Do you ever grumble against the weather? Got too much rain this past week. Whenever you grumble about the weather, you always grumble against who. Who controls the weather? God. Dallas Rains doesn't control the weather.

He can't even predict the weather properly. You know? It's God's in charge of the weather. God's in charge of everything. Amos 3:6 says, If calamity comes upon a city, it's the Lord who brought it. Think about that. If calamity comes upon a city, it is the Lord who brought the calamity. You see, you speak against God. You are really profaning the name of God. You are blaspheming the name of God by saying, God, what you have given to me is not good enough. The way you handle a situation, Lord, is not right.

You are wrong, God. That's at the heart of every sin, isn't it? It goes against God Himself. Which leads us to the next point, the witness of their murmurings. Who witnessed their murmurings? God did. Look at verse number 12.

I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel. See, God hears your grumblings. Don't think he doesn't hear. Don't think because you say it under your voice or you say it in your head, he doesn't hear it. He knows everything about you. The next time you want to gripe and bellyache and moan about someone or some individual to somebody else without that person present, remember God hears what you're saying. He knows. And it profanes the name of God. Which lead me to the last point, and that is the nastiness of grumbling.

The nastiness or the wickedness. Grum. Turn with me to Jude 16. Jude, that little epistle right before the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. Jude says this, verse 16. These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lust. They speak arrogantly, flattering people. For the sake of gaining an advantage. Why is it so bad? Jude 16 is the description of, listen, false teachers, apostates. And one of the key characteristics of an apostate is that they constantly grumble and murmur and also play the blame game and they speak arrogantly as if they know everything.

See that? That's why it's so nasty. That's why the Bible says in Ephesians 4:2, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good to the use of edifying the listener.

That 's it. No other word but that word. None. That's the way we should be. That's how Israel expressed their murmurings. And that's sad. I read that and I think, wow, man, that is just so heartbreaking that they would have that kind of attitude. And then I think of me. And I think of you, and I think of us, and I think of the church, and realize that in the Bible there are so many exhortations. Don't complain, don't grumble, don't do that. Why? It's wicked. And as the people of God, as the children of God, don't we want to prove ourselves as blameless, innocent children of God in a crooked and perverse generation, that we can appear to them as lights in the world, show them the way that God is in charge.

God rules over all. We believe in him. We praise him and accept him and glorify his name. That's the way we need to be To be, right? Absolutely. Jesus died for that sin like He died for all the other sins, right? We can rejoice in the fact that God died for every sin that we would ever commit because that's the kind of God He is. We can rejoice in that. Let's pray together.