TITLE: FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS
TEXT: EXODUS 16:16-36
INTRODUCTION:
- We’re continuing our study through the book of Exodus.
- Last time we were together, we looked at God’s Provision.
- We saw that God listens when we complain, God supplies better than we deserve, and God provides Salvation.
- The Israelites learned this firsthand when they started to complain because they wanted food.
- God heard their complaints and gave them manna to eat in the morning and quail to eat in the evening.
- However, God did provide instructions along with these wonderful blessings, and that’s what we’re going to look at today…the instructions God provided to His people.
- I’m reminded of some of the types of tests I had to take when I was a young man in School.
- Some tests had multiple choice answers.
- Others had fill in the blank spaces.
- Others asked a question and wanted you to write out a full sentence or sentences for your answer.
- And of course, there were several other types.
- One of the things I remember about those tests, though, was our teachers always telling us to take the time to read the directions before answering the questions.
- The reason was because some questions asked for you to do more than others.
- I’m reminded of some of the math tests where I wrote out full math equations and did he work to solve the problem, and later realized that the instructions said only to write what the equation was supposed to written like, not actually go through and solve it.
- Obviously, I wasted a lot of time doing steps that I wasn’t supposed to, all because I didn’t follow the instructions.
- Or there were the English tests that instructed you to answer the question, but then added, “Explain why” to the instructions.
- I don’t know how many tests I only got half credit on because I didn’t explain how or why I got my answer.
- We’re taught at an early age to follow the instructions given to us, and the Israelites were no exception.
- Of course, while they were still slaves in Egypt, they were forced to follow the instructions, or they’d be punished.
- Now that they’re in the wilderness, God is going to be providing instructions to them all the time, but some of them weren’t too good at following instructions.
- We’re going to see that today in this passage.
- So, let’s look at 3 instructions that God gave the Israelites, and see how they did with following those instructions.
FIRST POINT: ISRAEL WAS INSTRUCTED TO TAKE ONLY WHAT THEY NEEDED- VS 16-21
- I love food a lot!
- Unfortunately, sometimes when I’m hungry, I eat with my eyes instead of my stomach.
- So even if I’m only slightly hungry, I’ll still get a lot of food.
- Of course, I know this is bad for me, so I’ve been learning about portion control from my wonderful wife Sherri.
- I guess one of the problems I have is that I eat fast, because I was taught to eat fast in the Army, and I just can’t break that habit.
- So I’ll shovel all my food down, but then I have an empty plate in front of me while everyone else still has food on their plates…so I put more food on my plate and keep eating.
- Anyways, Sherri’s been telling me, “You don’t have to go on a diet where you eat nothing but healthy food and avoid all meat and sweets. You have to learn to take only the amount you need to satisfy your hunger.”
- That’s not easy for me because I love food, but Sherri’s been doing a great job putting a reasonable portion of food on my plate instead of letting me serve myself…when I serve myself, I just pile it all on top of itself until I have a mountain of food in front of me!
- It’s really-easy to gain weight if you eat that way!
- Anyways, I love that my wife Sherri is willing to keep stressing to me, “Take only what you need!”
- She might have to keep repeating herself, but I’m grateful she does because if she didn’t, my preacher’s belly would just be getting bigger and bigger each week!
- So, I’m learning to have self-control with my eating habits, which has been beneficial to me in many ways.
- Here in Exodus 16, we see God doing something similar with the Israelites…
- He instructs them to take only what they need for food…not more, not less…
- In vs 16, God tells them exactly what that portion should be…one omer per person.
- An omer was approximately two quarts.
- Each person was supposed to go out and gather it for themselves, but if an elderly or disabled person was unable to, then someone in their family was supposed to gather it for them.
- So, the Israelites obeyed and went out to gather…
- According to vs 18, those who followed God’s instructions and collected an omer per person had enough for each person.
- So why only an omer?
- Wouldn’t some people need to eat more food than others?
- I believe this had to do with God ensuring they all maintained a healthy, balanced diet.
- Remember, the manna was angel’s food, so there’s no nutritional information we can gather about it, but I’m pretty sure it was extremely nutritional.
- After all, it had to give them enough strength and energy to survive walking in the wilderness and carrying their belongings.
- And the great thing about it was that an omer, 2 quarts, was the perfect amount for every person…
- It was enough to satisfy the appetites of the young and old, skinny and obese, men and women…
- I believe that shows us God had 2 parts to this miracle…making the manna appear every day and making an ‘omer’ be enough of a portion for each person every day.
- I believe that’s part of the reason in vs 19, Moses tells the people not to leave any of the manna until the morning…
- That meant not gathering more than an omer for yourself, and also not trying to save any of your portion for the next day.
- By doing this, it would leave no doubt in their minds that God was taking care of them by providing manna every day, and also was keeping them healthy and giving them strength every day.
- So, God was very clear what He expected of them, and yet in vs 20, we see that some of the people didn’t listen to what Moses said, and decided to keep some leftovers for the next day.
- I don’t know if they were trying to be lazy, so they didn’t have to go out the next day and gather more…
- Or perhaps it was a lack of faith that God would send more manna in the morning…
- Or maybe they just didn’t want to be told what to do…
- I’m not sure exactly what their motivations were, but it’s clear that many of them decided to disobey God and keep some for the next day.
- Because of that, God caused the leftover manna to spoil, with worms and a horrible stench…
- I don’t know about you, but I think moldy bread is gross, and I think maggots are even more disgusting!
- It’s certainly not something you want to wake up to in the morning, when you’re hungry and thinking about breakfast…I’m pretty sure I’d lose my appetite!
- Obviously, the bread spoiled because of their disobedience, and I think it’s a picture of what their disobedience against God looks like…
- It’s gross, it stinks, it has no place in their camp, and it’s good for absolutely nothing!
- And I think that’s how Moses viewed it as well, which we see at the end of vs 20 which says he was angry with them.
- God gave such simple instructions, and yet they were choosing to be difficult, and unfortunately, that would become a pattern for many of them.
- Vs 21 tells us that when the sun became hot, the manna melted…
- That’s because it was sent by God, which made it good, but it wasn’t permanent, and it wasn’t perfect like God…
- The people needed to understand that the manna itself was nothing special…it came and went…
- But it was the One who sent it, God Almighty, their Great God, who was providing for them, and He doesn’t come and go…
- He was their God, and would continue to be, just like He promised in His Covenant to their father Abraham.
- So, what about us today as Christians?
- Does God instruct us about our needs?
- Yes…Philippians 4:19 is a Scripture most of you probably know already; my mom used to quote it all the time when I was a kid. (turn there…draw arrow?)
- “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
- Prosperity preachers would tell you that verse means God will give you all the riches you want…a new car, a million dollars, a mansion…whatever you want!
- Give me a break! That’s a false view of God.
- To understand this verse, you have to go back to vs 11 to 13 of the same chapter…
- Philippians 4:11-13 says, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
- So, brothers and sisters, sometimes we’ll have a lot of needs, and sometimes we won’t have any…
- Sometimes our needs will be overwhelming…sometimes they won’t…
- No matter what our needs are, you and I must follow Paul’s example here, and be content whatever the circumstances.
- Why?
- Because God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory.
- It’s important to remember that little word “all” …not “some” …not “only one or two” …
- No, He will supply all our needs!
- But what about those times when we’re like the Israelites here, and we don’t believe what God says?
- What about those times when we want to try to take care of our needs on our own, outside of Christ?
- We must remember the other thing Paul says, back in vs 13…
- “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
- Once again, there’s that word all!
- Not “I can only do “some” things through Christ” …
- Not “I can’t do anything through Christ…”
- No…it says “I can do all things through Christ.
- All things, when our needs are many and seem overwhelming…
- All things, when our needs are few…
- We can do all through Him because He is all we need.
SECOND POINT: ISRAEL WAS INSTRUCTED TO TAKE TIME TO REST- VS 22-31
- When I deployed to Iraq, my unit was among the last units that were part of the Surge, so we went over there with orders to deploy for 15 months.
- Obviously, 15 months is a long time to be away from home!
- But that’s what we had to do at the time because there weren’t enough people joining the military, and the war in Iraq was still going on.
- Thankfully, over the years, the military learned the importance of giving their warfighters a break every now and then.
- So, all of us got to take a 2 ½ week leave to come back to the US or go somewhere else in the world on a vacation, just to get away from the war and get some rest.
- It’s not much time, but at least they gave us some time…
- But there was more…
- If you were over there for so long, you’d also be allowed to take a 4-day pass to either Qatar or Kuwait.
- So, I went to Qatar where we stayed on an Air Force base in these tents that were set up in a huge air-conditioned warehouse.
- While there, there were all sorts of things we could do…
- We could sleep the entire 4 days if that’s what we wanted to do.
- We could go to the MWR and watch movies or play video games all day…
- We could go off base to the mall or the beach, but we had to go in groups.
- So, I remember going to the mall…
- While there, I got some Chinese food because obviously you can’t get Chinese food in a war zone, but you can get it in Qatar!
- The mall had a huge inside skating rink and a man-made river where you could go around in a gondola.
- So, my time there definitely was relaxing, and I had plenty of time to just rest.
- Rest is important, and that’s something God wanted the Israelites to remember, so that’s what we see here as He reminds them of the Sabbath and the importance of taking a day of rest.
- Vs 22 tells us they gathered twice as much on the sixth day, two omers per person.
- It’s important not to miss that…
- Remember, every day they gathered one omer per person, and if they gathered more or if they left some over for the next day, the extra amount would spoil.
- Those who didn’t believe God already found that out the hard way.
- Yet on the sixth day, it was different…
- They were instructed to gather twice as much for each person.
- Think about the faith it took to make that move for the first time.
- They’ve already smelled the stench of spoiled bread from those who gathered extra when they weren’t supposed to.
- So, they know God is serious about obedience.
- Yet now, He’s telling them to gather twice as much on the sixth day.
- Maybe that’s why it says the rulers of the congregation go to Moses to tell him that they’ve done it…
- “Twice as much, are you sure Moses?”
- I believe this was another way for God to teach the Israelites to depend on Him.
- By having them gather twice as much, they would have to trust Him to miraculously keep the second omer fresh and keep it from spoiling, especially in the heat of the day when it normally would melt away.
- It was a way for the people to be aware that at every moment of every day, God was taking care of them and watching over them.
- It’s important for us as Christians to remember that, as well.
- In vs 23, Moses explains why God wanted the Israelites to gather twice as much on the sixth day…
- It was because the seventh day would be a day of rest, the Holy Sabbath.
- What’s interesting about the mention of the Sabbath here is that it’s the first time it has appeared…
- Before this, the Jewish people knew that God rested on the 7th day of Creation, because their ancestors would have passed that information down to them…
- However, it isn’t until here that they were actually told by God to observe a day of rest.
- Basically, God wanted them to know without a shadow of a doubt that they were His people, and He was their God.
- Taking the day of rest would give them time to be thankful for God’s provision, since they would already have the seventh day’s manna from the day before…
- It would also give them time to be thankful for God’s work of deliverance…
- After all, for over 200 years, they had been slaves in Egypt, where they worked countless hours with no days off…
- Now, they can rest, and be thankful for the time to rest, given by God.
- It would also give them time to renew their physical strength and be reminded that God was giving them the strength they needed for their journey in the wilderness.
- They would also have time to spend with their families, and worship God together as a family.
- So, the Sabbath was a good thing, and it would become very important to the Israelites as they grew as a nation and as they established themselves in the Promised Land.
- At this point, you’d think that the people would finally believe and obey God and His Word.
- Sadly, that’s not the case.
- God’s instructions were so simple…gather twice as much on the sixth day, and on the seventh, just rest!
- Yet in vs 27, we see that there were still those among the Israelites that went out on the seventh day to gather manna!
- That’s because they doubted God’s Word and they doubted their leader, Moses.
- There was no reason for them to doubt because God had already showed them time after time again that He keeps His Word.
- But those who went out were stubborn and had little faith.
- That’s why in vs 28, God’s response is very direct and to the point…
- “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?”
- Obviously, God wanted His people to take the Sabbath seriously.
- Unfortunately, over the years, they began to get stricter and stricter in their observance of the Sabbath.
- For example, Rabbinical tradition says that no Israelite shall go more than 2000 yards from the place of his abode…they called it the Sabbath journey.
- That’s only a short distance when you’re talking about an entire day!
- Then, there were those that took the Sabbath so seriously that whatever posture they found themselves in when they woke up, they would stay in for the rest of the Sabbath.
- Some of them believed that if they fell, they couldn’t pick themselves back up until the Sabbath was over.
- One Rabbi named Solomon took the Sabbath so seriously that one day, when he fell into a swamp on the Sabbath, he refused to pull himself out or allow someone else to pull him out.
- When a group of Christians attempted to help him, he said to them, “Out of this swamp I will not rise, for holy Sabbath day I prize.”
- When Jesus came, He addressed this problem with the Pharisees, who added a whole bunch of rules to the Sabbath…
- He told them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
- So, their problem was that they were worshipping the Sabbath, but they weren’t supposed to…they were supposed to be worshipping the Lord God who gave them the Sabbath.
- So, what about us as Christians?
- Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered God’s rest has himself also ceased from his own works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”
- If you’re here today and you’re a Christian, think back to the day you became a Christian.
- On the day Jesus saved you, you realized that your own good works weren’t going to get you to Heaven, no matter how much you tried to work your way there…
- You realized that your works were like filthy rags and would not save you.
- But when you gave your life to Jesus Christ, trusting Him as your Lord and Savior, you received His rest.
- Now, as we live our lives for Him, we do work, but not for salvation…
- We work for Him because we love Him and want to serve Him, even when it’s really difficult!
- We have eternal rest in Christ because He paid the penalty for our sin when He died on the Cross and rose from the grave on the Third Day.
- We rest in Jesus.
- What about those who aren’t Christians?
- Well, one of my favorite Bible passages is found in the book of Matthew 11, where Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened and I will give you rest! Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
- So you can bring all your burdens to Jesus, no matter how heavy they are, and He will take them from you, and give you rest, through His Salvation.
- You’ll still face tough times as a Christian, but Jesus will be with you through them.
- Make that decision today to turn to Jesus and receive His rest!
THIRD POINT: ISRAEL WAS INSTRUCTED TO TAKE TIME TO REMEMBER- VS 32-36
- My father’s first Bible was a Ryrie Study Bible.
- He wrote notes in it, highlighted passages, and underlined verses.
- When he got a new Bible, he gave that one to my mother, and she did the same thing.
- Sermon notes, thoughts, highlights, outlines…
- Eventually, my mother got a new Bible, and she gave me that one.
- I put some of my own notes in it and used it for many years.
- One day we went to a Don Francisco concert and he signed that Bible for me and included his favorite Bible verse.
- I still have that Bible today, and I sometimes look in it to see the notes my parents wrote and their favorite Bible passages.
- It’s special to me, and I’m glad I have it because it helps me remember my childhood and how much I love my parents.
- Here in these final verses of Chapter 16, we see something similar being used for the same purpose…
- God instructs Moses to save some of the manna so that future generations could see it and when they looked at it, they would remember God’s provision for His people in the wilderness.
- The reason God instructed for this to happen was because God would only be supplying manna for His people while they were wandering in the wilderness…
- Once they were settled in the Promised Land, they would no longer need it, so with this manna set aside, every time they saw it, they would remember God’s provision.
- Why is that important?
- It’s because they would remember the spiritual lessons God taught their fathers in the wilderness…
- Lessons like trust in the Lord, or believe in His mercy and His willingness to provide for His people…
- These lessons would be beneficial to every generation of Jews, not just this generation that is coming out of Egypt.
- Eventually, the manna would be placed in the ark of the Covenant, along with the budded rod of Aaron and the 2 tablets of stone with the 10 Commandments written on them.
- At this point, since there was no Tabernacle built yet, and no ark of the Covenant yet, the manna was probably placed wherever they had their public worship.
- Anyways, it’s clear from these verses that God wanted His people to take time to remember and never forget what He’d done for them.
- What about us today as Christians?
- I believe it’s important for us to take time to remember what God’s done in our lives.
- Our testimonies should be worn like a badge of honor and we should be excited to tell people about the day we met Jesus.
- We can think back and remember what He saved us from, and tell people, “He’ll save you too, if you want Him to.”
- I believe it’s also important for us to look back at the things God has done in our lives…
- The blessings He’s given us, the troubles that He’s used to help us grow in our walk with the Lord, the times He’s answered our prayers in a special way…
- There are so many reasons to take the time to remember what God has done for you.
- I believe it helps us fall more in love with the Lord because it shows that He’s very active in our lives and that He does care about us.
- It shows others the changes God can make in a person’s life, even the worst of sinners!
- Scripture encourages us to remember.
- Psalm 9:1 says, “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds!”
- Psalm 77:11 says, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes I will remember your miracles of long ago!”
- Taking the time to remember is so important and it truly is for our benefit.
- For example, once a month, we take the Lord’s Supper together.
- When Jesus did this with His disciples, He said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”
- That’s what we do when we take Communion…we remember His sacrifice, as His body was broken, and His blood was spilt for the sin of the world.
- We remember, and it’s a special time as we do it together, as a Church family.
- I would encourage you today, if you don’t take the time to look back in your life at what God has done, start doing it today.
- It’s a wonderful thing, and it will benefit you immensely, especially if you feel like you’re stuck in a rut with your spiritual life.
- In closing, I’d like to bring our focus directly to our Lord Jesus Christ.
- He loves the world so much that He gave His life on the cross, in order to pay the penalty for the sin of the world.
- The Bible says the wages of sin is death, which we deserve because of sin, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord!
- That gift is only available because of His sacrifice on the Cross.
- Thankfully, He didn’t stay dead, but after 3 days, He rose again as He defeated death and He won the victory for you and me.
- If you’ve never given your life to Jesus, I would encourage you to do so today.
- Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, turn to Him, and receive His gift of eternal life.
- If you’re going to do that today, please see me afterwards so you can take the next steps in your new walk with the Lord.
- Let’s pray.
