The New Provider

The Complaint in the Wilderness

One of the things which, to me, makes the story of the Exodus most interesting is that it’s a story not only of God’s amazing love and power as He rescues His people from slavery, but a story of how those people proved again and again to be ungrateful and perhaps even unworthy of that love. And yet, again and again God shows that despite their rejection of Him, despite that apparent unworthiness, He has promised great things to His people and He will be faithful to that promise.

In today’s reading from Exodus we pick up as the Israelites raise complaints about a lack of food in the desert, turning on Moses and complaining that he has taken them from Egypt, where they may have been slaves but at least were fed, in order to starve to death.

The Israelites were not physically hungry: their lack of faith displayed a spiritual void which also needed to be fulfilled.

Meanwhile in the Gospel reading, we see Christ provide a vast crowd of five thousand men plus women and children with food, not because they complained but because He saw a need.

So let’s look at these two stories and examine their relevance to us today, as we explore Matthew’s account of Christ the New Moses in his role as Provider.

Provision for a Faithless people

First, let’s consider the story of Moses. We see here that in response to the Israelites complaints and acccusations, God’s response is not one of condemnation for their lack of faith. Rather He acknowledges that He has heard their complaining, and in response He promises them food - meat in the evening and bread in the morning.

And He delivers just that: in the evenings quail cover the camp and, presumably, the Israelites kill and harvest them. In the mornings, they are provided with a flaky bread substance that forms on the ground - a substance known as “manna”, from the Hebrew word for “what is it?” And the Lord commands them to harvest enough manna to cover the needs of all. So that all are fed.

And it seems there are two lessons here: the first is that God is faithful to His promises, even when we lack faith. Because He didn’t abandon His people simply because they tried to abandon Him. No, He provided and He reminded them of why they were following Him in the first place.

And the second, which is so important, is a lesson in sufficiency. Notice the command: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs.” And the Israelites gathered, and they found that whether they’d gathered little or much, they had exactly as much as was needed for their households.

Exactly as much as was needed.

And each day they were again provided with as much as was needed.

The principal at work here is very clear: that instead of seeking gain and gathering much, rather than worry about how to afford luxuries and stressing over how we’ll keep up with the next big thing, God calls us to “just enough”. When we pray “give us this day our daily bread”, we should trust that God will provide it just as He provided for the Israelites.

And that might not mean literal bread: there’s a wider point here which is that God knows our needs and will provide for them, whether that’s in terms of physical desires or whether it’s the deep spiritual need that we all have to be reconciled with our creator. And of course ultimately He did provide for our salvation, even when we might have done our best to reject him.

Provision From Compassion

Moving to the gospel reading, we see a new crowd in a new wilderness with a new provider.

But notice that this time there is no complaining, and no rejection. Rather, the crowd comes to the saviour and on seeing them “he had compassion for them and cured their sick.”

No demands.

No complaints.

The Lord recognised a need, and He provided.

And then, as time goes on, the disciples come to him to suggest that there is a problem: like the Israelites of Moses’s time, they are in the desert with no food. But whereas the Israelites complained to the Lord’s messenger that that they should have stayed in Egypt and expressing a desire to return, this time it is the disciples telling the Lord, “send them away, so that they can buy themselves food.”

And look how the Lord replies: “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

“You give them something to eat.”

Notice that whereas Moses was simply the messenger to announce food that would be provided by God, here the Lord invited his followers to actively be a part of the provision.

“you give them something to eat.”

And when the disciples say they have nothing but five loaves and two fishes - notice that parallel by the way, just as the Israelites were given meat and bread in the form of quail and manna, here Christ provides them in the form of fish and loaves - He takes that meat and bread and he blesses it and he has the disciples distribute it.

Where the Israelites were sent to gather, here the crowd sits and receives.

And they recieve in abundance - their hunger is filled and there is food left over.

And friends, just as the Lord invited his disciples to feed the crowd, just as he invited them to actively take part in this miraculous provision, so to does he invite us now to be a part of his provision to the world. He calls us to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked and to shelter the homeless and to heal the sick.

And he calls us also to provide spiritual provision, when we go into the world and spread the gospel.

And just as through the disciples Christ fed the crowd, so too through us does he provide to people today.

From Sufficiency to Superabundance

Finally, notice the core contrast in these two providers.

In the days of Moses, the Israelites were provided with “just enough”.

No matter how much they gathered, they found they had food sufficient for the day.

But in the time of Christ, after more than five thousand people were fed to their satisfaction there was so much food left over it filled twelve baskets.

Twelve baskets for twelve apostles.

The gospel doesn’t go into detail on how the Apostles distributed the food, but if they each had a basket to hand out then the message here is that no matter how much they distributed they still had a full basket!

And those twelve apostles had before them a visible sign that in Christ there is not, “just enough” but rather “more than enough.”

Christ fulfills the needs of those to whom he provides, with enough left over for others.

Christ lavishes abundantly.

So when we take His commands seriously, we go to provide to others knowing that what Christ gives us to provide is more than sufficient.

Most importantly his grace is more than enough for us and for others.

He feeds our spiritual hunger, filling us up and equipping us blessed to invite others to come to him also and be filled.

Equipping us to bless others.

Reminding us that he sees, and he has compassion.

So what is our hunger?

These ancient stories are not merely historical accounts of miracles. They’re concrete reminders to us to live into God’s provision.

So ask yourself, what wilderness do you find yourself in?

What leads you to grumble and complain?

Where is God in His compassion hearing and providing?

Or, where is God calling you to show His compassion by providing to others?

Because the message God is speaking to us today is not just that He provides, but that in Christ He provides in ways we cannot imagine.

He provides in ways that leave us with more than we started.

And just as the apostles had only a few loaves and fish which Christ transformed into food for all, so too can we bring whatever small gifts we have, knowing that they are sufficient for the abundant work the Lord will put them to.