Bread from Heaven

Big Idea

Tension: How does God treat Israel when Israel rejects God by rejecting his provision, his servants, his commands, and his Sabbath?

Resolution: God preemptively shows them grace.

Exegetical Idea: When Israel rejects God by rejecting his provision, his servants, his commands, and his Sabbath, God preemptively shows them his grace.

Theological Idea: Though man rejects God, God gives man grace in Christ.

Homiletical Idea: When we reject God, God reconciles us through Christ.

Introduction: Rejection

When we get rejected, we tend to react harshly. But God reacts differently.

Man’s Rejection of God

Exposition: Background

Background: Explain how Israel got here.

Scene 1: Bitter Water (Inciting Incident) (Rejecting God’s provision) (15:22-26): The Israelite’s rebellion was not in asking for sweet water, rather, God was testing them to expose their attitude. God brought them into the desert with the purpose of Israel serving Him. But they came into the desert expecting that God would serve them.

Scene 2: Bread from heaven (Rising Action) (Rejecting God’s Servants) (16:1-8): Moses here, while promising Israel that they will receive bread from heaven warns them. When we grumble against God’s leaders, we are really grumbling against God, becaus God put them into place. (Illustration: Clement)

Scene 3: Disobedience (Rejecting God’s command) (16:9-21): God does what he promises, but he expects that Israel will only gather waht they need for each day. THis was to train them to be dependent on him day by day and to train them to trust him. However, they disobey him, and thus reject his command. When we reject God’s word, we are rejecting his person. When we do something we know to be sinful (holding grudges, gossipping, lying) we are not merely breaking the law, we are rejecting God.

Scene 4: Sabbath Violation (Climax) (Rejecting God’s Sabbath) (16:22-30): God gave them a Sabbath to celebrate him. however, the people show that they would rather have God’s gifts than God himself. The Sabbath was meant to be a time for God’s people to commune with him, rather, they show their disregard for God by rejecting his Sabbath. However, partaking of the Sabbath without committing it to God is just as sinful. The Sabbath is dedicated to God first and foremost.

Big Idea Reveal

When man rejects all of God, God gives man all of Himself through Christ.

God Gives Man Grace

Water of Life: God gives grace in making bitter water sweet. This is much the same as what God will do in the New Testament ().

John 4:7–14 ESV

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Bread from Heaven: God also brings down ravens and bread from heaven. He provides food from above for the people. THis is ultimately a foreshadowing

Bread from Heaven: God also brings down ravens and bread from heaven. He provides food from above for the people. THis is ultimately a foreshadowing of how God gives his Son as teh bread ()

John 6:32–35 ESV

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

LORD: This name that is used consistently thorughout this passage is the covenant name LORD. It is meant to be God’s covenant name that he gives his people. He will never abandon nor neglect his people.

LORD: This name that is used consistently thorughout this passage is the covenant name LORD. It is meant to be God’s covenant name that he gives his people. He will never abandon nor neglect his people.

The Healer

The Healer: In this passage, we hear that God is the Healer. Now, this is interesting, because this is almost an aside, and I think it is an absolutely essential part of understanding this passage. Almost always in the Old Testament the idea of “healing” is connected to healing us from our forgiveness of sins. And the way that this hapepns, is that God takes our sin-sickness on himself (; ).

Isaiah 53:5 ESV

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

1 Peter 2:24 ESV

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Isaiah 53:5 ESV

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

The Sabbath: The gift of the Sabbath. God gives us the gift of hte Sabbath to enjoy him. In the Bible, it is impossible to rest without resting in God. In the new Testament, this idea of Sabbath is taken to a new level, because it says that we get to “rest” in Christ ().

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

God’s Glory: Finally, we see in this passage, that God repeatedly shows Israel his glory. God wants Israel to see that he alone is worthy. That he alone is deserving of their praise and their admiration. And God has no greater glory than Christ ().

Scene 5: Manna Memorial (Falling Action & Denouement)

God gives them a ritual to remember what he has them do, this is why God has them save some of the Manna (32-36). THe whole point of this is that they would remember what God has done, that they would remember that God has rescued and redeemed them from every evil and eveyr trial.

This keeps them from legalism: By remembering everything that God has done for them, they ought to avoid legalism. They ought to remember that everything they have ever had is from grace.

This keeps them from license: Yet, this is no excuse. For by remembering what God has done for us, by remembering and seeing and savoring the gospel of Jesus Christ, we ought to change our ways. By remembering GOd’s grace, we run to repentance.