Miracles in the Desert Daily Droplets
In Exodus 16, we see one of the most incredible miracles to happen in the pages of the Old Testament. The Israelites have only recently been released from Egyptian captivity. Two chapters prior, God, through Moses, parts the Red Sea so that they can escape the pursuing Egyptians. In chapter 15, they sing a song of rejoicing and praise to the God who performed incredible miracles and released them from slavery. At the end of chapter 15, God again provides for his people. They had not had water for 3 days, and there was no water to be found. God tells Moses to throw a log into the bitter waters at Marah, which makes the water sweet and drinkable.
This leads us to chapter 16. A new land, a new complaint. In verse 3, the people say to Moses and Aaron, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Their logic makes no sense. They’re essentially saying that the worst case scenario in the wilderness is the best case scenario in Egyptian captivity, yet, they’d prefer the latter. Then, they start complaining as children do, “I’m starving! I’m so hungry I could die!” They forgot the Lord has always provided for them. Could he not provide for them again?
Of course, we know he does. In the following verses (4-35), the Lord provides quail in the evening and rains bread from heaven, manna, for them every morning except for the Sabbath. He gives specific instructions on what to do with this food, and for 40 years, he provides this to them. In this passage, the Israelites learned two lessons:
- The Lord hears. He didn’t owe an explanation or proof to them, as if he hadn’t already proved enough to them. Regardless, he still listened to what they had to say, and he responded. He has been, was, and would be there for His people.
- The Lord provides. Just as he had provided them with an escape, redeeming them from slavery to the Egyptians; just as he provided them with sweet water in Marah, he would, again, provide for them, this time with food. Up to this point, throughout the Scriptures, and now long after the completion of the Word, God provides.
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Jesus tells the people, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (6:27). The people are intrigued, asking what works he would perform so that they might believe in Him, as Moses provided manna in the wildreness. Much like the Israelites forgot about the parting of the Red Sea and the bitter-to-sweet water, the crowd must’ve forgotten Jesus just fed 5,000 people with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish.
Jesus then compares himself to the miracle in Ex. 16, saying, “…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… I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (v. 32-33, 35). He later says that he is the true bread of life; those who ate the manna in the wilderness died, but partaking of him would lead to eternal life (v.49-50). He proceeds to teach the crowd that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood.
“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me” (v. 56-57). This teaching was a tough pill to swallow, as even some of his disciples left him. One day, they all would understand. In the next couple of years, they would witness the Lord’s flesh being torn apart and his blood being spilt as he died for the sins of the world. That was what He was referring to.
If a miracle is defined as an event, not explicable by natural or scientific laws, then, yes, God provided a miracle in the desert, but the greatest miracle to ever occur was when Jesus was sent down from Heaven to redeem the world. Still, no one has been able to fully explain why God, why Christ did what he did. That, by definition is a miracle, that Jesus, through love, became our bread of heaven, that any who partake of him should not die, but have everlasting life. Just as God provided for the Israelites, he now provides for the whole world, that any who partake of him might receive eternal life. He has provided us with grace, mercy and life; a gift that cannot begin to be deserved.
–Jared McLeod
