Exodus 16.2-15 Manna in the wilderness

I haven’t written a sermon in a couple of weeks. Some of you may have noticed this. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write a sermon or haven’t read the passages. I just haven’t had a sermon. No divine inspiration that amounted to more than a few pages of gibberish that I would be too embarrassed to publish. Some of you might want to see it anyway. Too bad. They were not publishable for a variety of reasons.

This week. Might be something different. I’ll only know after I finish it.

I am choosing the passage from Exodus today because it is speaking to me. The Lord hears our complaining. First of all, that’s important. What are you complaining about? Is it something you actually need to complain about? Meaning, is it something that requires change or is it just your personal preference?

I often wonder what would happen if the Israelites hadn’t complained. Were they actually hungry and thirsty or did they just think they were? I have battled my weight ever since I was a teenager. I eat not because I’m hungry but because I like to eat. I like the physical sensation on my tongue. I like the comfort warm food brings. I often like preparing food, especially baking (this is problematic. I make incredibly delicious baked goods). I don’t eat most of the time because I am hungry but because I want to. It’s habit.

This personalization makes me wonder if the Israelites in the desert were actually hungry or maybe they were just bored and dreaming about the food they used to eat. I find it hard to believe that God would let them just die of dehydration and malnutrition. He created human beings. He placed them in a garden of wonderful things to eat. He knows what they need to survive. I find it hard to believe he would just let them die.

I also find it hard to believe that he would let them die unless they specifically asked for food. Historians and theologians will argue this point. They will say that God wants us to ask Them for things. I don’t really think this is true, particularly in regard to basic life necessities. I firmly believe that God gives us what we need without us asking for it. As for the things we want… now that’s another story.

I do believe God wants us to ask for the things we want that we don’t need. Through asking we are forced to actually think about our wants and in the asking process hopefully clarify that they are not necessity, we just want them. Why? Because the most important thing about God is that God knows we want Them in our life! God already knows we need Them, that is without question. I don’t know how human could ever survive without God.

We just aren’t designed well for survival. We have no fur. We’re soft and squishy. We make poor decisions, usually emotional, not logical. We are terrible at following directions. And, most importantly, we aren’t good at recognizing danger. We see danger where there is none and are terrified of things that can actually help us. Poorly designed in my opinion. Not to mention hair that grows long, gets tangled, needs constant cleaning, and gets in our eyes so we can’t see. I could go on but I won’t.

We need God to survive therefore, God wants us to want Them in our life not just need us.

The Israelites dreamed of pots of meat and bread. And so, God sent them bread in the morning and quail at night. Got gave them what they asked for: bread and meat. Not in the order they asked for, not in the way they thought, but God gave the Israelites what they asked for.

I think this happens a lot nowadays too. We have this idea in our heads of what we want but when it comes out, that isn’t what we ask for. We generalize. The Israelites dreamt of lamb stew with potatoes, and carrots, or whatever they put in their stew. They dreamed of fresh baked yeasty, warm, buttery bread. They asked for “Meat and bread.” Wish granted.

I am a therapist. I work a lot with people who have communication challenges. The most common problem in relationships is a failure to communicate. One person says “I want you to help me more around the house.” The other person does things that they deem helpful around the house: they unpack groceries from their bags and leave them in a pile on the table, they throw a load of random clothes into the washing machine that aren’t sorted in any capacity or run on a particular cycle, they toss dishes in the dishwasher in a pattern that looks like it was done from three feet of away, or my personal favorite they “stay out of the way.” At any rate, they believe they are now “helping more around the house” but from their partner’s perspective, they are deliberately making their life more difficult.

By not asking for what they were actually thinking, they are not seeing when they are not receiving what they asked for. I think this happens a lot with God too. We don’t ask for what we actually want or we ask for something that doesn’t produce the outcome we are expecting to see and because we don’t see what we are thinking we assume we have not been heard. This is a whole different sermon on people who don’t think they are being heard unless the person actually does exactly what they want.

If we want something specific, we have to ask for something specific. If we want to make sure that the outcome is what we are wanting we have to stop telling God how to make it happen and instead trust that God knows how to make it happen better than we do.

The Israelites needed to ask God for something delicious to eat or, they needed to ask God to relieve their boredom (I wouldn’t recommend this as getting chased by a rabid wild animal would definitely relieve boredom but probably not in the way you had anticipated). We have to understand ourselves and what our actual problem is. I don’t think the Israelites were hungry. I think they were bored. I think they were scared. I think they were doubting. I think they felt like they had no control over their lives or their situation. I think they realized the had asked for freedom but hadn’t thought about the consequences of what that freedom meant.

When we ask God for the things we want, we need to think about them. We need to understand what our actual motivation is. God is going to give us what we need but if we don’t know what we need we might not recognize it. When manna fell from the heavens, the Israelites saw it and said to one another, “What is it?” Moses had to explain to them how their prayers had been answered. They weren’t expecting whatever manna is to fall from the sky, they were expecting warm yeasty bread, a pot full of stew, a warm fire… a pot. They were longing for the comforts of stable housing.

When we ask for things in our earthly relationships, the same principles hold. Details are key. Understanding what it is we are asking for and why leads to better communication. We need to understand what we expect the outcome to be and what we’re asking for might not be the same thing. “I want you to spend more time with me” can easily be interpreted as sitting and watching tv together. Being home but not being present. “I want you to talk with me.” About what? When? To what end? If its emotional connection with another, you are seeking talking is not always the answer. Emotional connection has many facets and is not experienced the same way by all people. You need to understand what it is you are asking for before you can ask for how you want it to be given.

God wants a relationship with us that is voluntary, not obligatory, just as the people in your life do. That requires mutual understanding of each other’s needs, wants, desires, and preferences. If I tell you I’m hungry and you throw broccoli at me, I might not be happy. If I tell you I want help getting ready for a dinner party and you go outside and start cleaning the gutters, I’m probably not going to interpret that as helping me get ready for the party. No matter how much we love someone, we are not mind readers, and we certainly can’t read your mind when you aren’t asking for something that will actually fulfill the desire you want filled.

Honesty is a struggle for humans. We have this idea that being honesty makes us vulnerable. That lies are protective. We fear judgment and we fear persecution based upon that judgment. But, we worship a God who wants us to trust in the world and Their creation. We worship a God who wants us to communicate our wants to them clearly and concisely.

Matthew 7: ⁷ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: ⁸ For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. This is part of a much bigger pericope on judgment and understanding. What has always stood out to me about it is the action required. It’s not think it’s ask. It’s not hope it’s knock. There is human action and intention required in our interactions with God.

We are given what we need for each day but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to work for it. Even if it is just handed to us, there are obligations involved. We have to first learn what our need is. To take only that which we need, not take it all as if there will never be more. To eat our fill, not so much that it makes us fat and lazy. Only when we learn to be able to be satisfied with our needs being met can then truly understand our own wants. To ignore what we already have and ask for more is to ignore the grace of God.

It is not the food that matters but the fellowship, which God can provide an opportunity for but cannot make you engage in. You are not to go to someone’s house and complain about the décor or that you don’t like what’s being served. You are there to love them, not to judge them. The Israelites failed to see that what was truly important about sitting around that pot of meat eating their fill of bread was being together, not the food. The being together had already been provided for them yet they failed to see it.

By God requiring them to take only that which they needed, the intention was to force them to see who was with them. Who needed the food that they were to carry through the day? What was important was not what they were eating but who they were eating with. And they failed. They complained about the bread. They complained about the meat. They complained about what they had to drink. They failed to understand the only thing that mattered was who they were doing it with. That’s why the complaining was against the Lord. They were complaining about what they Lord had provided them with saying it wasn’t enough.

It is we who are not enough. It is we who fail to ask for what we need whether it be from God or one another. When I ask to share a meal with you I care not what we’re eating or where. I care not who is paying. It’s not about the food. It’s not about the location. It’s not about the money. It’s not even what we talk about. It’s about being together. Sharing that which gives us life together. It’s about appreciating what God has provided. It’s about understanding that what God has provided me is YOU.