出エジプト記16:1-16 Exodus 16:1-16,

After departing from Egypt, the Israelites were travelling through the wilderness to the land of Canaan that God had promised them. However, as they continued their journey, they began to complain and grumble. This was because they did not have enough water and food. Some time after leaving the oasis of Elim in the wilderness, the Israelites complained strongly to their leaders, Moses and Aaron. They said, “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.”

What do you all think when you hear this? The Israelites lived a hard life as slaves in Egypt. They prayed to the Lord God for help, so the Lord God sent Moses to rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. It would be too selfish to say now, “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!” We human beings thank God when he has rescued us from a hard place, but as soon as we have another hard time, we lose faith in God and grumble. We are ungrateful people who complain and say that the old days were better.

What did the Lord God say when he heard the Israelites complaining? Did he say angrily? “Let those ungrateful people starve to death in the wilderness!” No, He did not. God said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you.” When God said, “I am about to rain bread from heaven,” he did not mean literally that bread fell from the sky. “Heaven” represents God. “Bread” means food. Therefore, “to rain bread from heaven” means that God gives them food in an amazing way. In other words, God feeds the complaining Israelites with food in an amazing way. Verse 31 of this chapter says: “Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” The word “manna” is an Israelite word which means “what.” The Israelites ate this amazing food and said, “What is this?” So the food is called “manna” which means “what.” It is a miracle that such amazing food was given to them throughout their wilderness journey. Moreover, verse 12 says: “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread.” The “meat” is the flesh of a bird called quail. The Lord God fed the Israelites with both manna, an amazing bread, and quail meat.

In this way, God provides daily food for his people. The Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus taught us, includes the prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Just as God nourished the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness by giving them daily amazing food “manna,” so he gives us daily food as we journey towards heaven.