EXODUS 16:2-4, 9-15

THE BACKGROUND

The people of God have escaped slavery in Egypt, and are on their wilderness journey.  They have been gone exactly one month.  As you may recall, their instructions were to depart in haste.  They did not take a lot with them, since they were in a hurry.  After a month in the desert, you can imagine that their food supply might be wearing thin. 

THE DETAIL

  • The whole congregation is hungry, and they are complaining.  They recall the “good old days” back in Egypt.  At least they had bread and meat to eat.  It seemed that this God of theirs has dragged them out in the desert-wilderness to starve them to death.  (vv. 2-3)  Note: In modern day Iraq, things are so chaotic that some are looking back on the “good old days” of Saddam Hussein.  Current distress can sometimes distort your memory, I guess.
  • The Lord is quick to answer.  He will feed them, but in his own way.  The will get only enough for the day.  That way, they will be tested, and will also rely on Him for daily sustenance.  (v. 4)
  • The whole congregation is gathered, and the Lord speaks from within a cloud.  (They are not allowed to see Him, lest they perish.) God says that He has heard their complaining, and will feed them.  Eating meat “at twilight” would remind them of their Passover meal a month earlier. God will provide meat in the evening and manna-bread in the morning.  (vv. 9-12)
  • Sure enough, a swarm of quails covers the camp that evening.  And in the morning, they get a strange substance called “manna”.  Some theologians believe that the word “manna” is Aramaic for “what is this?”  (v. 15) 

THE TAKEAWAY

God rescued his people from Egypt.  He was not going to let them perish in the desert.  They were His chosen people,  He loved them.  They complained, and He cared for them.

We are God’s chosen people here today.  He loves us, and cares for us.  It is OK to complain to God about your situation.  Being our loving Father, he will answer our prayers, even if our prayers are complaints.
 

EPHESIANS 4:1-16

THE BACKGROUND

We have been studying Paul’s letter to the Ephesians for three weeks now.  This is our fourth lesson from that book.  In the first two lessons, God (through Paul) explains what He did through his son, and how all of us are now his adopted children.  Last week, Paul prayed for our faith and spiritual walk to be strengthened, and our understanding of Jesus’ gift be fully comprehended. 

THE DETAIL

  • This first verse is the key to the whole passage.  We are going to talk about how to live our lives worthy of the calling that we received, when we were called to love and serve Jesus.  The first weeks were about God’s love and our faith.  This week, it’s all about our actions. (v. 1)
  • These are the attributes that God values most in us believers:  humility, gentleness, patience,  and bearing one another’s burdens.  And finally, “making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit…”  These are the personality traits that God values most. I don’t know about you, but I have some work to do!  (vv. 2-3)
  • In verse 3, we are told to maintain unity.  In the verses following, the word “one” appears six times.  We are being told to set aside our differences, and focus on our oneness, our unity.  (vv. 4-6)
  • God’s grace is given (for free) to each and every one of us believers.  In this passage, Jesus gives out the gifts, rather than the Holy Spirit.  (minor detail!)  The important thing is that each of us receives a gift of some sort.  Later on, we’ll see what to do with it.  ( v. 7)
  • Paul quotes Psalm 68:18a.  He changes it slightly, to prove his point.  (v. 8)
  • Paul then inserts a parenthetical comment about Jesus descending the “the lower parts of the earth” as well as ascending to the heavens.  I believe the statement in the Apostles’ Creed about Jesus descending into Hell comes in part from these verses.  (vv. 9-10)
  • After this, we resume our discussion about Jesus’ handing out of spiritual gifts.  We all get different gifts, but they are all for the same purpose—“for the building up of the body of Christ.”  We’re to keep at it “until all of us come to the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God…”  I don’t know about you, but I think that there’s a lot of work left to be done.  (vv. 11-13)
  • In the meantime, we need to keep our wits about us, and not be tricked into false teachings. Instead, we must be mature (and humble, and gentle, and patient, etc. ).   We must keep working to build up this body of Christ until “…the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament… promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”  (vv. 14-16)

THE TAKEAWAY

This passage speaks about a diverse group of people with diverse talents and gifts having unity of mission and spirit.  I have learned over the years that diversity is a good thing.  Diversity brings fresh ideas to the table.  Imagine going to a potluck dinner, only to find that everyone else also brought a macaroni and cheese casserole!  A good potluck requires diversity.  Life is no different.  Let’s not lose sight of the goal, which is to build up the body of Christ, and do it in a way that includes everybody.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

We are taught to look out for Number One, grab life by the horns, seize the day, etc. in order to be successful.  God tells us to be humble, gentle, patient, and help one another with their troubles. Can we live our lives following both philosophies?  Which direction is best?

There is an ad slogan that the US Army uses—an “Army of One”.  Personally, I think it is a ridiculous slogan.  One person is not an army.    An army is only effective as a large, cohesive, working unit.  While it is important to claim Jesus as our personal savior, it is equally important to recognize that we are not an “army of one”. We need to become part of the body of Christ, in order to become fully effective.  We need to knit ourselves together with other believers in order to become a walking, talking, loving body of Christ in this time and place.

 

JOHN 6:24-35

THE BACKGROUND

This passage follows last week’s reading.  Jesus fed the large crowd, the disciples got into a boat, and Jesus walked out to join them. People have been swarming around them. Maybe they will finally get a break. 

THE DETAIL

  • Fat chance! Once the people realize that Jesus had left, they hop into boats and track him down! (v. 24)
  •  A strange discussion ensues between Jesus and these people.  I get the feeling that they do not know what they really want from Jesus.  The discussion focuses around “signs”, as John calls them.  Miracles. (vv. 25-29)
  • Still talking about “signs”, they ask for another, similar to Moses and the manna in the wilderness.  I don’t understand why they asked this, because he just fed them with two loaves of barley.  So, they talk about “bread” from heaven, which gives life to the world.  They want this bread.  (vv. 30-34)
  • Jesus delivers his famous line-- “I am the bread of life.”  If we come to him, we will never be hungry or thirsty.    (v. 35)

THE TAKEAWAY

The people who followed Jesus and his disciples across the lake were thirsty for something.  It is clear to me that they didn’t know what they were thirsty for.  But Jesus knew. 

In years past, small roadside diners would display a sign that only said “EAT”.  People driving by knew that inside they would find inside; they could find food and drink to satisfy their needs.  The people in today’s reading were looking for refreshment, and asked Jesus for a sign. In verse 29, Jesus tells him that he is the sign. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT 

Jesus calls himself bread.  People don’t usually call themselves bread.  Jesus calls himself bread twice in the gospels; once in today’s reading, and also the night before his crucifixion.  What does “Bread of Life” mean to you?  How do we get this bread?  (Hint: Read verse 29.)