Sunday, October 11 · White Oak Christian Church
The God Who Provides
God leads his freed people into a wilderness where they cannot provide for themselves, and there he teaches them to depend on him one day at a time and to know the provider behind the gift.
Opening
What did the sermon say God is doing in the wilderness rather than just leaving us there?
Passages to cover
As we read, look for
- How quickly the Israelites remember Egypt
- What God says the daily bread is for
- Where the water comes from when there is none
The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by Yahweh’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening, you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt. In the morning, you shall see Yahweh’s glory; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?” Moses said, “Now Yahweh will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh.”
Exodus 16:2–8
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”
Exodus 16:4–5
You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth.
Deuteronomy 8:2–3
Also read Exodus 17:1–7; John 6:32–35
Discussion
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Why did the Israelites want to go back to Egypt only one month after being freed?
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Why did God give Israel only enough manna for one day at a time?
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Why did God answer Israel's complaint with water from a rock instead of a rebuke?
Closing
What would it look like this week for us to ask God for today's bread and leave tomorrow in his hands?
Prayer
- For trust to receive what God gives today without reaching for tomorrow's supply.
- For eyes to see one provision already given that has gone unnoticed.
- For a hunger that only the provider himself can satisfy.
Keep going this week
Scan to open this week’s study and ask your own questions.
