The Reading
Exodus 16:1-18
16:1 The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from
Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and
Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from
the land of Egypt. 2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained
against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them,
"If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we
sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out
into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." 4 Then the
Lord said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and
each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I
will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 5 On the sixth
day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they
gather on other days." 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites,
"In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord,
because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that
you complain against us?" 8 And Moses said, "When the Lord gives you
meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the
Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your
complaining is not against us but against the Lord." 9 Then Moses said to
Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, "Draw near
to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.' " 10 And as Aaron spoke
to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness,
and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses and
said, 12 "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them,
"At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your
fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.' " 13 In
the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a
layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the
surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the
ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is
it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is
the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has
commanded: "Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person
according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own
tents.' " 17 The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. 18 But
when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over,
and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of
them needed.
The message
We are now
in the days immediately after the people of Israel were led out of Slavery in
Egypt. They originally moved there to flee famine under Joseph’s leadership and
were welcomed as honored guests. Years later, the people of Egypt turned on
them in fear of their growing numbers, power and accumulated wealth. With
exaggerations, the Egyptians convinced the Pharoah to enslave them. The
Israelites were slaves for 400 years. Then God speaks good news of great joy to
Moses, He would be sent to set the people free from bondage. It was not a gentle departure. Moses and Aaron, go to the Pharaoh 12 times,
with the same request each time, the Lord God says let my people go and the
same threat, if you do not, the lord God will send a great plague to infect
Egypt. Each time, the Pharaoh says no and a great plague (like frogs, locusts,
hail of fire, all water is made undrinkable). The last plague is the one marked
at Passover, the death of the first born of Egypt. From the Pharaoh’s first born son to the
first born of Egypt’s livestock, the
angel of death takes all. The Israelites
are told to sacrifice a lamb, eat the meat and mark the door of their homes
with its blood, this was the sign to the angel of death to Passover that house
and not bring its horrific plague to that family. After this, the Pharoah submits and lets the
people of Israel go. As they flee, the
Phaorah has a change of mind and sends the army to chase them down (I mean
after all, the loss of that many slaves was a very big deal, it would mean
economic crisis and revolt). The people
of Israel cross the red sea (Moses is given the power to part the waters by
simply lifting his staff). The Egyptian army gives chase and are wiped out when
Moses lifts his staff again and the sea goes back to normal, drowning the
mighty army of Egypt.
Now, Moses’
Sister Miriam composes and leads the singing of a song to celebrate the freedom
from slavery in Egypt (found in Exodus 15, these are probably the oldest verses
in the Bible). It’s all joy and praise,
thanksgiving, hope and excitement until the people of Israel realize they are
in the wilderness and they have nothing. There is no government, no order, no
laws or regulations, no homes, no food or water, no walls or protection as they
wandered out in the open. Despite having just witnessed what God has done,
keeping promises and exercising a Godly level of control over the world, the
people bitterly complain, we were better off as slaves in Egypt and we should
have died there, weak leaders suggest
lets go back and all pray “give us this day our daily bread”
This story
is literally one of God giving people their daily bread (and lets not forget
those delicious Quails). Each morning and each evening, the people freed from
slavery get a reminder of the same thing Abraham said as he looked back on the
sacrifice of Isaac, The lord will provide.
Twice a day, the manna and quail show the people God is with them, that
God will walk with them and God will lead them. This is God’s gift and God’s
work (whatever the people knew about science, they knew under normal conditions
dew does not turn into bread and desert wilderness are not a good place for
Quail to thrive)
This story
is not only a reminder that God will provide bread and meat, it is an
introduction to God’s economic system. Here God’s hand ensures that each person
has as much as they need and that there is enough for everyone. There is no surplus, the ones who take too
much have none left over. There is no shortage, the ones who do not take enough
are not punished, they have their full. Here, food is a basic human right given
to all in the community because they are there and hungry. The good and bad all eat the same, the worthy
and undeserving all eat the same, the slow gathers and the horaders all eat the
same, the greedy and generous all eat the same.
God will entrust this task of overseeing economic justice to people and
we will fail miserably at it.
As we
continue to look forward to the 500th anniversary of the reformation
and connect our readings with it, we will look at what Luther says about give
us this day our daily bread in the Small and Large Catechism as well as
Luther’s view of poverty (as examined by Carter Linberg in the book Luther on
Charity). For the 4th petition of the
Lord’s prayer in the Small Catechism Luther writes: What does this
mean?--Answer. God gives daily bread,
even without our prayer, to all wicked men; but we pray in this petition that
He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
What is
meant by daily bread?--Answer. Everything that belongs to the support and wants
of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field,
cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and
faithful magistrates, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline,
honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.
Of course,
this petition is not simply about getting what we need. Luther always knew there was opposition to
God’s word and God’s ways. The 4th petition also demands that we
confront the devil and those who deprive others of what God intends. In the Large catechism, Luther writes
Behold, thus God wishes to indicate
to us how He cares for us in all our need, and faithfully provides also for our
temporal support. And although He abundantly grants and preserves these things
even to the wicked and knaves, yet He wishes that we pray for them, in order
that we may recognize that we receive them from His hand, and may feel His
paternal goodness toward us therein. For when He withdraws His hand, nothing
can prosper nor be maintained in the end, as, indeed, we daily see and
experience. How much trouble there is
now in the world only on account of bad coin, yea, on account of daily
oppression and raising of prices in common trade, bargaining and labor on the
part of those who wantonly oppress the poor and deprive them of their daily
bread! This we must suffer indeed; but let them take care that they do not lose
the common intercession, and beware lest this petition in the Lord's Prayer be
against them.
As we look
at our daily bread, we have to recognize there are often people without bread
or without a fair share of bread. In about an hour and half, we will have our
annual blessing of the animals in celebration of St Francis and his legacy of
caring for Gods creation. Luther actually attacked St Francis, in particular
about the vow of poverty. To Luther money was not intrinsically bad, it was how
people used and hoarded it that was the problem. All things could be used in the service of
God and money in the hands of good and faithful servants of God could make a real
difference in the world. In terms of
Poverty and how society cared for the poor, Luther and the Reformers initiated
a big revolt there as well. Almsgiving,
the tossing of a few coins or pieces of food to someone in need was always a
Christian discipline. Luther took a
larger and almost modern view, encouraging people to look at the causes of
poverty, to challenge the systems that created and maintained economic
disadvantage, to advocate for fair laws, to teach and train and care for those
in need until they were better, it was a relationship. The Reformers also operated a community chest
where money was pooled and kept to care for the poor.
One of the challenges Luther addresses is one I often think about at our food pantry, what to do with people who take but do not need. Luther says oh well, let them, there is more than enough in the world and the abundant grace of giving to the wicked and cheats may change them (after all, God gives forgiveness and grace to the underserving, we can certainly give a bag of bread
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