WILDERNESS HUNGER AND HEAVENLY MANNA PART 2

Exodus chapter 16






Today we are walking in: Wilderness Hunger and Heavenly Manna Part 2








Exodus 3:18


And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, H4057 that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.




Today we look to the word-WILDERNESS- H4057 midbar --wilderness, pasture, uninhabited land




The Torah testifies.......................................




Genesis 16:7


And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, H4057 by the fountain in the way to Shur.




Exodus 4:27


And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness H4057 to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.



Numbers 14:33


And your children shall wander in the wilderness H4057 forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. H4057




Deuteronomy 1:31


And in the wilderness, H4057 where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.





The prophets proclaim..................






Isaiah 42:11


Let the wilderness H4057 and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.



Isaiah 43:19


Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, H4057 and rivers in the desert.



Jeremiah 9:12


Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, H4057 that none passeth through?



Ezekiel 20:13


But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: H4057 they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, H4057 to consume them.






The Writings bear witness.............








Joshua 1:4


From the wilderness H4057 and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.




2Chronicles 1:3


So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. H4057




Nehemiah 9:19


Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: H4057 the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.



Psalm 65:12


They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: H4057 and the little hills rejoice on every side.



Psalm 78:15


He clave the rocks in the wilderness, H4057 and gave them drink as out of the great depths.






Wilderness Hunger and Heavenly Manna Part 2


But I will now pass on to consider the BENEFITS and BLESSINGS which sprang out of their wandering in the wilderness, and which they were to remember as much as the wanderings themselves.


Though their wandering so many years in the wilderness was a punishment for their sins, and especially for that sin of unbelief and rebellion which they manifested on the return of the spies, when they murmured against Moses and Aaron, crying out, "Would Yah that we had died in the land of Egypt," and actually proposed to choose a leader and return, yet Yah took advantage, so to speak, of their sins and their rebellion to bring about the purposes of his own good pleasure. He did not create their sins; he was not the author of their rebellion; he did not foster their unbelief, for Yah cannot be the author of sin; and yet he could take occasion by their very sin to work out his own purposes.


We cannot have a more striking instance of this than the crucifixion of our dear Redeemer, in which Yah worked out his purposes by the hands of unYahly men. How plain is Peter's testimony—"Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of Yah, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." (Acts 2:23.) It was by "the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of Yah that Yahusha was delivered," or as the word means, "given up" out of the hands of Yah into theirs; but it was wicked hands which took him, crucified, and slew him. Yah's determinate counsel and foreknowledge did not make their hands wicked; and yet their wicked hands brought about his holy purposes.


So it was with the children of Israel. It was their wickedness which was the cause of their long wanderings; and yet these very wanderings carried out Yah's purposes, and what is more, were overruled for their good. So it is with us in this wilderness world, of which that "great and terrible wilderness" was a representation. Yah had a purpose in permitting us to be what we are, to have been what we have been, and to have done what we have done. And what that purpose was, is beautifully and blessedly opened in our text. Let us see if we can trace out some of these designs of Yah, as laid open in the words before us; and let us bear in mind that they are as applicable to us now as they were to the children of Israel—for "whatever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."


1. The first purpose is to HUMBLE us. Our heart, at least mine, is desperately proud; and if there be a sin which Yah hates more than another, and more sets himself against, it is the sin of pride. Though some men are more tempted, perhaps, to that sin than others, and, like a weed upon a ash-heap, it may grow more profusely in some soils, especially when well fertilized by rank and riches, praise and flattery, our own ignorance, and the ignorance of others, yet all inherit it alike from their fallen ancestor, who got it from HaSatan, that "king over all the children of pride." Those, perhaps, who think they possess the least pride, and view themselves with wonderful self-admiration among the humblest of mortals, may have as much or more pride, than those who feel and confess it, only rather more deeply hid and buried more out of sight in the dark recesses of their carnal mind. As Yah then sees all hearts, and knows every movement of pride, whether we see it or not, his purpose is to humble us.


And if we take a review of all his dealings with us, we shall see that this is the end which he has ever had in view; for until that is done we may well say that nothing is done.


But how did Yah humble the children of Israel? By placing them in circumstances which manifested their real character. Yah, as I said before, does not put his hand to wickedness—Yah forbid! Yah does not stir up by his Spirit evil in a man's heart; but he finds it there. If a bee stings you, if a dog bites you, if you tread upon a serpent, and it turns round and fastens his poison fangs into your ankle, was it any act of yours which put venom into the wasp, sharp teeth into the dog, or poison into the snake? Was it not all there before? It was drawn forth, but there it was; and the occasion only drew it out. So if there be in the heart of man pride, as there is, and circumstances occur to draw it out; or if there be in men's hearts rebellion, and circumstances draw forth that rebellion; or if there be in man's heart unbelief and infidelity, and occasions arise to draw them forth, and those occasions occur in the providence of Yah, Yah does not create that pride, that rebellion, that unbelief, that infidelity, nor does he stir it up instrumentally; but he allows it to manifest itself for this special purpose, to humble the individual in whom the sin thus appears.


Mark my words—I am not justifying any kind of sin in thought, word, or deed. Sin, in my eyes, is exceedingly sinful. I would desire never to sin again. I would, if I could, live perfectly holy. I would not have a sinful thought, I would not speak a sinful word, and still less would I commit any sinful action. And yet I find sin working in my mind sometimes all day long. Now what do I learn by this? Humility. But if truly humbled I cannot raise my hand against Yah; I cannot lift up a rebellious tongue against him and say, "Why have you made me thus?" for were I to do so I should have against me the verdict of my own conscience. I must fall down, then, humbly and meekly before him; I must put my mouth in the dust; I must acknowledge I am vile, because I see his greatness, majesty, holiness, purity, and perfections, and see and feel, as contrasted with them, my own exceeding sinfulness before him. This, therefore, teaches me humility; at least if I don't get humility in this way, I don't know how it is to be got.


Now when I look back upon a long life of profession, how many things do I see—though with all my sins and follies, slips and falls, I hope the Most High has kept me from bringing any open reproach upon his name and cause, and Yah keep me to the end, for it would be a dreadful thing for me after my long and well-known profession to bring disgrace upon the truth in my last days, yet my conscience testifies of many things I have thought, said, and done, which grieve my soul almost every day in the recollection of them, and make me hang my head before Yah, put my mouth in the dust, and confess my sins unto him.


Nor do I believe that I am singular in this feeling, for I am well persuaded that there is not a single person in this congregation who possesses the fear of Yah in a tender conscience who can look back through a life, and especially a long life of profession, without many cutting reflections, many painful reminiscences, and many distressing recollections that humble him in the very dust before Yah. At least I have no communion, and wish to have none, with any but those whom Yah humbles. Men of broken hearts, contrite spirits, and tender consciences I would desire to have for my companions, if I have any.




2. But Yah had other purposes and other ends to accomplish besides humbling. He had "to PROVE them, to know what was in their heart, whether they would keep his commandments or not."


Every man has to be proved, and every man's religion has to be proved; for every man's work is to be tried with fire; and though the trial may be delayed—though the proof may not yet seem going on, yet if you make a profession, sooner or later the trial will come, and it will be made manifest in the fires of trial and temptation. Now the wilderness was meant to prove the children of Israel. They made great boasting at Mount Sinai. All that Yah bade them observe to do, they said that they would observe and do; and yet, when Moses tarried in the mount a little beyond their expectation, they made a golden calf. So much for the spirit of 'free will'; so much for the resolve of the creature to keep Yah's commands.


Now Yah is determined to prove what is in a man's heart, and whether he will keep his commandments or not. It is not for the purpose of proving it to himself, for Yah knows all things, but of proving it to us.


Where, for instance, he plants his fear, he will prove that fear. Circumstances will arise, various things will occur in business, in the family, in a man's situation, public or private, whereby it will be ascertained whether he is possessed of the fear of Yah or not. He may for a time carry on his crafty practices; he may wear a mask and may deceive himself and deceive others; but sooner or later, if the fear of Yah be not in his soul, if he be not a possessor of heavenly grace, and Yah has not wrought anything in his heart by his own divine power and influence, he will prove reprobate silver; he will not stand the test; his religion will be burnt up in the flame, and he himself be cast out as worthless dross. He may go on for many years, and yet the end will prove sooner or later what the man is, and what his profession is worth.


But the same fiery trial will also prove what a man has of the life of Yah in his soul. For though, through the power of temptation, he may often reel and stagger to and fro, and be at his wits' end, yet Yah will deliver him out of all his temptations, and manifest in him the power of his grace.


It is a day of great profession, splendid pretensions, loud talking, presumptuous boasting, and, as men think, strong faith. I do not think so myself, but just the contrary, for it seems to me to be a day of small things with the very best, and a day of no things at all with the most. But Yah best knows what the day really is. He sees all hearts, searches all thoughts. Nothing that we are or have is hidden before the eyes of him with whom we have to do; and it is to be greatly feared that much of this strong faith will be proved to be presumption, many of these boasting claims to be downright arrogance, and much of this loud talk to be that of "the prating fool," against whom, twice in one chapter, Yah has recorded this awful sentence, "that he shall fall." One grain of Yahly fear, one sigh and cry of a broken heart, one longing look of living faith, one tender feeling of love to the Most High from a glimpse of his beauty and blessedness, are worth all this loud talk of which the wise man truly says, it "tends only to poverty."