I have a message tonight that we're all going to need to remember in days to come on the topic of contentment. And we'll start in Exodus chapter 16 tonight, Exodus 16. One of the great spiritual fruits for godly Christians to exhibit is the spiritual fruit of contentment. The type of contentment that results from a quiet faith in and reliance upon God. even in the midst of a dry and barren wilderness. In Hebrews 13, verse 5, we read, Let your conversation, your conduct, be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For He has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Just the fact that Jesus has said He'll never leave us or forsake us, that we have Jesus, should help us to be content with everything, that He's all we need. In chapters 1 to 4 of the book of Exodus, we read how we know God raised up a man of God named Moses to deliver his people from hard bondage in Egypt. In chapters 5 through 12, we read how God used Moses to send plague after plague upon the Egyptians, finally slaying the firstborn of every household in Egypt, every Egyptian household, including that of Pharaoh's, until Pharaoh finally said, enough, go, get out, bless me also then we also read in chapter 14 how the Egyptians then had second thoughts and they chased after the Israelites and then how God mightily delivered Israel by parting the waters of the Red Sea and taking Israel through the midst of the sea on dry land and he brought the same waters crashing down on Pharaoh's army and so after the people celebrate This wonderful victory over Pharaoh's army, they celebrate their newfound freedom, on the other side of the Red Sea. We read that celebration in chapter 15. We then come to chapter 16, we're reading verse 1. And they took their journey from Elam, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came into the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elam and Sinai, on the 15th day of the second month, after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them, What to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full? For ye, Moses and Aaron, ye have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. So notice here how soon God's people forget the great things God has done for them. Notice Israel's great distrust of God in this passage. After he had just given them all these mighty miracles to deliver them. Their great distrust of God. They had just been delivered from bondage in Egypt by mighty miracles and ten plagues on Egypt. They had just passed the Red Sea on dry ground. Watch as God destroyed the armies of Pharaoh. They had just a chapter before been singing God's praises for his mighty deliverance from Pharaoh. But then just a few days later, all that is forgotten. And they said, what to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt. They, and notice here, they said to Moses and Aaron for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, kill this whole assembly with hunger. They even forgot who it was that brought them out. And I would say that such ingratitude and distrust of such a great God is a great sin. God's people have to learn to walk by faith, not by sight, and to trust in God's promises to provide for us. And we have to do so even when things look hopeless, as it did for them at the time. For instance, maybe when you've lost your job, or your business has gone belly up, When it looks like you're about to lose your home to foreclosure, God's people are to walk by faith, not by sight. They're to trust in God's promises to provide for us even when things look hopeless. And in my life, having experienced all those seemingly hopeless circumstances as a believer, I can testify, and so will Mary, that the Lord always shows up to provide everything that we need. We read in Exodus 16, verse 4, Then the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a certain rain every day, that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law or no. Verse 5, It shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. Notice here God's great mercy in the face of such a great sin and the absolute slander of His person. He could have easily decided at that point to rain down fire and brimstone on these complainers, but he instead promises to rain bread from heaven instead. Verse 6, And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, And even then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out of the land of Egypt. And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord. For that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord. And what are we? Moses and Aaron, that ye murmur against us. And Moses said, This shall be when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread of the full. For that the Lord heareth your murmurings, which ye murmur against him. And what are we? Again, your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord. Here Moses reminds the people of three things. First of all, that it was God that delivered them out of Egypt, not Moses. and it will be God that feeds them also. Secondly, Moses reminds them that their complaints against Moses and Aaron were in truth, actually complaints against God Himself. Sometimes God's people get mad at me simply because I just tell them what God says. They have no way to refute it, but they get mad at me for pointing it out to them. It's what the Bible says, you know. Moses reminds the people here of what they should already know, that it was God that delivered them out of Egypt, not Moses. and that their complaints against Moses and Aaron were in truth complaints against God Himself. And then thirdly, Moses reminds the people that God hears, God hears your murmurings and complaining. You think He didn't hear you? God hears you. Not only do you dare to complain against God, but He heard you. And we begin to worry and fret and complain about our circumstances. We better stop to consider that God hears us complaining And we're complaining about God Himself if we are complaining about lack of provision. We're complaining about God's character. And further, we have to remember that God hears our murmurings as well. That seems harsh, perhaps, but this is a lesson that God wants us to get here in this account. We also better remember that God does not take kindly to murmurers and complainers that despise His provision and are not rather thankful for it. We read here in verse 9, Moses speaking to Aaron, saying to all the congregation, the children of Israel, come near before the Lord, for He hath heard your murmurings. They're called to come near, for instance, as in Isaiah 1, verse 18, where the Lord says, come and let us reason together. And His grace here, God gives the complainers a fair hearing, as parents have to try to do with their children as well. Exodus 16, verse 10, It came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, speaking unto them, saying, That even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread, and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. Verse 13, it came to pass that even the quails came up and covered the camp. And in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that was laid gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoarfrost on the ground. And when the children saw it, they said to one another, it is manna. In other words, what is it? For they knew not what it was. Moses said unto them, this is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. The word manna means what is it and we see here first God manifested his glory afresh and anew to still the murmurings of the people and to confirm his calling upon Aaron and Moses. Secondly, we see here that God literally prepared a table in the wilderness, a special quail and manna dinner Not only quail, but quail is so tame they can be gathered by hand, by the way. And then God reveals how He will feed them throughout the rest of their journey. Not with quail, but with bread from heaven. Verse 16, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, gather of it every man according to his eating. And Omer, for every man according to the number of your persons, take ye every man for them which are in his tents. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some more and some less. And when they did meet it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack. And they gathered every man according to his eating. And this, by the way, was of course a great miracle in itself. God saw to it that every single person in the camp, a camp of we know was perhaps two million people, everyone had enough food to eat and were satisfied. for the next 40 years, by the way, every day. Verse 19, Moses said, let no man leave of it till morning. Notwithstanding they hearken not unto Moses, some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was wroth with them, and they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating, and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. Giving a marker, Exodus 16, turn over to Matthew chapter six, It's a great lesson here that God is teaching His people here in this account. Something God wanted to teach the Israelites of old, He wants to teach us today. And that is that God expects us to trust Him for every day's provision. He hears our complaining and He takes it as an attack on His character when we fail to trust Him. One day soon, we know that we are all going to have to completely rely on God's provision. Exactly as the Lord Jesus taught here in the Sermon on the Mount. We've read this many times. We're gonna read it again Matthew 6 verse 25 Jesus said therefore I say unto you Take no thought for your life what you shall eat or what you shall drink nor yet for your body what you shall put on It's not the life more than meat and the body more than raiment Verse 26 behold the fowls of the air for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather in the barns Yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto a stature? Which of you, by worrying, you might say. Which of you, by worrying about it, by taking thought, can add one cubit to a stature? And why take ye thought for their foramen? Why are you worried about that? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow's cast in the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, don't worry, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink? Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek, the unbelievers, the mixed multitude. For your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. but seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore, take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. The sufficient end of the day is the evil thereof." Jesus said we're not supposed to worry about tomorrow. He'll take care of us then just like He's taking care of us today. We've heard this passage read. We've read it many times over. But maybe we tend to say Jesus was here addressing another day, another culture, another time. And that may be true. That is true. However, the Lord Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And we can trust His word today just as much as we could have 2,000 years ago. Just a few verses before this here, Jesus was teaching how we should pray. He said in verse 9 of Matthew 6, after this manner therefore pray ye our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven and he says the most loving give us this day our daily bread just like the man in the wilderness God expects us to trust him every day for our daily bread for every day's provision one day at a time but what will we do tomorrow Jesus said we're not even supposed to ask the question or take no thought Israelites had to trust God for 40 years for every day's provision. And that's an important lesson that we need to get. The Lord expects us to trust Him. He hears our complaining. He takes it as an attack on His character when we fail to do so. Back to Exodus 16. Another lesson we see in this account is that God's provision always involves man's duty. God sent the man from heaven, but it had to go out and be gathered. There was work involved there. Just as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3.10, if a man will not work, neither should he eat. Then notice also in verse 31, we read here, and the house of Israel called the name thereof manna. What is it? And it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. As a side note here, when God feeds us, it usually tastes good. I like honey. I never met anyone who didn't like honey. As we read in Psalm 34, 8-9, O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is that man that trusteth in Him. O fear the Lord, ye saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him. Something else we see here, not only does the Lord expect us to trust Him for every day's provision, not only does He expect us to work for what He provides, but also He does expect us to remember to memorialize His intervention and His provision in our lives. Verse 32 here we read, Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commandeth. Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations. As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testimony, the Ark of the Covenant, to be kept. And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years until they came to a land inhabited. They did eat manna until they came into the borders of the land of Canaan. By the way, the preservation of this manna, in this case, that Aaron took up from waste and corruption was a miracle in and of itself, of course, point here is that God expects us to remember the things He has done for us in our lives, to provide for us, to memorialize those somehow. He expects us to give Him glory and honor and praise for what He does. Again, keeping in mind Matthew 6 and Exodus 16, remember the number is 11, over to the right a little ways. Not only does God expect us to trust Him for every day's provision and to work for what He provides, and to memorialize and remember His intervention and provision in our lives. But one of the most important points of the message is this. God expects us to be happy and content with what He gives us. God expects us to be happy and content with what He gives us. Numbers 11, verse 1. When the people complained, it displeased the Lord. And the LORD heard it, and His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses, and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. And they called the name of the place Taborah, because the fire of the LORD burnt among them. And a mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting. And the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? Verse 5, We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic. But now our soul is dried away, there is nothing at all beside this manna before our eyes. Then in verse 10, Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly. Moses also was displeased. Verse 11, Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? And wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? Have I begotten them that thou shouldst say unto me, Carry them into thy bosom as a nursing father? Beareth the second child in the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Moses is getting tired of these people, understandably so. But then he says verse 13, what should I have flesh to give unto all this people? For they weep unto me saying, give us flesh that we may eat. I'm not able to bear all this people alone because it's too heavy for me. If they'll deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee out of hand. If I found favor in thy sight, let me not see my wretchedness. Moses felt like giving up here, but he didn't give up. He was, he remained faithful. He wasn't a quitter and that might be why We read in Hebrews chapter 3 that Moses was, quote, faithful in all God's house. Here in verse 16 to 17, God tells Moses to go ahead and call out 70 elders of Israel to help him with his tasks. Then we read in verse 18, And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh. For ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and you shall eat. God says, you people think you're better off in Egypt's bondage? He says here in verse 19, you shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor 10 days, nor 20 days, even the whole month until it come out of your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you, because that you have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, why came we forth out of Egypt? Important lesson here. To despise God's provision is to despise the Lord Himself. God says that here. You have despised the Lord, He said, which is among you. God expects us to be happy and content with what He gives us. He says, you've wept before Him, saying, why came we forth out of Egypt? They wept also while they were in Egypt, may I say. They cried out for the Lord to deliver them from their hard bondage there. He delivered them and now they're crying to go back. We look at this passage and we say, these people are such wicked people. But sometimes we can be in the same way. And now, even Moses seems to lose faith and asks the Lord how he's going to do this. In verse 21, Moses said, the people among whom I am are 600,000 footmen. And now I said, by the way, that's men, that's warriors, 600,000 footmen. So, you know, somewhere around two million people. Noah said, I would give them flesh that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and herds be slain for them to suffice them? I don't know why they didn't do that. That's a good question. Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to suffice them? Someone like the disciples asking Jesus how he would feed the multitude with just five loaves and two fishes, is it not? We can never forget that we serve a miracle working God. who does miracles, who can spread a table before us in the wilderness. And we should never be too lacking in faith to ask God for miracles when things do seem hopeless. We serve a miracle-working God. Verse 23, And the LORD said to Moses, Is the LORD's hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. Down to verse 31, Went forth the wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, as it were a day's journey on the other side. Round about the camp, day's journey all around them. As it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth, the Lord blew in a lot of quails. And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails. He that gathered the least, gathered ten omers. That's ten times as much man as he gathered for a day. And they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. We then read in verse 33. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague. Why did God do that? Why did God smite the people here just after feeding them like that? God sent this judgment because to despise God's provision is to despise God Himself. Not only does God expect us to trust Him for every day's provision, to work for what He provides, to remember and to memorialize His intervention and His provision in our lives, but He expects us to be happy and content with what He gives us. And to despise His provision is to despise God Himself. Mary and I raised five children. Sometimes our kids were a bit too picky about what was being served for supper. And this cat of Mary's, talk about picky, way too picky. I just wanna throw the cat out the door. Sometimes we had to say to our kids, you'll eat it and you'll like it. You'll eat it and you'll like it. But guess what? That's exactly what God says here to Israel. Enjoy the manna, okay? You'll eat it and you will like it. God's Word has much to say about God's expectation for us to be content. Back to the verse I opened with, Hebrews 13, 5, where Paul says, Let your conversation, your conduct, be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For He has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Be content with such things as you have. Be content with your marriage partner, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse. Be content with your used car and be happy it's paid for. Be content with your job, at least until the Lord opens the door and gives you another one. Like John the Baptist said to the Roman soldiers in Luke 3.14, the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages. Some people do have a tendency to overestimate their own value. I'm worth more than I'm getting paid. Jesus said, though, if you're faithful and little, you'll be given much. And the Bible says promotion is from the Lord, not from man. Psalm 75, six to seven. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge. He putteth down one, and setteth up another. Be faithful with what you are given, Do the best job you can possibly do with what you are given, and trust the Lord to raise you up in due time. As Peter says in 1 Peter 5, 6, The Bible has much to say about being content. In fact, it says way too much on the subject for us not to preach on it now and then. Now, Philippians 4, 10-12, for instance, Paul says, But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again, wherein also ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Verse 11, Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Paul said, I know how to be abased, I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." So in whatever circumstance, Paul says, I'm content. Paul also says in 1 Timothy 6, 3-8, If any man teach you otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, I think perhaps they're referencing the Sermon on the Mount, Many men consent not to the Lord's words. He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and stripes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness, from such withdraw thyself. Paul says in verse six, but godliness with contentment is great gain. we brought nothing in this world in the certain we can carry nothing out having food and raiment let us be there with content Paul said but godliness with contentment is a great gain and by the way also contentment is a result of godliness it was a mixed multitude that fell a lusting in the wilderness sometimes God's people give their ears to the ungodly the mixed multitude, and they become malcontents because of it. And if you have your eyes and your desires focused on this world, on material things of this world, you will not be content with what God gives you. But, as Paul says in Colossians 3, 1-3, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. He says, set your affection on things above. not on things of the earth, for ye are dead, and your life is given to Christ in God." God expects us to be happy and content with what He gives us. And you can only do that if you have your affections set on things above. In closing, turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians 10. I want to point out also that the lesson today from Exodus 16 does have a broader application than just trusting God for our physical needs. Because, as we know, the manna that God fed the Israelites with represents far more than mere physical food. That manna was food from heaven, and it is representative, or it's figurative, of God's Word. We read in 1 Corinthians 10, 1-4, Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat that same spiritual meat, and did all drink that same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ." The manna here is called spiritual meat because it was typical It was figurative. Figurative of spiritual blessings and heavenly things. Spiritual blessings and heavenly things. Manna is actually representative of two things in the New Testament. First of all, it does represent Christ himself. John 6, 49 to 51, Jesus said, your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread, referring to himself. This is the bread that comes down from heaven. that man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread I would give is my flesh which I give for the life of the world." We've got a message on this passage about the hard sayings of Jesus and how this is misapplied by the Catholics. He's talking about spiritual food here. Secondly, that man does, is figurative, representative, of the Word of God. And, of course, Christ Himself being the Word incarnate. We read in Matthew 4, 3-4, when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. And the tempter came to Him in verse 3, and he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Verse 4, Jesus replied and said it as written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. The Lord Jesus said our spirit man has to be fed as well as our physical body does and that our spiritual man is fed by God's word. Job knew that too. Job said in Job 23, 12, neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips. Job said, I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. So based on these observations, the spiritual lessons here from Exodus 16, and Numbers 11 also are these. First of all, God expects us to feed on His Word every day. You cannot live today on yesterday's manna. God has provided His Word, our manna from heaven, and it's there for us to partake, to gather up, and to partake of every day. We have to go out every morning and gather it in, just like the Israelites did. We need to put some effort into gathering our spiritual food. It takes work, and it takes consistency. but we're supposed to do that every day. Secondly, God expects us to be content with His spiritual food, that being His Word. We're to be content with Jesus. We're to be content with His Word. The preaching and the teaching and the hearing of God's Word should fully satisfy our need for spiritual food. Some, perhaps those of the mixed multitude, may say, I'm content with God's Word, I'm just not content with this church. or this doctrinal teaching bores me, I'm tired of singing these same old hymns. Church down the road has a praise band, and a choir, and a nursery, and a youth group. I need to hear some good praise and worship, they say. God expects us to be content with what He provides. And godliness with contentment is truly great gain. God expects us to trust Him for everyday provision, to work for what He provides, to remember and to memorialize His intervention and provision in our lives, and God expects us to be happy and content with what He gives us, to feed on His Word every day, and to be content with His Word. That's lessons for tonight. At that point, I'll go ahead and break off the message, and I'll just ask Brother Jay, if you would, to say a closing word of prayer. Holy Father, we thank you that we have everything in Christ. We thank you that we have a Father that owns the cattle on a thousand hills, that owns this world, that doesn't need anything from us, but that has everything, and whom we need to get all of our needs from. We ask that you give us your grace to stay dependent upon you, that we will walk by faith that we will seek for you to provide us everything in life, including joy and contentment and peace and confidence and comfort, that we will seek to have it all from you and to take what you give and to be thankful for everything. We ask that you will help our church to be full of those who are not just regenerate, that are not just born again and have the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, but that are content with all that you've provided, that are ready to praise you in all circumstances and to thank you for all that you've done, even when we face difficulties. And we praise you for our church. We praise you for the sermon. We ask that it'll be effective in our hearts to remember That that the all-important need for us to stay dependent upon you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray amen