Meat for their lust

Exo 16:3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would 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 have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
Exo 16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
Exo 16:5 And 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


The children of God led out of slavery believed they were led out into the wilderness and would now starve, they no longer had food stores to eat from. The Lord provided manna for them, bread from heaven. Read about it in Ex. 16:3-5 The former slaves would have rather died in Egypt sitting by the food stores than die of hunger being led of God. How many people would rather die today with the comforts of life than suffer and be led of God? How many people choose to pick up the threads of a former life because it doesn't call for any self sacrifice? We have convinced ourselves that God doesn't want us to suffer, the God doesn't really want us to have anything to do with self sacrifice. We have profaned the life and death of our Savior by saying that we don't have to suffer anything at all because He suffered it all and wouldn't want us to deny ourselves anything. But THESE are the words of our loving Savior-


Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.


LET HIM DENY HIMSELF!


Did you read that? Read it again.


LET HIM DENY HIMSELF.


And when we deny ourselves we are taking up a cross aren't we? The cross is one of self denial, one of SELF-LESS-NESS.


God provided manna from heaven- food for His children so they would not die of hunger. He didn't bring them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness. He provided for them. There was absolutely NO danger of them dying from lack of food. The danger was gone and now they had no more any reason to mourn for their past life of slavery, a life where they were not free to worship their God. They were no longer slaves to worshippers of pagan gods. Free, they were free and their bellies were filled, their thirst was abated. They weren't going to die hungry. God had provided for them in the form of a blessed miracle! Food of this sort had never been provided for them before. So no longer having to worry about starving they had no reason to long for their former slave life, right? They could rejoice in their freedom. The rejoicing didn't last for long though.


Num 11:4 And the mixt 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?
Num 11:5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
Num 11:6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.


They remembered the fish.
They remembered the cucumbers.
They remembered the melons.
They remembered the leeks.
They remembered the onions.
They remembered the garlic.


And they obviously began to detest the manna they had to eat day after day, and desired a more varied diet.


Were they starving? No.
Were their bellies full? Yes.
Did they NEED anything other than the manna provided by God, to live? No.


This once again brings to mind the television show Survivor. The contestants on the show are sometimes given NOTHING to eat and must provide for themselves from the surrounding area, or they are given a bit of rice. After awhile they quickly grow sick and tired of eating just plain, unseasoned, unflavored rice and many vow to never eat rice again after they leave the show. Food takes on a whole new dimension for those who are starving and for those who are eating something day in and day out. Are they grateful for the rice? Yes, especially when they run out of the rice or about to run out. They're very thankful to receive more rice- because that awful bland stuff is better than going hungry and starving.


So here we have the children of God led out of slavery and here they have food so not as to starve or even be hungry, yet it's not enough for them. They would rather be slaves.


Psa 78:17 And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.
Psa 78:18 And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.


They tempted God in their HEART by asking meat for their lust.


For all that they were slaves leading a very harsh life, they were very, very selfish people, very self-centered and not God-centered.


We are very self-centered people today.


We lust all the time for things we desire and not for what God has provided us.


We tempt God all the time when we ask that our LUSTS be fulfilled. We do. And we've convinced ourselves that the things that are lustful are our really things we need, but we aren't fooling God.


Jesus said God would provide for ALL our NEEDS not that Jesus would provide for our lusts. So no, we may not have money to go out to a restaurant, we may not have money to get the foods we desire from the grocery store but we may be provide with enough money to buy that which will sustain us- even if it's NOT something we desire. We might not have the latest fashions, or even last years fashions, or possibly even the fashions of five years ago but we will be provided clothing. Will it be in the colors or styles we like? Maybe, but it's not guaranteed. We will be provided for but we truly need to ask ourselves what constitutes a lustful desire- a selfish desire, and understand that the provisions given to us aren't necessarily going to be the provisions that will fulfill our lustful, selfish desires.


Yes, most of us here in the United States have been taught that all things we desire are actually our rights- part of that right to pursue our happiness. The slaves in Egypt had no rights, they were slaves. Those slaves however had a life they longed to return to just so they could fulfill some selfish desires rather than SUFFER any privation. Suffering, self-denial, they didn't want that. They wanted the suffering they knew rather than the suffering they didn't know. They were fixated upon themselves as we all seem to be- simply because we exist.


Selfishness.


Tonight at our Bible Study we began to discuss how we were created God-centered and when sin entered we became self-centered.


Is it possible that as God was leading His children out of Egypt, out of a life of slavery, away from hundreds of years of oppression- that He was guiding them towards a life centered in Him and not themselves? As strange as it might be to think that slaves could be self-centered it is more than obvious that they were and that their selfishness was something that was keeping them from loving God.


We really need to understand this much better and by the grace of our Lord God may we be enlightened. Through the love of our LORD may our hearts be open, may our understanding be guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth.


Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.


Amen.