“Behold the Glory of the Lord”
(Exodus 16:2-15 – Pentecost 11 – August 4, 2024)
Exodus 16:2-15 – 2Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?” 8Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.” 9Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints.’ ” 10Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to 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. 11And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12“I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’” 13So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”
Dear people of God, whom He has redeemed by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ:
Have you seen the glory of the Lord? Our text says the Israelites did: “They looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud” (vs. 10). In various places in Israel’s history, we hear of the glory of the Lord appearing in a cloud of fire. It was a sign that He was bringing about His purpose and plan of salvation among them.
When the Lord brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt: “The LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light” (Exodus 13:21). When they came to the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud moved between them and the Egyptians (Exodus 14:19-20). It was a sign of light and salvation to His people, but darkness and destruction to their enemies. For the Lord opened a path in the sea for His people to cross but drowned their enemies. So He led His people on to the Promised Land.
At Mount Sinai, when the Lord gave His Covenant of Law to Moses, the cloud of the Lord’s glory covered the mountain with fire and smoke (Exodus 19:18; 24:16-17). As the Lord spoke to Moses from the cloud giving His Laws, the people trembled, realizing their sinfulness in the holy presence of the Lord. Yet again, with His sign of glory, the Lord also repeated His gracious covenant to lead them on to the Promised Land.
When Moses built the tabernacle by the Lord’s direction, again: “The cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting” (Exodus 40:34-35). It was a reminder that no sinner could enter His holy presence, except in the way He designated. Yet, even in this fearful sign of the Lord’s glory, there was promise of salvation. For the Lord established the priesthood and sacrifices for sin. This pointed to Christ, who one day would take away our sins once for all by His sacrifice (Hebrews 7:27.
“Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys” (Exodus 40:36). So the Lord led them in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. It was a continual reminder that they were to live in holy fear and worship before Him; but also, that He was leading them by His gracious plan of salvation to the Promised Land.
Today, as the Lord leads us through the wilderness of this world, we do not see a cloud of fire by day and night. Yet He reveals His saving glory in His Word, the Gospel. He leads us by faith in Christ to the Promised Land of heaven. On the way, as He did for the Israelites, He provides every need of life. Let us “Behold, the Glory of the LORD”: 1) In giving us each day our daily bread; but above all, 2) In giving us the bread of eternal life.
1) In giving us each day our daily bread
How graciously the Lord provided daily bread for the Israelites. Certainly, they did not deserve it, due to their lack of faith and sinful attitudes. They had just seen the glory of the Lord in bringing them out of Egypt by great signs and wonders. He had provided every need of life all the way. But suddenly, it appeared to them that the hand of the Lord had come up short in providing for them. They joined their voices in complaint to Moses and Aaron: “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (vs. 3). It is not that they had it that good in Egypt. Indeed, the Lord had heard their cry of suffering in slavery and delivered them (Exodus 3:7). But how easily the discontented and unthankful mind can imagine how much better things used to be, and how much better things ought to be. Their grumbling was not so much against their human leaders as against the Lord Himself.
So the Lord revealed His glory in the fiery cloud to put a stop to this. He said to Moses: “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God’” (vs. 12). Once again, the cloud of the Lord’s glory appeared as a reminder that they ought to live in constant fear and worship before His holiness. They had shown themselves unworthy by their sinful attitude and behavior. Yet the Lord answered their unthankful grumbling with His gracious provision. He promised to give them each day their daily bread. Every evening He provided quails for them to eat, and every morning He rained down manna. As the people gathered it up in abundance, Moses would remind them: “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat” (vs. 15).
Dear people of God, can we see similarities between us and the Israelites? The Lord has led us out of our former slavery and bondage, not to Pharaoh, but to Satan, sin, and death. Jesus, our Passover Lamb, has been slain and His blood set us free. He has brought us through the Red Sea of Baptism, drowning our sins and spiritual enemies. He leads us in the path of faith and freedom as God’s children, with the Promised Land of heaven before us.
Yet at times our sinful nature convinces us that life would be better back where we came from. We may feel discomfort in the way the Lord leads us in the wilderness of this world. At times, we act as if His hand has come up short in providing what we ought to have. We feel discontentment and self-pity, and we grumble and complain. At times, we seek satisfaction our own way rather than waiting on the Lord. We run around the wilderness of this world, trying to fill our hungry souls with what will not satisfy, indulging the sinful flesh. But it is not really a path of freedom, but a return to slavery to sin. Like the Israelites complaining against Moses and Aaron, maybe we get together with other people and complain, finding someone to accuse when things do not go as we would like. But isn’t our discontentment and grumbling really an issue of faith in the Lord, who is our true Leader?
How gracious it was as the Lord appeared in the cloud of glory to provide manna for His people every day. So He taught them to trust Him for every need of life. So too, Jesus teaches us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Our Catechism reminds us: “God certainly gives daily bread without our prayer, even to all the wicked; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to acknowledge this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.” Like the Israelites, let us behold the glory of the Lord in giving us each day our daily bread; for despite our unworthiness, He graciously provides all that we need for this body and life.
2) In giving us the bread of eternal life
But above all, let us behold the glory of the Lord in revealing Himself as our Savior, who forgives all our sins, and satisfies our souls with His true bread of eternal life.
The manna which the Lord gave His people in the wilderness sustained their life until He brought them to the earthly Promised Land. That manna only provided temporal life. But more importantly, it pictured the true bread of eternal life Jesus would come to bring sinners. Jesus explained this to the Jews in John 6:32-35: “Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…. I am the bread of life.”
We behold the glory of the Lord God in sending His Son to win our salvation by His perfect life. We often complain and become discontented with how the Lord leads us. But as our Savior, Jesus showed perfect contentment and trust in what His heavenly Father provided. Even as He went without bread forty days in the wilderness, severely tempted by Satan, He did not complain but trusted the hand of His Father to provide (Matthew 4:1-4). So by His sinless life, Jesus fulfilled all righteousness and earned salvation for us.
We also behold the glory of the Lord God in sending His Son to take away our sins by His innocent death. Before going to the cross, Jesus prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You” (John 17:1). It is to the glory of God that He loves us sinners so much that He sacrificed His Son to save us. And having accomplished our salvation, God raised His Son to His right hand in glory (Acts 7:55). Now in heavenly glory, Jesus proclaims us cleansed of all sin and presents us to Himself holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27).
Today, we behold the glory of the Lord as He gives Himself to us as food for eternal life. Jesus says: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51). We partake of Jesus by faith. As He leads us in the wilderness of this world, He gives Himself and His salvation to us as true food for our souls. He feeds us in His Word and Sacraments, satisfying our souls with His forgiveness, reassuring us of His daily loving care, and strengthening our faith for the journey.
Finally, we will behold the glory of the Lord when He brings us to His Promised Land in heaven. He will “transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). We who have partaken by faith of His heavenly manna in this world, will eat with Him in His lavish heavenly banquet. The Lord Jesus will lead us to living fountains of water; never again will we hunger or thirst or feel any trouble or sorrow. We will live with the Lord in the light of His eternal glory (Revelation 9:9; 7:16-17; 22:5).
Have you seen the glory of the Lord? Yes! Behold the glory of the Lord, who gives us each day our daily bread, and who gives us the bread of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Savior!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.