An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Exodus 16:11-19, 17:1-6, “Provision Given,” for Sunday, January 5, 2025. A video version of this overview, that you can watch/listen to, is available on YouTube at:

INTRO: One way to begin your lesson this week would be by asking your members to share a time that God provided for them in a special way.

(For example: after Cheryl & I had graduated from seminary, and were still waiting to be called to our first full-time church, it was a very difficult time for us financially. We had just had our first baby; I was only working part-time, we had been out of school for several months, and hadn’t heard from a church yet, and things were really tight. In fact, we had some emergency bills come up, and we did not have the money to pay our rent the next week. One day that week, we received a check in the mail from a high school friend of Cheryl’s, that was exactly the amount of the rent we needed to pay. We had not told them, and they had no idea of our need. God provided in a very providential way!

You/your group can share stories of God’s provision like that, and they say something like: In today’s lesson from Exodus 16 & 17, we see how God provided for His people in the Exodus — and He STILL provides for us as His people today.

CONTEXT:
The people of Israel are on the Exodus, out of Egypt, beginning their long journey towards the Promised Land. We saw last time in Chapter 14 how YHWH delivered them from their seemingly “hopeless” situation, trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. Chapter 15 is mostly composed of the victory song that Moses & Israel sang after God delivered them — but sadly it doesn’t take much to turn that victory song into grumbling and complaining.
Now they are on the way towards the Land of Promise — but they already begin to encounter difficulties — as we saw in the Book of Acts, there were both INTERNAL and EXTERNAL problems they faced — so it is with Israel here (and so it is with us in our churches today!) In this case the focus now moves from the EXTERNAL enemy of Pharaoh and the Egyptian army, to the internal problem of grumbling among the people as they need their daily food and drink:
— 15:24 “So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’”
— And Chapter 16 opens with :2, “The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.” :3 “Would that we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt …” and so on.

OUTLINE:

I. The Grumbling of the People (16:11-12, 17:1-4)
II. The Provision of the LORD (16:13-19, 17:5-6)

TEXT:

I. The Grumblings of the People (16:11-12, 17:1-4)

EXODUS 16:11-12
11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘[a]At twilight you shall eat [b]meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

EXODUS 17:1-4
“Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by [a]stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the [b]command of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and [c]they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill [d]us and [e]our children and [f]our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.”

Significantly, one of the most repeated words in Exodus 16 and 17 is the word “grumbling”! We see it all through this text:
— 15:24 “So the people GRUMBLED at Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’”
— 16:2 “The whole congregation of the sons of Israel GRUMBLED against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.”
— 16:7 “You will see the glory of the LORD, for He hears your GRUMBLINGS against the LORD” (it is vs the LORD!)
— Again in 16:8 “For the LORD hears your GRUMBLINGS which you GRUMBLE against HIM … Your GRUMBLINGS are not against us, but agains the LORD.”
— AGAIN in 16:9 “Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your GRUMBLINGS.”
— 16:12 “I have heard the GRUMBLINGS of the sons of Israel”
— 17:2 “Therefore the people QUARRELED (different word!) with Moses and said ‘Give us water that we may drink’
— 17:3 “But the people thirsted there for water and they GRUMBLED against Moses …”

So at least NINE TIMES in this passage, we see this word “grumbling” in one form or another!
EXERCISE: Just to emphasize the repetition of this word, I plan to PRINT all these verses out on slips of paper, and distribute them to volunteers before class begins, and then at this point just have them read them, one after another, just emphasizing the ubiquitous nature of this word in this text: it is just appears over and over and over!

??? WHO were the grumblings of the people against?
— Moses (15:24 “at Moses”, 17:3 “against Moses”)
— Moses and Aaron (16:2 “against Moses and Aaron”)
— but ultimately, the LORD! (16:7 “against the LORD”; also :8, “your grumblings which you grumble against HIM”!)

??? The people of Israel might have said, “We love God, we’re only grumbling against Moses and Aaron.” Why does God say here that their grumbling was against HIM???
(Because Moses and Aaron were His messengers; they were only carrying out His will. So their grumbling, though perhaps directed at some points “only” against Moses & Aaron, was really against God.
OUR grumbling is too. When we complain in a situation, our complaint is ultimately against God, who in His providence has brought us to such a place for His purposes.

We have ALL probably experienced “grumblings” of one kind or another: from kids, from other family members, from employees, from teachers/coworkers, from church members.
??? How have YOU PERSONALLY felt when those under your charge have engaged in “grumblings”???
(It’s wearisome; it’s discouraging. It makes everything worse. It drags everyone down. Importantly, it is the opposite of faith.)

??? Why do you think “grumbling” is such a loathsome thing to God???
(It shows a lack of faith and trust. Remember Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” So if faith PLEASES GOD, what do you think GRUMBLING does? It must so greatly DISplease Him! It’s so insulting. Don’t we think God is going to take care of us? Is He not our Father? Does He not know our needs even before we ask? Have we not seen Him deliver us time and time again and provide what we need?
Israel was in that situation: God had just delivered them at the Red Sea in one of the most spectacular miracles of all time — splitting the Red Sea in two! — but in the VERY NEXT CHAPTER they are already grumbling against the Lord! It is SO fickle; so ungrateful; so lacking in faith in God. You can see why it would be loathsome and insulting to Him. It is absolutely the OPPOSITE of faith, which Hebrews 11:6 says is how we please God. If you want to DISplease God, then grumble and complain. That’s the best way to do it!)

Here’s a quote you could use somewhere in this first point:
“To grumble is to leak darkness when we were made to shine. Each of us can think of a grumbler in our family, in our neighborhood, or in our workplace. They’re toxin emitters. Like a black pen leaking in the pocket of a white shirt, they tend to soil every environment they enter. But Christians are being transformed to shine. You are bleach, not ink.”
(John Beeson, Gospel Coalition website, “Grumbling Is Not A Minor Sin,” July 13, 2020)

That’s a good picture: let’s not leak INK! Let’s be bleach; light! Let’s shine the light of faith into situations, not the darkness of doubt and grumbling. Sadly, too many of God’s people today are just like Israel, responding with grumbling instead of faith.

Challenge each of your group members to consider:
??? IS there a situation in MY LIFE today, where I am showing my lack of faith by grumbling, instead of trusting God, and spreading faith??? Let’s believe God. Let’s spread faith, not fear.

These verses from Philippians 2:14-16 are a good cross-reference/challenge to all of us:
14 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life …”

II. The Provision of the LORD (16:13-19, 17:5-6)

EXODUS 16:13-19
13 So it came about at evening that the 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 [c]evaporated, behold, on the [d]surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. 15 When the sons 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, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is [f]what the Lord has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man [g]as much as he should eat; you shall take [h]an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’” 17 The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. 18 When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered [i]as much as he should eat. 19 Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it until morning.”

EXODUS 17:5-6
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

So in both Chapter 16 and 17, God provides for His people:
— quail for meat in 16:13
— manna in 16:13+
— water in 17:6
God provided for His people all they needed in the wilderness.

We are a needy people, and often grumble, like Israel. But thank God, He is YHWH-Jireh, Jehovah Jireh, God the Provider.

Chapter 16:15 lends an interesting insight into the name of the “manna.” Why do we call it “manna”? It tells us that when the people saw it on the ground, they said “What is it?” — in Hebrew this is “man-hu” — “manna”!
But “what it was,” was God’s provision that He gave them, to feed them as they traveled through the wilderness.
(And it’s not in our focus passage, but 16:35 tells us “the sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.” So God did not provide this manna just once, but the WHOLE TIME they were on the wilderness journey.)

??? WHY do you think God told them in :19, “Let no man leave any of it until morning?” Why weren’t they able to SAVE it up?
(Evidently God wanted them to walk with Him, and trust Him, day by day.
Someone has well said: We want to save up enough so that we don’t have to trust God! God wants us to learn to TRUST HIM daily. Remember Jesus taught us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.” There is perhaps no better picture of this than the manna here. They were to take just enough for the day, no more. “Give us THIS DAY, our DAILY bread.”

(Now, as with just about all scripture, there is a balance we should keep here. This doesn’t mean that wise people shouldn’t save. A number of verses in scripture encourage us to do that:
— Proverbs 6:6-8 Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, 8 Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest.”
— Proverbs 21:20 “There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man swallows it up.” The wise man SAVES these things up, Proverbs says.
— II Corinthians 12:14. “Children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.”
SO the Bible, Old Testament and New, commends saving as a good and godly and wise thing to do.

But the overarching lesson of this text, is that God provides for His people. He provided the quail for meat, and the manna for bread in Chapter 16, and the water to drink in Chapter 17. God provides for His people.

This is taught all through scripture as well:
— We saw earlier in our Genesis study how He provided for Israel during the famine in Egypt.
— In I Kings 17 the Lord provides for Elijah and the widow at Zarephath, ending with the words: “So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.”
— Jesus multiplied the loves and fish for the 4000 and 5000 in Matthew 14 and 15.
— II Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
— And of course we have Philippians 4:19 which promise His provision for us today too: “And my God shall supply all your needs, according to His riches in glory in Christ.”

EXERCISE: you might post Philippians 4:19 (or II Cor. 9:8!) and ask:
“What stands out to you in this verse?”
(Answers might include:
— “all your NEEDS” — not all our “wants,” but our needs!
— these are “in Christ” — we need to make sure we are His!
— In context in Philippians 4, Paul had just spent all of :15-18 talking about how they had given generously to support him in ministry. So God will bless and take care of those who give faithfully to His work.

You/your group can share your own thoughts about that great verse. But the point is, God’s provision is NOT just some “Old Testament” thing that happened in Exodus. It is a New Testament promise as well. He will take care of His people today, just as He did then. Let’s believe that, and trust Him — and commit ourselves to be the kind of people in our own commitment and giving and holiness that He would love to bless with His provision.

You might share at this point some more examples/illustrations of how God has provided for you/your family/your church:

When Cheryl & I resigned our church in Louisiana that we had served for over 12 years, due to my illness, we faced a very uncertain future from a human standpoint. Two years later I was well enough to get back into full-time ministry. In a time of meditating on that “wilderness journey,” near the end of it, I thought, “WOW, we NEVER LACKED.” Not one time did we not have enough to eat, or drink, or clothe ourselves. Not one time were we unable to pay a bill, or really do any reasonable thing that we needed or even wanted to do. God fully provided for us in our “wilderness.”
This is one of the reasons why Psalm 136: has become special to me. Psalm 136 is a Psalm of thanks to God, listing all kinds of things we can be grateful for. And one of those things is found in :16, “(Give thanks) to Him who led His people through the wilderness.” God did indeed lead His people through the wilderness; He provided for them all along the way, and they never lacked; they had all they needed. He did that for us too, in our “wilderness wandering.”

CURRENT TESTIMONY: When Cheryl first had her stroke, adding to the devastation was that because of our insurance situation, we were faced with some massive medical bills. It was crushing; when we were so close to retirement. But let me tell you: amazingly, we are very close to having every bill paid by the end of 2024 — when I had originally thought we had been financially ruined. (God has used used a number of people to bless us: our church has been very generous to us; as have been some of our family members; and we can contributed heavily out of our own savings as well. But I know where it all ultimately came from: it all came from the Lord.) God IS STILL the same God of provision today, as He was in Exodus! He is still the same God who provided for us in seminary; He is still the same God who provided for us in our “wilderness” when I got sick in 2012, and He is still providing for us today!

And God will do that for each of His people too. As Philippians 4:19 says:, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

AND before you leave this lesson you might point out at some point, that because God is a Provider, one of the names we call Him is “Jehovah Jireh,” or YHWH-Jireh, “Yahweh the Provider.” Many of us are familiar with that name. But remind your group that actually came from Genesis 22:14, when YHWH provided the ram for Abraham to take the place of his son Isaac on the altar. Of course, that episode pictures for us the provision He made for us in giving us Jesus, the Ultimate Sacrifice for our sins.

So make the the point: YES, God IS the Provider. YES, He provides all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ. Many of us have all kinds of testimonies about this, and we can and should rejoice in them and share them.
BUT don’t forget: that by far the the GREATEST need for provision we had, was the need for a sacrifice to pay for our sins and reconcile us with God — and God provided that for us by sending Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The gift of salvation in Jesus is the greatest provision God ever made for us!

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