The point of the song, as is self-evident is that God provides for the small, seemingly valueless birds, then He will provide for us – for you. I think we believe this to be true – am I correct?
And the Scriptures would add to our confidence – would they not, numerous examples of how God provided for those in need.
The Exodus account is a record of God’s provision, from the calling of Moses to come to lead His people out of Egypt to the recorded “pillaging of the Egyptians”! (Now there’s a great sermon). And into the dessert they go – there is by the way, a direct link from the journey the Children of Israel took through the desert and John the Baptist’s preaching in the wilderness, but I digress…
To our text:
16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
The children of Israel repeatedly in the dessert complain – the complain about Moses and his leadership, they complain that God has brought them into the desert to die, they complain that they should have stayed in Egypt… what? They would rather be in bondage.
And yet God provides – the cloud by day, pillar of fire by night, he provides them water from a rock, and he provides them food from the skies…
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
Not only does he provide but note the text in v. 4 “In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.”
From our side of history, we roll our eyes and despair at the distrust, the lack of faith, the unwillingness to obey… we watch the children of Israel run out on the Sabbath to collect manna even though they were told there would be none… we see them collect more manna than they need and we wonder how could they be so clueless.
God has provided – hasn’t He?
Won’t he provide again as He has in the past?
Didn’t he give them all they needed even as they left Egypt?
He turned the hearts of the Egyptians so that they favoured their departing slaves!
Who does that? – only God. So how could they not trust in His provision.
And it’s a test.
God wants to know where their hearts are.
The question before us is, “are the children of Israel still living in the brickyards of Egypt?”
Offered freedom – they long for slavery.
Offered the promised land – they want to return to Egypt.
Offered fellowship with God – they would rather live with idols.
And yet, at times, are we so different?
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[b]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? – Luke 12
Do not worry.
Have you ever noticed that telling people not to worry doesn’t stop their worrying? When you stand before a congregation, or counsel a family, or sit with the dying… and tell them don’t worry, will they worry less?
Will they say, oh boy, now I am not worried – wow that really helped. Nope.
We worry – we think about what will happen, or we regret what did happen.
So how do we get to where Jesus is with the disciples? Where do we differ from how the Children of Israel behaved?
It might be found in Luke 12:34
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Worry needs to be displaced – it can’t be willed away – it can’t be sent off to the outer reaches of our thinking…
Change what your treasure is.
I’ve been looking at old 1970s MGBs – I love those old cars – I might even confess that I drool a bit over them – I even found one that I was thinking of buying in Edmonton –
Maybe you’ve got your eye on something – a toy, a vacation… or it can be a position or a sense of authority… whatever you have your eye on, make sure it is not your treasure. Jesus even points out that people fear losing their treasure, so they lock it up, hide it away, put it in the bank… and then they worry about it.
Why did God say he would test the Children of Israel? Because he wanted to know where their treasure was. And they died in the desert. They failed the test. They did not trust God’s provision despite every evidence that He would.
So, when you sense a time of stress or trouble – is it a time of testing?
The whole experience of the disciples was focused on the issue of trust – He called them – would He make provision for them? Would they be able to say that God was faithful?
Here’s the thing – God gives assurance from Genesis to Revelation. Jesus gave the disciple assurance after assurance. He gave the Children of Israel every evidence of His provision.
And we have the assurance of His provision.
Matthew 28:20 “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I always enjoyed leading funerals – I try not to say “doing funerals”, and that’s just me being quirky but leading a family through the experience of grief, of planning or and celebrating a loved ones life is a truly remarkable experience. I’ve been part of funerals for children, seniors, tragic accidents even a murder. Everyone is unique and everyone is sacred.
At the appropriate time of every funeral I led, I shared Revelation 21… and the promise of God’s provision. A new heaven and a new earth – the provision of His presence.
So I won’t tell you that you shouldn’t worry – but I will suggest today that God will provide, that He is faithful and that you can displace worry with trust.
Hybrid Thoughts 