MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 16:32-36
AN INSTRUCTIVE MEMORIAL
I. By whom the memorial was enjoined. “This is the thing which the Lord commanded.” This memorial was not the outcome of superstitious feeling on the part of the Israelites, nor of their deep devotion of heart. They would not have thought of it of themselves. They were Divinely commanded to it. It does not readily occur to men to make memorials of the mercy of God. And yet there is eminent need of such memorials. Men are liable to forget the Divine goodness. They require something to continually remind them of it. The gifts we bestow upon others are long remembered; those we receive are soon forgotten. We have need to set up memorials in our lives, which shall call upon our souls to remember the benefits of the Lord. It is the will of heaven that its gifts should be held in constant remembrance.
II. In what the memorial consisted. “Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations.”
1. This memorial was reasonable. Thus the Israelites were required to fill an omer with the manna, and keep it as a memorial of the wondrous providence which had so long supplied their temporal need. What could have been more reasonable than such a memorial, which was eminently adapted to recall the circumstances it was designed to commemorate. The good must lay up a sacred deposit of their everyday experiences and mercies before the Lord. The memorials of the soul must consist of its own inner experiences.
2. This memorial was expressive. It was expressive of the great need of Israel, of the abundant and appropriate mercy of God. An omer of manna was preserved which showed that the heavenly supply was not scanty. The memorials of the soul must set forth the infinitude of the Divine compassion, and the riches of Divine grace.
3. This memorial was instructive. It not merely reminded the Israelites of the goodness of God to them, but it would give an instructive and encouraging view of the Divine character and providence to the generations of the future. The memorials of the parents should be such as to instruct and aid the children in their religious life.
4. This memorial was valuable. The manna was kept in a golden pot—(Hebrews 9:2). It was not put into a common vessel. And the memorials of the soul should not find expression in valueless things, but in the richest treasures of man. God is worthy our best offerings.
III. Where the memorial was deposited. “And lay it up before the Lord.” “So Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.” And so this memorial was laid up before the Lord, in the ark of the covenant. Thus we must keep the memorials of the soul in devout spirit, and with a constant trust in the mediatorial work of Christ. In celebrating the Divine providence, we must not be animated by a regard for a religious display, but by a desire to lay up a memorial of our best gratitude before the Lord. As Aaron laid up the pot of manna before the Testimony, so Christ alone can render our memorials acceptable to God.
IV. The design the memorial contemplated. “That ye may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness” “To be kept for your generations.” The Israelites would enter Canaan, and then would return to the produce of the field; hence they needed something to remind them of their wilderness condition. The mercy given in adversity must be remembered in prosperity. In heaven the soul will have memorials of the mercy which characterised its life on earth. This pot of manna was also designed to teach the generations to come the goodness and faithfulness of God. Every generation should seek to leave behind it new and encouraging revelations of the Divine character, which shall lead those who follow to see more clearly the merciful providence of God. Each generation leaves a moral deposit behind it, for good or evil. LESSONS:—
1. The soul must have a memorial of the Divine mercy.
2. The memorial of the soul must consist of the best things it possesses.
3. The memorial of the soul will have respect to the redemptive work of Christ.
AN INSTRUCTIVE MEMORIAL
Why was this “omer of manna” to be sacredly preserved from generation to generation? The only reason assigned is, “that your generations may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness.” Whatever God does or commands to be done is for wise and worthy reasons. Let us reverently seek to ascertain what was the Divine reason in arranging for succeeding generations of the Israelites to see this manna, with which He had fed their fathers in the wilderness. We suggest that it was this, Because the sight of it was calculated to promote their moral improvement by suggesting and impressing important truths. Without mentioning certain suggestions of the manna which have been noticed in the exposition of the previous verses, that which was contained in the pot for preservation would be an impressive memorial of
I. The infinite resources of God. Here are three millions of persons in the desert without food. That which they brought out of Egypt with them they have consumed. And, though they have flocks and herds with them, they are not to be eaten for food but kept for sacrifices. Whence shall they obtain food? The prospect seems to them exceedingly dark, and they utter loud and bitter complaints against their leaders. In this extremity, the Lord appears for them and provides the manna. This provision was undoubtedly miraculous. The writer of the article on “Manna,” in “Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible,” says, that “the natural products of the Arabian deserts and other Oriental regions which bear the name of manna, have not the qualities or uses ascribed to the manna of Scripture.” And, after pointing out many points of contrast, he says, “The manna of Scripture we therefore regard as wholly miraculous, and not in any respect a product of nature.” The resources of the Lord are infinite. No matter how dark and discouraging our circumstances and our prospects may be, if God be for us inexhaustible treasures are ours. He can spread our table in the barren wilderness, so that for forty years we shall lack no good thing. At His command the flinty rock shall pour forth copious streams, so that the dry and thirsty land shall become a land of refreshment and delight. If it were possible to exhaust the resources of the material universe, still the people of God are rich by reason of their interest in Him, whose resources are equal to all the needs of His vast universe,—whose resources are indeed infinite. We rejoice in “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” “He is able to do for us exceeding abundantly,” &c.
II. The great goodness of God. His goodness is strikingly exemplified in several things of which this manna would be a memorial.
1. The supply of manna was undeserved. These unbelieving, murmuring, rebellious Israelites merited no kindness from God. Had they received their deserts they would have been left to die of famine. “He has not dealt with us after our sins,” &c.
2. The supply was ample. There was sufficient for every one and for all. If any one lacked provisions it was not because of any deficiency in the supply. So the blessings of redemption and of providence are ample for all the needs of all men, everywhere, and in all ages.
3. The supply was free. All the Israelites might avail themselves of it. Every morning they would go out into the open wilderness and gather it. An illustration of the sufficiency and freeness of the provisions of Divine grace. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money,” &c.
4. The supply was pleasant. The taste of the manna was like fresh oil, and like wafers made with honey, equally agreeable to all palates. The provisions of Christianity are not only wholesome but pleasant also. The prophet Isaiah represents them as “a feast of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees, well refined.” Our Lord also compares them to a great feast. A feast of delightful experiences, exalted hopes, blessed fellowships, &c. Thus the manna would remind the generations of the great goodness of God to their ancestors.
III. The unvarying faithfulness of God. “The children of Israel did eat manna forty years until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.” During the forty years, the supply of manna never failed them. With undeviating regularity, God bestowed it upon them until they came to the borders of Canaan, where there was abundance of provisions. The Divine faithfulness is the more conspicuous when viewed in the light of the people’s conduct. God was invariably faithful to them and to His promise, notwitstanding their—
1. Inconstancy.
2. Ingratitude.
3. Oft-repeated rebellion. Notwithstanding the extreme provocation which He received from them, He continued to send them manna from heaven until they needed it no longer. “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself.” The manna would remind the generations of this unfailing faithfulness.
IV. The abiding presence of God with them. When the Israelites attempted to keep the manna in their tents from one day to another, “it bred worms and stank.” But in the manna which was kept by the command of God we have a perpetual miracle by which it was kept pure and sweet. And that perpetual miracle was a proof of the perpetual presence of God with them,—a proof that the faithful God was with them even as He was with their fathers.
And thus, the manna being such a memorial of the doings, character, and presence of God, it would be—
V. An encouragement to trust in God. “God’s miracles and mercies are to be had in everlasting remembrance, for our encouragement to trust in Him at all times.”
Conclusion. Ponder well two facts:—
1. The history of one generation may benefit all succeeding generations. History furnishes patterns and beacons, encouragements and warnings. Let us heed them.
2. The obligation of every generation to profit by the history of its predecessors. Every fresh generation enters upon its career with greater advantages and responsibilities than those which have gone before. We ought to be wiser, braver, holier than our fathers. But are we?—William Jones.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exodus 16:32-36. Mercies of old to His Church God would have known to succeeding generations.
Men may see that the best provision of God’s Church has been in its wilderness condition.
God confutes murmurers by His monuments, that He did not bring Israel out of Egypt to destroy them.
Wilderness mercies are contemporary with wilderness conditions.
God will carry His Israel through all wilderness trials unto their Canaan rest.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Israel’s Life-Food! Exodus 16:35. The history of Israel is a typical history. The slavery in Egypt represented the bondage in which we are naturally held; while the deliverance by Moses is symbolic of our redemption by Christ. The wanderings in the desert pre-figure the Christian pilgrimage on earth; while the Canaan at which the host arrived over Jordan is emblematic of the rest that remaineth beyond the chill waters of the River of Death. And so with reference to the life-food of Israel. They had it in the wilderness, but no further. The sacraments cease in the Heavenly Canaan. There is no temple therein—no place for sacraments—no need for channels of grace. Christ will be all in all there; for the Lord God and the Lamb are the temple thereof. Not from ordinances shall we then draw our nutriment. The Redeemer will be all in all to our souls, and from Him alone and directly shall we draw the only material of everlasting happiness and ever-increasing goodness. It is under that apprehension of our Life-food here—
“That, feeding on His bounties, we shall our strengh renew,
And with untiring spirit our desert-way pursue.”
Memorial Gratitude! Exodus 16:32. Bishop Hutton was once travelling between Wensleydale and Ingleton, when he suddenly dismounted, delivered his step to the care of one of his attendants, retired to a particular spot at some distance from the highway, and knelt down in prayer for some time. On his return, he was asked his reason for this action? His reply was significant, “When I was a poor boy, I travelled over that cold and black mountain without shoes or stockings. In my extremity, I disturbed a cow on the identical spot where I have just prayed, to obtain a little warmth from the spot where the animal was lying.” This good man felt grateful to God for all He had done for Him since that moment, and had knelt down by this memorial to praise God. Jehovah orders memorials of mercies to be set up—kept in view—held in remembrance, so that we may always be confident and contented.
“To remember, though gloomy the present may be,
That the Master is coming, and coming to me.”
—Patterson.
Memorial Mercies! Exodus 16:33. “The Lord’s mercies are new every morning.” What an assurance this is to carry with us in all our wayfaring through this world! The future is always dark to us; but then there are the memorial-mercies of the past to be recalled. A veil hides the future from our sight, but the past has lights here and there—the mercies of times of adversity shining afar to cheer us—what is under the shadows in front of us—what is behind the veil suspended before us—what is advancing out of the imperious mist towards us, none of us can know, but we may all see the memorials of the past. Like clear, flaming letters on a black velvet background they stand out. “The Lord’s mercies are new every morning.” It is as though the Holy Spirit of God went before us and set up these memorial-mercies to cheer us whenever we halt in weakness—to encourage us whenever we hesitate in fearfulness, and to incite us to gratitude whenever we are disposed to unthankfulness.
“Thy mercies, Lord, are like the sun
Whose beams undo what sable night hath done!
Or, like those streams, the current of whose course,
Restrained awhile, run with a swifter force.”
—Quarles.
Memorials! Exodus 16:33. In deepest rocks, which have withstood all the assailing influences of time, geologists find the outlines of ferns of former ages, lined with the most delicate tracery, or distinct impressions of the feet of birds and animals which are now lost to earth. They remove these choice specimens from their rocky beds and place them among collections which the learned pour over with thoughtful and profitable interest. Of all the abundance of living grace, verdure, and activity, which covered the earth through remote ages, only here and there, and that very rarely, some specimens like these speak. Such records of Nature’s workings are but seldom written in solid rock, but one line written there suggests forests of graceful waving fronds, with their bending shadows in clear waters, or a host of strange and now unknown animals which once animated the world. That line whispers of a great flood, in which this life was submerged—of sleepy eyes in which the moist bed where so much is written, changed to stern rock, holding securely a valuable historic record, which at last is given to those who grope for glowing facts among dull stones. Now, as the life, structure, and habits of myriads of plants and animals are suggestively unfolded through means of impressions in stone of comparatively few individual specimens; so history, culling comparatively few lives as representatives of the world’s thought, leaves untold the births, deeds, and deaths of the great mass of the children of the earth; and when death claims them, they go back to her receptive bosom, leaving no lasting record here. And it is from the memorials set up in the Arabian wilds that we not only syllable out the goodness of God in supplying Israel’s wants, and providing for their necessities, but also infer that many more mercies were their lot than the Bible leaves on record. It is by searching the plains of Holy Scripture that we come upon records of God’s providence designed to encourage us to look hopefully to our own future.
“The present is enough for common souls,
Who, never looking forward, are indeed
Mere clay, wherein the footprints of their age
Are petrified for ever.”
—Lowell.
Sufficiency! Exodus 16:35. In the forests of Guiana grows the towering mora. Its topmost branch, when naked with age or dried by accident, is the favourite resort of the toncar. Many a time, says Waterton, has this singular bird felt the shot faintly strike him from the gun of the fowler below, and owed his life to the distance betwixt them. The wild fig-tree, as large as a common English apple-tree, often rears itself from one of the thick branches at the top of the mora, as when a man stands on the shoulders of another man, When its fruit is ripe, the birds resort to them for nourishment; and it was to an indigested seed passing through the body of a bird which had perched on the mora, that the fig-tree first owed its elevated station there. Thus, unconsciously, did some bird contribute, if not to its own future sustenance, certainly to the after-support and nutriment of its fellow birds or progeny. But how did this seed germinate into a fig-tree? The sap of the mora supplied it with growing powers, and raised it into full bearing; and now in its turn, it is doomed to contribute a portion of its own sap and juices towards the growth of different species of vines, the seeds of which also the birds deposited on its branches. These soon vegetate and bear fruit in great quantities, so that the mora has much to do to supply nourishment for such a profuse and prolific mass of vegetation. what with calls from vines and fig-tree, the mora is unable to support her charge, languishes—dies; whereupon, the fig-tree, with its usurping progeny of vines, receiving no more succour from their late foster-parent, droop and perish in their turn. How often is it so with churches of earthly growth. They spread, minds nestle in the branches, and leave behind them seeds which germinate, affording nutriment to succeeding generations of minds, who in turn leave germs of vines; but all this growth at last bows down the mother church, when foster-parents and progeny fall. Not so with Jesus Christ—He is that giant mora whose resources never fail. On Him millions of figs and vines grow, without lack of moisture, for it hath pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell; and He is the Fountain of Life.
“The Bread,
Given from His hands, feeds thousands and to spare.”
—Bickersteth.