 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 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. So it was that quail came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. And 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. So 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. This is the thing which the Lord has commanded. Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person according to the number of persons. Let every man take for those who are in his tent. Then the children of Israel did so and gathered some more, some less. So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one's need. And Moses said, let no one leave any of it till morning. Notwithstanding, they did not heed Moses, but some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need, and when the sun became hot, it melted. Pastor Michael has sort of set the table for this passage, and it's interesting to see the way that God uses this. This passage is referred to in Psalms and the Gospels and the Epistles, because it's so rich with meaning, so true of the nature of men, and so glorifying to God. And for those same reasons, it's not surprising that the enemies of God would try to explain away with science or nature how such things might have happened, apart from God's sovereignty. In his commentary on this passage, P. G. Reichen listed several theories that detractors have developed to explain away God's hand in this situation. There's no end to the imaginations of men. According to one theory, the manna was, quote, liquid honeydew excretion from a number of cicadas, plant lice, and scale insects that speedily solidifies by rapid evaporation. Another widely accepted view is that the manna came from, quote, a lichen that grows on rocks and produces pea-sized globules which are light enough to be blown about by the wind. They are well known for their sweetness and are often collected by the natives of Central Asia. And they go on. There more. No, no, and no. This was God at work teaching the Jews, but especially us, a lesson, a number of lessons, that we can learn from seeing sinful men and our faithful God in these circumstances. John Calvin enumerated a number of reasons why the manna was miraculous, and I'm paraphrasing here. It hadn't happened before. It was not affected by weather or season. It was sufficient for the people, perhaps millions. It was doubled for the Sabbath. If this is a natural occurrence, it doesn't make sense that it would happen only six days of the week. If they preserved it overnight, it putrified. It followed them wherever they went. As soon as they entered a fruitful country, it ceased. And the Sabbath portion did not decay. It's pretty convincing. I'm reminded of that viral video a few years back. You are so dumb. That's, unfortunately, our condition. We understand clearly when we look at this that this is God providing for the needs of these people. He's spared them from plagues and bondage and brought them through the Red Sea, guided them by a pillar of cloud and fire day and night. And now they're complaining. This was an appropriate passage for a call to repentance, but it's also an appropriate passage for a call to worship. Think now about what Christ has done for us. And of how Christ referred to this situation, Pastor Michael mentioned John 6. There's also verses in that same chapter 47 to 51, where he says most, this is Christ's commentary, really, on this Exodus passage. Verse 47, most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. You, Christian, have been given this bread and eaten of it. It has changed you. You are a new creation. You've been, as Sinclair Ferguson said, brought into a whole new realm of existence because of this bread of life. You are not like these Jews in the wilderness entirely self-centered and forgetful of all the good that has come from God. You've been enabled by the Spirit of God to deny yourself, to take up your cross, and to obey Christ, especially in the Great Commission, telling others of this living bread from heaven that they too might live forever. We do that, in part, by advancing the prosperity of this church through our giving for God's glory. And let's do that now. Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for the bread of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, who gives us immeasurable blessings and joy in this life and forevermore. We pray you would use us and our resources for your glory that more might join us in worshiping you. Amen.