Worship Helps for Pentecost 11
The Israelites in the desert
Artist: Tintoretto
Date: 1593
Worship Theme: Many
Christian churches stress social action. Feeding the hungry is important for
Christians. God commands acts of mercy. Sadly, however, many churches offer
little more than physical bread, bread that does not last. Bread is necessary
for this life, but Jesus wants his Church to focus on offering the Bread of
Life (Jesus himself, the Word of God). This Bread nourishes our souls, not just
now, but for all eternity.
Old Testament: Exodus 16:2 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." 4 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." 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the
Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought
you out of Egypt , 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD,
because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should
grumble against us?" 8 Moses also said, "You will know
that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the
bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him.
Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD."
9 Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community,
'Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'" 10
While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward
the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud. 11
The LORD said to Moses, 12 "I have heard the grumbling of the
Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you
will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your
God.'" 13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in
the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the
dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert
floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other,
"What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them,
"It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what
the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an
omer for each person you have in your tent.'" 17 The Israelites
did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when
they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and
he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he
needed. 19 Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of
it until morning." 20 However, some of them paid no attention
to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and
began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
1. Why did all Israel
grumble against Moses and Aaron?
2. Whenever we grumble, against whom are we grumbling?
(See 16:8)
3. How did the LORD provide for his grumbling people?
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 10:1 For I do
not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were
all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They
were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all
ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink;
for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was
Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their
bodies were scattered over the desert. … These things happened to them as
examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of
the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be
careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except
what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted
beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way
out so that you can stand up under it.
4. How would you respond if someone says, “I know God
severely punished people long ago, but things changed once Jesus died on the
cross”? (See 10:11 )
5. Can a Christian lose his or her faith? (See 10:12 )
Gospel: John 6:24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. 25
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi,
when did you get here?" 26 Jesus answered, "I tell you the
truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because
you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that
spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will
give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." 28
Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one
he has sent." 30 So they asked him, "What miraculous sign
then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?
31 Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He
gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Jesus said to them,
"I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from
heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the
world." 34 "Sir," they said, "from now on give
us this bread." 35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of
life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will
never be thirsty.
6. What kind of bread were the people interested in having
from Jesus? What kind of bread did Jesus offer? How did the people
misunderstand?
7. What did Jesus mean when he said: “I am the bread of
life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will
never be thirsty”?
Answers:
1. Israel
was in a difficult spot: They had very little to eat.
2. Whenever we grumble, we are grumbling against the LORD.
Yet he has put us where we are. He promises to provide all his children need,
and he has been so kind, so often. He forbids grumbling. So why do we grumble?
3. From heaven the LORD daily provided Manna (Hebrew for
“What in the world …?”) It was “white like coriander seed and tasted like
wafers made with honey” (16:31 ). On
this particular day, the LORD also provided quail.
4. If someone claims that Old Testament Bible stories
about God punishing people do not apply to us, we should tell them that the New
Testament says that all those stories are meant to warn us and to keep us from
setting our hearts on evil things, as people long ago did.
5. Sadly, yes, a Christian can lose his or her faith. We
need this warning whenever we think we are standing firm on our own. When we
feel unsure of our future and sorry for our sins, we need the comfort only the
Gospel gives.
6. The people were interested in having physical bread.
Jesus offered “food that endures to eternal life.” The people still thought
that Jesus was offering physical bread that would last forever.
7. Jesus is talking about faith in him as the Savior from
sin. While Jesus also promises to provide for our daily, earthly needs, here he
is focusing on the eternal needs of our souls. Through faith in Jesus, the
Bread of Life, we can be assured that we will never go spiritually hungry or
thirsty.
At a buffet restaurant each customer chooses an
appropriately sized serving so that there is no leftover food to pick up from
the tables. If there are lots of leftovers it means the customer demonstrated a
lack of control and bad judgment. When God gave the Israelites manna for food, he
promised to provide all the manna each person needed. But some doubted. They
saw the delicate nature of the manna and how it appeared like frost. They came
to the logical conclusion that such light nourishment would not be enough, so
some gathered more than they could eat. But the excess manna spoiled, became
insect-infested, and smelled horrible. God promises to give us “all that we
need to support this body and life” (Martin Luther’s explanation to the First
Article of the Apostles’ Creed). If we trust God’s Word, we can be satisfied in
having what we need. “Take all you need,” says God, “but use all you take in
service to my world.”
[NEGATIVE STATEMENTS]
We reject the following teaching of the popes and monks:
after regeneration a person can completely fulfill God’s Law in this life, and
through this fulfillment of the Law he is righteous before God and merits
eternal life.
On the other hand, the enthusiasts should be rebuked with
great seriousness and zeal. They should
not be tolerated in any way in God’s Church.
They imagine that God, without any means, without the hearing of the
divine Word, and without the use of the holy Sacraments, draws people to
Himself, enlightens, justifies, and saves them.
We should also rebuke those who imagine that in conversion
and regeneration God creates a new heart and new person in such a way that the
substance and essence of the old Adam, and especially the rational soul, are
completely destroyed, and a new essence of the soul is created out of nothing. St. Augustine clearly rebukes this error in
‹his comments on› Psalm 25, where he quotes the passage from Paul [in Ephesians
4:22], “Put off your old self …”
Augustine explains this in the following words: Lest anyone might think
that the essence of a person is to be laid aside, he explains what it is to lay
aside the old man, and to put on the new, when he says: “Putting away lying,
speak the truth.” – Formula of Concord ,
Solid Declaration, Article II, Free Will, paragraphs 79-81
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee;
Let the water and the blood From thy riven side which
flowed
Be of sin the double cure: Cleanse me from its guilt and
pow'r.
Not the labors of my hands Can fulfill thy law's demands.
Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever
flow,
All for sin could not atone; Thou must save and thou
alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress, Helpless, look to thee for
grace.
Foul, I to the fountain fly -- Wash me, Savior, or I die!
While I draw this fleeting breath, When mine eyelids close
in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown, See thee on thy judgment
throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee!
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