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Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
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Wiersbe - They said they wished the Lord had killed them in Egypt when they were full rather than in the desert when they were empty! Little did these Israelites know that they would one day get their request, for the entire older generation would die in the wilderness and never get to the Promised Land. ESV Study Bible - The theme by the hand of the LORD describes how the Lord delivered Israel (see 6:1; 7:4–5; 13:3). When the people of Israel wish that they had died by his hand rather than being delivered by it, they show that they have not understood what his power on their behalf reveals about his person and the fulfillment of his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This incident is not the first time they have longed for what they had in Egypt (see 14:12), and it foreshadows another such incident during the period of wandering in the wilderness (see Num. 20:3–5). Tim Keller writes "What you see in verse 3 is very important. It is the language of addiction. It’s the language of denial. When they were actually in Egypt, when they were actually under the lash, they hated it. They cried out against it. They were miserable, and now they’re out of there, and yet you see, when they think back about Egypt, they remember it fondly. They think of it as something good. They think of it as something desirable. They think of it as something they wouldn’t mind going back to. That is the language of addiction, in that they’re still addicted. When you think back into your addiction, when you think back into that situation with the delusional thinking that screens out all the misery and says, “That really wasn’t so bad,” even though they were technically out of slavery, in their hearts internally, in their spirits they were still slaves. This leads us to a principle. You can get people out of slavery in an instant. Zap! It happens like that. They cross the Red Sea. It’s a legal thing. It’s a political thing. It’s a military thing. You can get people out of slavery in an instant, but you can’t get the slavery out of people except through a long process. You can get the people out of slavery quickly, immediately, but you can’t get the slavery out of the people quickly. It takes a process. Though legally they were free, actually they hadn’t learned how to be and think and work out their liberation into their lives, and that’s the reason why they don’t go right to the Promised Land, and Moses knows that. Egyptian Flesh-Pot When we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full - KJV = "fleshpots" which were simply kettles or large metal pots used for boiling water (Jer 1:13) or cooking meat. WE WANT MEAT AND BREAD! To the full speaks of their bellies, their gratification, their satisfaction! They are conveniently forgetting that the were actually very oppresses and "sighed because of the bondage." (Ex 2:23) This is aberrational selective memory at best! They are talking about "good times Egypt!" Ridiculous! Ryken - The Israelites confused what they wanted with what they needed. This is often the source of our discontent—thinking that our greeds are really our needs. The Israelites complained that their situation was worse than it actually was. They also did something else that complainers often do: They exaggerated the advantages of their former situation. They exaggerated the advantages of their former situation. “Remember the good old days?” they said. “Remember how stuffed we used to get?” They looked back with longing on their time in Egypt, when they used to belly up to Pharaoh’s buffet. At least that’s how they remembered it. In truth, it is doubtful whether Pharaoh fed them all the meat that they could eat. (Ibid) Currid - How well do they remember Egypt? Is this honestly how Pharaoh treated them? This point goes to the very heart of the exodus story: was Pharaoh’s servitude easier to bear and more comforting than that of Yahweh? (Ironically, the Israelites are now groaning under Yahweh’s service as they did under Pharaoh’s.)
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Wiersbe - Jesus is the Bread of Life, and the only way to be saved is to receive Him into our inner being just as the body receives food. (ED: AND WHAT WAS THE RESULT - John 6:66 "As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.")
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Wiersbe - In our pilgrim journey through life, we live on promises and not explanations. When we hurt, it’s a normal response to ask “Why?” but that is the wrong approach to take. For one thing, when we ask God that question, we’re assuming a superior posture and giving the impression that we’re in charge and God is accountable to us. God is sovereign and doesn’t have to explain anything to us unless He wants to. Asking “Why?” also assumes that if God did explain His plans and purposes to us, we’d understand everything perfectly and feel better....Explanations don’t heal broken hearts, but promises do, because promises depend on faith, and faith puts us in contact with the grace of God....When circumstances are difficult, we’re prone to pray, “Lord, how can I get out of this?” when we ought to be praying, “Lord, what can I get out of this?” It isn’t important that we get our way, but it is important that God accomplishes His purposes and receives all the glory (Matt. 6:33). God permits trials so that He can build godly character into His children and make us more like Jesus. Godliness isn’t the automatic result of reading books and attending meetings; it also involves bearing burdens, fighting battles, and feeling pain. Adrian Rogers on It was a Faith Test: Dependence on Him - Now, what was the meaning of the manna? It was a faith test; it was a mark of their dependence upon Him. Look in Ex 16:4: "Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them,"—"that I may test them—"whether they will walk in my law, or no" (Exodus 16:4). It showed a matter of their dependence upon the Lord. Now, it was a faith test. And friend, I want to say this: that, when you feed on Jesus daily, that is a faith test, and it shows your dependence upon the Lord. If you don't have a quiet time (Thoughts on the Quiet Time), you have a weak faith, and you're self-sufficient. And, really, the time that you spend with the Lord, or you don't spend with the Lord, is a way God is proving you and testing you. F B